Hockey Clips

The wait between hockey seasons can be rough on the most patient fans, and sheer torture for the rest of us. There’s not much that can recreate the thrill of the ice in the off-season, and many fans and players are left in the cold during the summer months. Street hockey provides one way to keep the game going all through the year.Even professional hockey teams support the sport, as in the case of the Everett Silvertips-sponsored Street Hockey Tournament, which took place in Everett, Washington starting on July 17. Despite its basic appearance, though, the game isn’t all that similar. For example, running in tennis shoes is much different than gliding on skate. An orange plastic ball moves much differently than a puck. And outlawing pushing, checking, and shoving (while advisable on asphalt) still limits the professional hockey player’s moves. There are also fewer players and smaller rinks. However, many fans enjoy it for its own merits. Pat Pawlak, who participated in the Silvertips Tournament, said that street hockey is more physically exhausting than on the ice.It’s also easier for kids to pick up, since there’s unlikely to be a frozen pond anywhere nearby in most places during the summer. In Woodland Park, New Jersey, the local Boys & Girls Club even sponsors an annual street hockey season for local kids, and created a temporary rink this summer when construction got in the way. Not only does street hockey provide entertainment during the slow summer months, but it helps keep kids out of trouble, and provides a way for them to come together with their families. If that’s not a ringing endorsement of the sport, I don’t know what is.