Hockey Terminology and Sport Safety

As a mom who plays hockey, regular hockey moms frequently turn and ask me why the whistle blew. These moms clearly don’t know the level of hockey I play.  I’m clueless – just ask my coach.

As far as experience with whistles and penalties, I’ve been in the box twice; once for too many players (apparently I can’t count when exhausted), and once when someone tripped on my stick (Honest!)  Just as you might expect from this hockey playing mom from Minnesota, I apologized when the other player tripped on my stick and sent myself to the box.

All this said, I was thinking it might be nice to create a Hockey 101 page for my non-hockey playing friends.  I did a Google search on hockey terminology to get ideas and one of my first hits was the Buffalo Sabre “Fanzone” page.

The title read:

Hockey 101:  Common Hockey Terms, How to Figure (Stats), Medical Glossary and Official Rules

Yes, nestled between “Stats and Rules,” the Sabres felt a need to list “Medical Terminology.”  I don’t know why this would strike me as hilarious.  I suppose it should make me rethink my old lady hockey career, or at least rethink my friend Jennifer’s convincing pleas to join her in tennis.

Hockey Terminology from the Buffalo Sabre Fanzone

I thought the Medical Glossary might be a brief little snippit explaining sprains and strains, or possibly a joke.  But NO! I scrolled down and below definitions for “Shot on Goal” and “Shutout” was medical terminology for shoulder separations and abnormal reactions following trauma and surgery.

Actual “Medical Terms” from the Buffalo Sabre Fanzone

With the medical glossary weighing heavily on my mind, I reflected on my hockey career.  I can’t deny that several friends have had issues with broken body parts and concussions. Now that my blood pressure has been labeled concerning and my neck arthritic, I thought it might be time to rethink good choices for an active lifestyle.

My Knee Injury from walking the dog.

In the interest of health safety, I took a day off of hockey.  I wanted to do something to claim daily activity, so I walked the dog.  Ironically, much like I do at the rink, I slipped on the ice and cracked my knee. I pathetically limped home and for some reason decided to share the news of my lame dog walking injury with my husband. He informed me that the issue is not about hockey being a good choice, the real issue is that I should wear full gear every time I leave the house.

Suffice it to say, I’ll be back at the rink tomorrow.

I can’t wait!

5 Reasons Why Hockey is Better than Tennis

After two years of blogging, you’d think my dear friend Jennifer would know better than to post snarky things like “10 Things Tennis Players Have to Explain to Non-Tennis Players” on my Facebook page.  I love you Jennifer, and I don’t really need to explain anything.  But if you’re curious, here are 5 solid reasons why hockey is still WAY better than tennis. ( I look forward to you joining me soon):

When Hockey Moms “Foil Up”

I’ve been a “Hockey Mom” for almost a decade, and a “Hockey Playing Mom” for nine years.  You’d think I’d have the terminology down.  Yet every time I hit the ice I stumble across some new insight into the often cult-like world of hockey.

Prior to a recent game, Coach Curti sent an email.  We were down several players and knew it would be tough.  In an effort to fire us up, Coach wrote “Bring the foil.”

At this point I would like to remind you that I am a middle aged mother of three.  “Bring the foil?!”  Aluminum foil is incredibly versatile. Many uses popped into my mind. If your turkey is roasting too fast, you could cover it with foil. I saw a metaphor there, but suspected Coach Curti was not calling us turkeys this time.

In the movie Signs, the brother Merrill wears a tinfoil hat to keep the aliens from hearing his thoughts.  The concept of the foil hat also dates back to 1927, where metal caps were worn to block telepathy in a short story called, “The Tissue-Culture King.”

Hockey is filled with superstitions.  Wearing a tinfoil hat to keep the opposition out of your brain made absolute sense to me.  So I grabbed my Reynolds Wrap and prepared for the game.

For future reference, the Hanson Brothers are not just a boy band from the 90’s, and “foiling up” refers to covering knuckles with foil as a way to prepare for a bloody fight in Slap Shot.

Foiling up with the Hanson Brothers

Imagine my confusion when I looked around the bench.

Apparently I need to get out more.