Men's Hockey Teams With Easton & Juneau in Equipment Fund Drive

TROY, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey team has entered into an agreement with Easton Sports, Inc. on a deal to make the equipment company the official provider of skates, sticks, pads, and other gear for the Engineers.

In addition to direct support from Easton, the affiliation also allows the opportunity for fans, friends, and alumni to aid Rensselaer hockey by contributing to a hockey equipment fund that has been established in conjunction with the partnership.

To make a contribution, please visit https://www.alumni.rpi.edu/secure2/onlinegiving/giveonline.html. Upon reaching the site, please enter a dollar amount and then click the 'Designated (specify below)' button. In the space provided, please enter Men's Hockey Equipment Fund and then proceed.

Former RPI All-American and National Hockey League standout Joé Juneau ’91, helped broker the venture with Easton.

“The Easton deal provides us with a great opportunity to expand the resource base that the staff can draw upon in support of the program,” said Juneau. “Each and every dollar of support will go directly to the hockey program to provide top-of-the-line Easton equipment and allow the re-allocation of budget dollars, previously dedicated to equipment, to other critical components, such as recruiting and upgrades to facilities.”

“Easton is at the pinnacle of hockey technology and performance and we are fortunate to be associated with a company of its stature,” said Rensselaer head coach Seth Appert. “To become a championship program once again, we need to provide our student-athletes the very best. This deal is a big step for us to reach our full potential.”

Hockey Is Taking a Hit

By Andy Prest

Hockey is a tough game. At least that's what all Canadians are told from the time they see their first on-ice fight. But recently something else is appearing on ice with disturbing frequency: stretchers.

The NHL season is less than 10 weeks old and already several players have been knocked unconscious by hits to the head. The latest of the four big blows came from the shoulder of Vancouver Canucks defenceman Willie Mitchell and had the Detroit Red Wings cryptically vowing revenge. The topic is sure to be revisited -- certainly by the media and perhaps by the players -- when the teams finally meet again in Vancouver on March 17.

The spate of knockouts from "legal" bodychecks forced the league's general managers to add the problem to the agenda of their regularly scheduled meeting in late November. The result: no changes were made to the existing rules to deter players from hitting each other in the head with "clean" bodychecks.

This decision was not a surprise. Hockey violence is hard to give up -- particularly in Canada. Why? According to a couple of sports researchers, it's because for many Canadians, cutting back on violence in hockey is akin to handing the game over to foreigners and renouncing our own Canadian citizenship.

Taking the 'Canada' out of hockey?

Michael Robidoux and Pierre Trudel make this argument in Artificial Ice, a recently released collection of essays on hockey, culture and commerce. Robidoux and Trudel describe hockey's birth on Canada's frozen lakes and ponds as a time when this bond between toughness, hockey and Canada was created.

"The very excessiveness of the game of hockey was what made it distinctive and subsequently embraced by Canadian sports enthusiasts," Robidoux and Trudel argue. "It has not merely been the game but the physically aggressive and reckless manner in which it was played that connoted an ideal of the Canadian sportsman."

If Canada is hockey and hockey is Canada, then any attacks on the game or attempts to change its rules become attacks on Canada itself. And Canada is a nation that prides itself on beating back attacks (see 1812, War of). Here's where the refusal to protect players' heads comes in. Robidoux and Trudel write about the reluctance to remove bodychecking from minor hockey, but the arguments are the same for big-hitting professionals: "Removing bodychecking would be to put the Canadian game at risk; similarly, de-emphasizing toughness, aggression and physical intimidation would be to take the Canada out of hockey."

Monopoly on grit

Think of international hockey stereotypes. What's a Russian team? Fast, skilled, maybe a bit dirty. What's a Swedish team? Talented, maybe a bit soft. What's a Finnish team? Hard-working, maybe a bit small. And what's a Canadian team? Talented, strong, tough. We win because we have heart, we want it more. At least, that's how the myth goes.

In fact, player selections for the Canadian men's team at the 2006 Winter Olympics reflected this search for "heart." Players like Shane Doan and Todd Bertuzzi who could give Team Canada unquantifiable advantages in toughness and "grit" were chosen over young, talented Canadians like Sidney Crosby and Eric Staal that could give the team quantifiable advantages in areas such as goals and assists. But our "heart" didn't conquer the world -- a fact that begs the question: do Canadian players really "want it" more than, say, Swedish players? Do we really have a monopoly on guts and toughness?

So far this season, Canadian players do have a monopoly in one thing: doling out concussive bodychecks to the head. Canadians obviously are not the only big hitters in the game, but Raffi Torres, Robyn Regehr, Colby Armstrong and Willie Mitchell -- the four players responsible for this season's biggest knockout hits -- are all Canadian. All of the hits resulted in concussions and none of the players were penalized except for the two-minute penalty Mitchell received for interference.

Head shots

The league's general managers aren't the only ones discussing the hits to the head. The topic comes up every day on Canadian sports shows, in sports sections and on radio call-in shows. Ron MacLean, the host of Hockey Night in Canada and Don Cherry's increasingly vocal sidekick on "Coach's Corner," recently blamed the violent hits on the NHL's crackdown on obstruction and interference -- a position that has earned MacLean a lot of heat from sports commentators across the country. Even Cherry himself has told MacLean to "give it a rest."

Not surprisingly, almost all "hockey people," -- a sort of club made up of current and former professional players, coaches and managers -- argue that hard bodychecks are part of the game and if players don't want a concussion, they should keep their heads up on the ice. More surprising is the number of commentators, including a very prominent "hockey guy," who argue that the NHL needs to curb violent collisions that result in head injuries. The most outspoken is Bob McKenzie, a hockey analyst who appears on The Sports Network (TSN) and writes for their website. McKenzie has argued his point on-air several times and he usually prefaces his arguments with statements like "I know hockey people will call me a sissy, but..."

The one "hockey guy" calling for change is Bobby Orr, the best defenceman to ever play the game. "If you go to bodycheck a guy and you hit him in the face or head, and injure him, that's legal? That's fair? That's not a penalty? I'm sorry, I don't think that is right. It should be a penalty," Orr told TSN. Orr, who was a star for the Boston Bruins in the 1970s, says players didn't hit each other like that when he was playing. (Cherry has since brought out footage that might indicate otherwise.)

When clean hits go dirty

While Orr is a very qualified commentator, it is dangerous to romanticize a golden age when players had more respect for each other. Hockey has always been a violent game and perceptions today are influenced by new variables such as the recognition of concussions as serious health problems. In years past, commentators would laugh when a player "got his bell rung" and the player would often be back on the ice a few minutes later. Also, the abundance of sports channels and radio shows means that the game is scrutinized now more than ever. New equipment also makes a difference. Today shoulder pads are made of hard plastic and can knock a player out before he hits the ice.

So what is the solution? Although the NHL's commissioner is an American, the game is predominantly run by Canadians and perhaps it is time to revisit the concepts that Canada equals hockey and Canada equals tough. Maybe it is time bring in a new stereotype.
Doesn't Canada also equal peacekeeping (recent events excepted)? Peacekeeping isn't being sissy, it's simply protecting people and trying to do what is right. If hockey players are being knocked cold at a rate of about one every two weeks, it doesn't make them less tough if rules are changed to protect them -- it would hopefully just makes them less woozy.

Hockey makes an impact with Southern children

By Paul Stackhouse

After taking a 4-0 win over the Memphis Blues on Saturday morning at the Point Mallard Ice Complex, the Huntsville Chargers PeeWee travel tournament team was as excited as you could imagine.

The Chargers team is made up of children ages 11 and 12 from Decatur and Madison County. The Chargers’ record gives a good example of how hard the players work and play. After Saturday, Huntsville improved to 16-5-2.

Besides playing in Decatur and Huntsville, the Chargers travel to games in Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville and Memphis. In February, they will play in a tournament in St. Louis.

Every year, it seems as if the North Alabama youth hockey programs are improving, which benefits the children who play in them. According to the Chargers’ players, there are many reasons to love playing hockey.

After the victory Saturday, members of the Huntsville Chargers travel team were asked to explain their love for the game. All agreed to participate in a survey and interview.

The players were asked to how long they have been ice skating. Almost all said they began when they were between 2 and 6 years old.

Other questions they were asked are:

1. Name three things you like about playing youth hockey.
2. What other sports do you participate in?
3. How does hockey differ from the other sports you play?

The following are their answers:

Nathan Losey, 12, Decatur:

1. You get to skate on ice. Hockey is a contact sport. I get to hang out with my friends when we practice and play.
2. Football.
3. You use a puck to score and it is a lot different and smaller than a football. You have to have great teamwork to control the puck.

Dylan Dalton, 12, Madison:
1. You get to check and make contact with other players on the ice. You have to learn to skate fast. It’s a lot of fun.
2. Football , baseball, soccer.
3. You have a lot more contact playing hockey.

Kevin Butler, 11, Huntsville:
1. You get to hit people on skates. I’m good friends with my teammates and I like hanging out together wherever we go.
2. Football, baseball.
3. You can’t win a game in hockey without great teamwork.

Bryant Sivley, 12, Decatur:
1. Being a part of a good team like this one I’m playing with now. Winning instead of losing all the time. It’s fun.
2. Baseball.
3. Wayne Gretsky doesn’t play other sports; he plays hockey.

Damon Wheeler, 11, Huntsville:
1. Hockey is a real physical sport. You have to work hard you get your timing down. It’s a team sport.
2. Baseball, soccer.
3. In soccer, you can’t use your hands. In hockey, we get to use a stick. You don’t have to wear cleats on the ice.

Adrian Majerle, 12, Huntsville:
1. You have a fast pace in hockey. It’s a contact sport. It’s a team sport where you get to meet new friends from other places than where you live.
2. Chess.
3. Everything. Just about everything in hockey is different than playing chess. In both, though, you have to think before you move.

Hunter Shaw Mason, 12, Huntsville:
1. Hockey is challenging. You have to use teamwork more than other sports. Contact.
2. Baseball.
3. You have to be balanced and skate fast all the time.

Eric Jones, 12, Harvest:
1. You go full speed all the time. Instead of a ball, you use a puck. It’s a lot more and harder to handle. Hitting other players.
2. Football, basketball, track.
3. In track, you don’t try to score like you do in hockey. You play hockey on ice.

Armin Gierow, 12, Madison:
1. Hockey is a contact sport. It’s more difficult to score. You have to try and get the puck in a small goal and past a big goalie.
2. Soccer.
3. There’s a lot more contact in hockey than in soccer.

Steven Stevens, 11, Madison:
1. In hockey, you have to assist the other players on your team. One player can’t do it all. You know you did a good job if you score because it’s difficult getting the puck into the net.
2. Soccer, baseball.
3. You just can’t put on skates and go out and play hockey. You have to go to clinics, practice and stuff to learn. You don’t have to stop at a base in hockey. You’re always going fast. In soccer, you can’t use your hands.

Parker Frith, 11, Decatur:
1. Stick handling. I like learning how to handle and score with a stick. I like skating on the ice. We get to go places and hang out with friends.
2. Baseball, soccer.
3. You can’t play baseball or soccer on ice.

Christopher Farmer, 11, Gurley:
1. Action. Speed. Equipment.
2. Baseball, soccer.
3. In hockey, you get to hit people and get away with it. Of course, when you hit someone, you have to do it legally.

Hayden Melkerson, 12, Huntsville:
1. Making passes on the ice. I like practicing hockey. It’s fun, especially if you are on a winning team.
2. Baseball, tennis.
3. Hockey is more intense than baseball or tennis.

Carter Rivers, 12, Madison:
1. You get to hit someone in hockey. Making fast passes on the ice. It’s a lot of fun.
2. None.
3. My uncle (Jimmy Carter) taking me to games in Atlanta. After watching the games, I started going to hockey clinics.

Chad Robinson, 11, Huntsville:
1. You get to hit in hockey. Going to Channel Cats games with my dad. Passing on the ice and scoring.
2. Baseball.
3. In hockey, you’re always going fast — wide open.

Austin Brown, 12, Huntsville:
1. I like the speed of playing hockey. Getting to hit other players. You get to skate and play on ice.
2. Soccer, basketball.
3. Hockey is more of a contact sport than baseball or soccer. Also, I think it is more challenging.

Chargers coach Daniel Frith said a lot of people don’t understand hockey.

“People who don’t know much about hockey think this is a violent game — it’s not,” Frith said.

“Yes, hitting is part of the game, but the players are taught how to hit correctly.

“It’s obvious the players like hockey because it is physical and fast but it is much more than that — you have to train hard and learn the right way to play the game.”

The Silver Sticks tournament returns to Decatur and Huntsville on Friday through Sunday.

Players in the Mites (7-8), Squirts (9-10) and Pee Wee (11-12) divisions will be playing.

It is estimated that more than 30 teams will participate in the event. Games at the Point Mallard Ice Complex are scheduled for Friday morning and all day Saturday.

The finals are to be in Huntsville on Sunday.

New product gets the stink out of hockey equipment

Alex Cruickshank

The dangers of hockey are not confined to the action on the ice.

The stink that greets a player as they open their hockey bag prior to a game can be as damaging as the hardest bodycheck.

But for all those who’ve needed to affix a clothes-peg to their noses simply to put their equipment on, there is a solution.

Canadian Tire now has a quick and easy means of ridding hockey equipment—or any article of clothing—of unpleasant odours: the Sani Sport system.

Angus McDonald, co-owner of Canadian Tire here, is the man responsible for bringing the Sani Sport system to town. He explained bacteria in the equipment is at the root of the odour problem.

“A lot of people don’t understand that the smell is growing bacteria,” he said.

“It’s dead skin. It’s sweat. It’s moisture from the body,” he noted. “When you think about it, it’s actually quite gross.”

Besides smelling bad, bacteria in equipment is becoming a growing health concern in the sporting community.

During last season’s NHL playoffs, Buffalo Sabres’ stalwart defenceman Jay McKee was lost to the team prior to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes due to a badly-infected shin.

McKee suffered a cut on his leg while blocking a shot and it quickly developed into a staph infection that required hospitalization and treatment with antibiotics.

While the source of the infection was never determined conclusively, one theory that emerged was that the bacteria living in McKee’s equipment was to blame.

The Sani Sport system helps to eliminate the majority of unwanted bacteria in hockey equipment. “It’s not a cleaner,” McDonald stressed. “If it [the equipment] goes in dirty, it comes out dirty. It just kills up to 97 percent of the bacteria.”

The process involves placing the equipment in a sealed compartment, where it is inundated with ozone gas. It then is “fogged” with an all-natural deodorizer and bacterial shield that helps keep new bacteria from forming.

The equipment then is sprayed one final time with a pleasant smelling anti-bacterial spray (it smells like Cherry Cola) as it is put back in the owner’s bag.

The entire process takes 16 minutes from start to finish.

In today’s health-conscious society, some people may have concerns about using ozone to kill bacteria. However, McDonald said the process is 100 percent safe.

“There are absolutely no health risks to this problem at all,” he stressed. “The ozone that’s in there is in a very, very concentrated state and then it goes through a process of the fogging that eliminates the ozone.”

While there are no set guidelines concerning how many times a season a player should have their equipment sanitized, McDonald recommends having it done twice a year.

“It varies by people because some people sweat a whole lot more than others,” he noted. “For sure do it at the end of the season before you pack everything up and for sure sometime in between that, as well.”

The Sani Sport system currently is being provided for an introductory price of $19.99 per set of equipment.