creasecollector

The V9's look sweet!

I have the CCM AB Pro and it’s a great into. I also bought it years later after the release and it was sitting unused as well. The unit is a tank and hase been holding up well the year and a half I’ve been wearing it!

Nice glove. I've always wanted one of those. I had the chance to pull the trigger on one of those exact same CCM Premier Enroth pro return gloves last year, but it was just too expensive to justify it. Maybe this is where it ended up? I've always wanted to try a 580 break and Enroth's Maple Leaf glove would match my Premier setup perfectly...

Digging the Stars jersey!

Hey guys, First off, I know that many goalies do not put much stock in to their GAA as many now regard it as more of a team statistic rather than the individual goalie (which I do agree with), but I was just wondering if any goalies on here monitor their own Goals Against Average in comparison to other goalies in your league? The reason I ask this is because the stats were recently updated on my league's website, and before a recent game I admittedly found myself comparing myself to other goalies in the league in where I "stood" in regards to the GAA stats. I also caught myself thinking before the game that If I keep my Goals Aginst below this number and so-and-so lets in x number of goals tonight, then I could surpass a goalie or two on this list. Normally I don't care about that stuff, as I know it doesn't define me as a goaltender, but (and I hate to admit it publicly) it did creep into my mind before a game a few nights ago once the league stats were recently updated. I should also note that this is a very competitive & invite-only rec league and It's my first full season in this league. I was lucky enough to be an emergency/injury sub late last season for roughly a dozen games or so and based on my level of play "made the cut" for this season to replace another goalie in their league. I guess this could have a lot to do with these numbers getting in my head more than usual, as this season I feel like I have to "prove something" or that I belong in this league at this level of play. Yes, it's silly, I know. Now, I should note that I've been playing goal for about 10 years now. So in no way do I let any stat usually dictate how I feel about my own game or how I stack up to other goalies in the league. I'd like to think that with my playing experience I can be honest with myself to know where I stand when comparing myself to others (whether better or worse) and can keep a good frame of mind when looking into this stuff so it doesn't creep into my on-ice perfermance. The biggest stat that I care about it games won, but I do feel the whole GAA stuff creep into my mind from time-to-time. So my question(s) is this: Have you ever found yourself (whether you're checking the league stats page very frequently or infrequently) comparing your GAA in relation to other goalies in your league to see where you "stack up"? How did you re-focus and not let those pointless numbers creep into your game? Have you ever felt any added pressure to keep that number as low as possible, even if you know at the end of the day it doesn't matter? Just wondering where my other goalie friends are at when it comes to the statistical side of their game. My league's stats is very basic, so GAA is all I've got to go on. I wish it had other stats of course, but sadly that is not the case. I find because this position is so unique compared to other positions on the ice, I feel like us goalies can be very in our own heads at all times when it comes to our own game on the ice, which can be both a really good thing, but I feel like a lot of things can also have a negative impact on the mental side of our game as well if we don't keep this stuff in check. Cheers!

That's a good point. Not really sure about that one.

Those are beautiful. Congrats on snagging this set!

They shouldn't, but what player in their right mind would actually try this on a regular basis to carry the puck up the ice? Their teammates and coach would no doubt give them a talking to about this. It would look silly and be a very inefficient way to move the puck in a game. I don't think a rule needs to be implemented over something that technically "could" happen when it would be very, very unlikely to actually happen (consistantly) in a real game, especially at the professional level on an ongoing, consistant basis.

I don't think it should be banned. If the player has the skill to pull it off, then it's fair game as far as I'm concerned. Great goal. A goal like this doesn't happen everyday, so I don't think it's worth making a big deal out of it right now. If it starts happening a lot more often, then maybe, but not right now.

Well if you have a old chest protector laying around, I use that one for spare parts like I did. Honestly, any type of thin foam would work if you can find a way to fix it behind your current shoulder floaters to help deaden the impact of a puck in that area you're feeling it most. I've seen people use a cheap yoga mat, cut it up, and use that foam to insert on their C/A to help beef it up and it can work very well. I haven't tried it myself personally because I used my old Junior RBK P1 unit for parts, but it's defintely a good idea that can be done for cheap. You can also buy adhesive sticky velcro to help velcro the new pieces in place, or you can sew them to the shoulder floater elastics like I did.

Not sure, it's just the way I've always been doing it. For those wondering, I sharpen my skates at 5/8. Anything above that I feel grips too much and is too sharp for me. Granted, this sharpening schedule was on my old Bauer Supreme 1000 skates that I've been using for the past 10+ years. I just upgraded to a True 2PC skate w/Step Steel, so who knows if I can keep my minimal sharpening schedule going; I have only sharpened them once (still at 5/8, wasn't sure if a new hollow was needed for these skates but it's good so far) when I first received the skates and baked them. I think I will be able to since I'm 5 skates into my sharpening and the blades still feel great. Not sure if this makes any difference, but I'm a tiny 26 y/o goalie (5ft5 - 120lbs) so I feel like my skate blades don't take as much of a beating as say a bigger goalie might when transfering weight or slamming into the posts, etc. When I feel my blades start to go, I just treat it with a skate stone and a magic stick once a week to keep the edge. It's not perfect, but it works for me. I sharpen them once before my winter and summer seasons (sharpenings 1-2 on the year). I might do another sharpening during each season (sharpenings 3 and 4 on the year), but I'm usually good with one. Yeah I know it's weird, but I'm still able to grab my edge and play the way I like which is a very modern, technically sound (I hope) positional game.

For me, I've found cranking the bottom and top laces (note: I do skip the final eyelet up top) do the trick for me. The laces in between I just make them taught enough to touch the tongue and that's about it. I found cranking every lace down (which is what I was used to doing previously) was just not going to happen with my new-to-me True 2-PC skates. I found it created too much pressure on my feet. Not pain, but enough force for me to notice it. i figure this is due to to super hard boot. So far I've noticed this method is the most comfortable for me. I can have that 'loose' feeling with my feet and still have the needed ankle flexion, while still being able to reap the benefits of this hard boot in order to make my skates respond very nicely to what I want them to do.

Sorry to hear about the logo placement, but I'm glad Bauer is making things right. Great set by the way! Looks amazing. Those gloves look beefy. Love it!

Aside from my Step Steel blades, I also own the original blades that came with my skates. So i guess I'll just use those if/when I have no more Step Steel blade left. Though I barely sharpen my skates (I only sharpen then about 4 times a year, max), so I don't think I'll ever run out of steel.

How long have you been wearing this unit? Senior models can be not so great over time. You next C/A I'd recommend any Pro level unit for maximum protection. In the meantime, I'd suggest modifying your current C/A to help with those shoulder bruises until you can afford to upgrade to a new chest protector. Can you insert some foams under/over the shoulder area to help reduce the impact a little? I didn't NEED to Mod my C/A (the protection is amazing), I just did it for fun, but I used my old smaller RBK Premier 1 shoulder floaters and placed them under my current CCM AB Pro C/A and it works like a charm.