It’s been two weeks since the MSHSL stiffened the penalties for three infractions in the wake of the injury to Jack Jablonski. Coaches, officials and administrators weigh in on how the rule changes have affected the game of high school hockey in Minnesota.

By Jack Blatherwick
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist

It was Groundhog Day, and the sun was so bright, there was no doubt about the shadow. In fact, to keep the sun from ruining the outside ice, we had to skip part of first hour math class to shovel snow onto the rink. That’s not a misprint. I meant, “onto the rink,” not off.

You had to be there to understand the logic. As usual, we had shoveled and flooded after practice the night before, but the game next day was special, so we flooded five really thin coats to make the ice like glass. There was a special art to making perfect ice with a big fire hose, one of those hockey skills that was replaced when Frank Zamboni put his first resurfacers on top of a jeep.

By John Russo
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist

Each year (for 25 years), I have had a guest writer for the “Coaches Corner” – to provide a new and fresh view from an outstanding young coach.

A Wayzata native, Judd Stevens starred at Wayzata High School where he earned All-Conference, All-Metro and All-State honors and was a 2001 Mr. Hockey finalist in his senior year. He went on to be a part of two national championships for the University of Minnesota, and was captain in 2004-05. He was Academic All-Big Ten and Academic All-WCHA in 2003-05, then went on to play pro hockey in Sweden.

By Diane Ness

One of the most underrated skating skills used is a basic inside edge shuffle. If you watch a college or pro game you will notice a lot of times skaters are mostly gliding or trying to maintain their speed.

This is when the inside edge shuffle is useful. It is a skill that is not really understood or practiced regularly and yet it is used constantly throughout every shift on the ice.

The question has come up regarding the use of Olympic size ice vs. NHL regulation that is standard in most rinks. For those who are unfamiliar with the size of each, the Olympic sheet is approximately 200 x 100 (2,700 sq. ft. larger), whereas the standard ice surface is 200 x 85. Those 15 feet might not seem like much but it can have quite an impact on the game itself.

By Dr. Rob LaPrade
http://drrobertlaprademd.com

Question: I am a Peewee and my knees ache a lot after skating. I have been told that I have Osgood-Schlatter’s syndrome. What is this and what can I do for it?