Roller Hockey Stop

Doing a hockey stop is a key fundamental to skating. You go from a fast speed to a dead stop very quickly. This is fairly easy to do thanks to the sliding nature of ice, but when on roller it can be a little tricky. It's really only tricky because everyone is used to the motions of the hockey stop on ice. Roller requires a slight variation.

Inline skates have a higher amount of friction compared to ice no matter which surface you're playing on. This means when you attempt to do a hockey stop similar to how you would in ice, then you're really just going to fall flat on your face since the wheels will grip the surface quicker.

When I perform a hockey stop in roller I'm actually doing a wide semi-circle turn, then pivoting my hips similar to how I would on ice. After I turn I dig my wheels hard in the mid-heel section to come to a full stop. If the surface is wood with really good grip, then I come to a screeching halt. If the surface is something with less grip though, such as asphalt, then I slide a bit.

If you're having difficult picturing this, think of a regular ice hockey stop as a straight line where you pivot your hips to keep in that straight line, and scape the ice to stop. But in roller hockey you start off in a straight line, make a quick semi-circle, then dig in your mid-heel and return to the straight line direction to stop.

Here's a video of myself doing this at the rink. Notice I'm doing a semi-circle turn before I go into the stop.

George Harvey Park

Situated next to the Whitestone Expressway in the northern most part of Queens is the best pick-up roller hockey game in all of the New York metro area. George Harvey park is a medium sized public park with several basketball courts, a playground, two baseball fields, and impressively a full sized hockey rink INCLUDING two goals. People come as far as Long Island and New Jersey to play here on the weekend.

I'm not sure of the exact date, but the rink was built around 2000. The pavement is still smooth and it was previously used for a youth hockey league up until several years ago. These days it's all pick-up hockey though. There's a scoreboard for leagues, viewing stands, and also lights which are occassionally on depending whether or not anyone submits work for a permit that season. The fact that it has two goals is the real kicker for putting this at the top of public rinks.

The most common times to find a pick-up game is on the weekends at around 10 or 11am. It usually runs until about 1:30 to 2pm depending on how many people show up. Regularly there are about 20 people on the weekends, and upwards of 30 if the weather is perfect. I've even gone there in the winter when it was 5 degrees outside (dangerously cold), and in the spring when it was in the high-80's (dangerously exhausting), and there were enough for 5-on-5 games with a guy on the bench. Goalies vary, but expect at least 1 on the weekend. If not, then you'll be shooting on elevated garbage cans, which is actually difficult to score on unless you have precise shooters.

During the week there are some games at night, assuming the lights are on. Otherwise you can regularly find guys going down there to skate by themselves and shoot the puck around. Every so often I head over there with some cones and practice drills. I suggest searching facebook for the George Harvey Park Hockey group to see if anyone plans on heading there for a game.

Important to any rink is the atmosphere and people it brings. Since Harvey is a public park, it runs the gamut of talent and personality. You'll see the usual group of park regulars, as well as new guys who show up. Everyone is welcome, but expect to hear the usual things you do in a hockey rink.

Since this is a public rink, you're not required to wear any pads. Most guys don't wear helmets, some guys don't even wear leg pads, but everyone has gloves. Due to the lack of padding, I have seen people lose a tooth or get cut. Because of this most of the play is finesse, meaning don't attempt to block any shots with your body or bodycheck anyone. That doesn't mean people aren't playing hard though. Quite the contrary, the teams are there to win and the score is important. Expect to be yelled at to end your shift if you mess up.

As great as the place is, all is not right with Harvey though. Near the end of this summer a mysterious hole showed up overnight in the penalty box boards. It's large enough where someone could fall in, and you need to be extra careful by it. Probably due to the large hole, the parks department came by and also removed the duct tape on 2 other sections which have some of the wood paneling stripped. Couple this with the usual dirt and leaves, which are copious in the corners, and the rink overall can be quite dangerous.

I actually was checked into the corner where the wood is stripped about a month ago, and when I came home I found I had a big laceration in my side. The important part is my Iginla jersey didn't get ripped in the process. You do need to be very careful though with the lack of padding and dangerous boards nearby. Even in a game where you're not hitting each other, accidental contact does happen. Sometimes I find myself playing tentatively because of this, but don't worry, eventually someone will yell at you for playing like crap and you'll snap out of those worries real quick!

The parks department is scheduled to fix the rink, but so far no one has heard a timeline. I wouldn't expect anything done until next year at the earliest. Until then, I suggest you wear ample padding, or just do what Ray did, and turn into a goalie. Just kidding, don't do that unless you like spending money like you're addicted to white powder.