Equipment

In ice hockey, players use specialized equipment both to facilitate the play of the game and for protection as this is a sport where injuries are common, therefore, all players are encouraged to protect their bodies from bruises and severe fractures.

The hard surfaces of the ice and boards, pucks being shot at high speed, and other players maneuvering (and often intentionally colliding, also known as “checking”) pose multiple safety hazards. Besides ice skates and sticks, hockey players are usually equipped with an array of safety gear to lessen their risk of serious injury. This usually includes a helmet, shoulder pads/chest protector, elbow pads, mouth guard, protective gloves, heavily padded shorts, a ‘jock’ athletic protector, shin pads and a neck guard.

Goaltenders wear masks and much bulkier, specialized equipment designed to protect them from many direct hits from the puck. The hockey skate is usually made of a thick layer of leather or nylon to protect the feet and lower legs of the player from injury. Its blade is rounded on both ends to allow for easy maneuvering. Goaltenders’ skates, however, have blades that are lower to the ice and more square than round; this is an advantage to the goalies, for whom lateral mobility and stability are more important than quick turns and speed.

Goalies are allowed special variations on equipment, both to increase their chance of stopping pucks and for extra protection. They offer more protection from frontal impacts, while generally providing lesser or no protection to the goalie’s back. This is because a goalie should always face the action and a hit on a non-padded area is generally a mistake on the part of the goalie. Virtually all of the following equipment is required in any league:

• goal stick;
• goal skates;
• goalie mask or helmet and wire facemask;
• chest and arm protector;
• blocker;
• catch glove or trapper;
• goal jock or jill;
• goal pants;
• goal pads;
• socks.

Normally the stick is held in the right hand with the blocker, and the catch glove is on the left. However, “full right” goalies reverse this, holding a right-hand curve stick in the left hand and catching with the right. This is largely personal preference, depending mostly on which hand the goalie is most comfortable catching with. The stick blade may be flat or curved to assist in playing the puck, depending on personal preference and stick handling style; a flat blade is generally better for stopping the puck, while a more curved blade allows for easier “lifting” of shots off the blade to the forwards/center. The shaft of the stick blade may be slightly curved to assist in picking it up off the ice when dropped.