Bauer 4 Roll Hockey Gloves

The following is a guest equipment review written by Mark Russo.

The saying “What once was old is new again” certainly applies to the hockey glove category these days. While styles of gloves in recent years have moved to more ergonomic and streamlined looks, there has also been a movement among hockey purists to return to the basic, old-school designs that many of us grew up using, while still providing some of the enhanced safety built into the newer styles.

Bauer (formerly Nike-Bauer Hockey) first introduced their version of the classic 4 roll glove in 2008, and their newest version in 2009 is exactly what the hockey purist and safety conscious player will love.

Overall Feel

One of the first things you will notice about the Bauer 4 Roll is the room to move within the glove, while still providing consistent fit. While many of the ergonomic gloves are made to fit the hand and its shape while holding a stick, they fall short on overall comfort and have a tight feel that makes stick handling and natural hand movement difficult at times. The Bauer 4 Roll gives the freedom to allow the hand to move without feeling restrictive, yet not so much room that the glove feels loose.

Flexibility and Palm Durability

In addition, the flexibility of the glove is outstanding – the Bauer 4 Roll allows you to open your hand up wide without having to force the glove open, making it feel like a part of your hand when you have to grab a stick on the ice – or a part of your opponent’s jersey. The palms are a nash-clarino material that is extremely comfortable and provides excellent feel. However, players that tape the shafts of their sticks for grip will find that the palms will pick up a good deal of wear on the top hand, so be prepared for the black marks (if using black tape) and more wear overall in comparison to other types of palm material like goatskin (used by CCM).

Padding and Protection

The padding in the Bauer 4 Roll is professional grade, with solid thumb and wrist protection in addition to reinforced finger padding. Each roll has an insert just under the fabric that provides protection without sacrificing flexibility in the glove. Having taken a couple of slashes and pucks off of the hands, I can tell you that these gloves pass the impact test with flying colors while still remaining very lightweight.

Depending on their level of play, the player should weigh the cost-benefit of the Bauer 4 Roll against what type of protection they are looking for in a glove. But having worn the CCM Pro Tacks gloves as well as the RBK 9K gloves, the Bauer 4 Roll is as good as anything on the market. Retailing for $94.99 in most places on-line, the Bauer 4 Roll is not cheap, but succeeds in providing NHL-level protection, outstanding mobility, excellent stick feel, and classic, old-school looks.

Where to Buy the Bauer 4 Roll Gloves Online

Total Hockey.net provides a great price at $94.99 , along with Hockey Monkey.

Mike Richards Hits David Booth

Last night Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers leveled an unsuspecting David Booth with a shoulder to the head and knocked Booth out.

In my opinion the hit was not a charge and certainly was not elbowing. Richards squared up and led with his shoulder and followed through on a hit to Booth, who had just made a drop pass. Booth wasn’t looking and Richards made him pay. This is a prime example of the need to keep your head up and not admire your pass.

Yes, Richards hit Booth in the head with his shoulder. Now, was it intentional? I would say no. However, intentional or not, the NHL must get serious about cracking down on hits to the head for the safety of the players.

Here is the video of Mike Richards’ hit on David Booth

Update: Bill Daly has just informed the media that there will be no suspension for Mike Richards in relation to this incident.

Players have been getting hit in the head for years in the National Hockey League. This is nothing new.  However, what is new is the force at which players are being impacted. Players are bigger and faster than they were ten years ago and the laws of physics still apply.  The larger the mass is and the higher velocity at which it travels increases the force of the impact.

The 10 Strangest Goals Ever Scored in the NHL

It’s amazing what video footage has been collected over the year with respect to the National Hockey League and the number of strange goals that have been scored.

What is most amazing in this video is just how often, in recent years, that goals have resulted from the puck hitting a player in the face.  I honestly can’t believe how happy some of these guys are after they take a puck to the mug!

Enjoy this of the Top 10 Strangest Goals

Video courtesy of TSN.

Cascade M11 Helmet Review

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with Mark Messier about his new project, the development of promotion of the new M11 Helmet.

Since that time I have had been able to use the new helmet a few times and am prepared to share my thoughts on the helmet.

Style and Comfort

The style of the helmet is much improved from the previous Cascade CHX helmet and this is one of the things that Messier stressed during his involvement in the project.

“It is important that the helmet provide good style in addition to comfort, venting and the SEVEN technology that increases safety and comfort unlike any other helmet on the market.”

The Cascade Seven technology uses “lateral displacement technology” to
provide the protection of two helmets in one. The theory is that the
M11 helmet protects equally as well against concussions as it does
against catastrophic hits.  I must say that the helmet is very comfortable and just the comfort alone versus that of the traditional EPP foam makes it worth checking out.

Fortunately, I didn’t get to test the helmet against a serious impact that could cause a concussion, but it did deflect a couple of sticks and pucks over the course of several games without incident.

There still exists some debate among ‘experts’ as to the actual effectiveness of any helmet’s ability to prevent or reduce the incidence of concussion.

Overall Impression

However, all in all the M11 performed well with respect to adequate airflow/venting over the course of my testing. Although the Easton Stealth S17 provided better venting, I found the M11 more comfortable overall and easier to adjust with respect to the sizing of the helmet. The ProFit fit sizing system allows a ‘no-tool’ adjustment that really does eliminate pressure points found with other helmets.

Some retail stores have yet to stock the M11 helmet and a few have expressed that they still don’t think it passes the ‘mirror test’.

In my opinion the helmet provides great comfort and has addressed the venting issues as well as the ‘bulkiness’ issues of the previous generation – Cascade CHX. The M11 has also met all of the standards for HECC and CSA certifications and is now compatible with the major manufacturers of cages and shields.

The style is a matter of personal choice, but I’d say that with 15 different colors available and the option of choosing different colored vents, it deserves to be on your list when you make your next helmet purchase.

The Cascade M11 Helmet is currently available at Total Hockey.net for around $120.00.

You can also learn more about the features at the Messier Project website.

Should fans boo their team?

If Montrealers like doing one thing, it’s cheering on their bleu-blanc-rouge with religious ferver. If there’s one thing that Montrealers like doing more than cheering the Habs, it’s booing them. Or at least it seems.

This morning I was having a conversation with fellow Habs fans Amanda, Ashley and Cathie regarding the “fans” in Montreal and their penchant for quickly souring on their team, and singling out individual players.

For years now, Habs fans have been impatiently waiting for their local heroes to bring the Cup back to Montreal, or at the very least, take a serious run at it. Despite a great regular season in 2007-08, playoff results were underwhelming at best. Since then, and with each passing season, patience wears thinner and thinner in this town. It was easy to expect that Bob Gainey’s facelifted team would struggle out of the gate, with 50% of the roster being new, and with most of the coaching staff being new as well. Then mix in the devastating injury to Andrei Markov, the team’s best player, and to Ryan O’Byrne who was showing signs of reversing his poor play from 2008-09 and you have an even better recipe for a team fit to struggle.

Traditionally labeled as intelligent, sophisticated hockey fans, the people in attendance at Habs games in recent memory do nothing to back up that claim. Habs fans boo their team at the slightest inclination, and usually tend to focus their efforts on one particular player. Famously, Patrice Brisebois was that player for years. Carey Price has been hearing it for a couple years on and off, and now it appears that pre-season predictions will come true that Hal Gill will bear the brunt of Habs fans dissatisfaction.

The question I am bringing to the table today is whether or not the high price of admission gives the unhappy fan the right to boo their team when they don’t perform to “expectations”? Personally I think the answer is “yes”, as it’s next to impossible to reprimand a booing fan. However, in my strong opinion, I think booing your home team, or singling out a particular player on your team makes you an extremely poor fan, rights be damned. Booing your team or any of its players makes you a petulant crybaby. Turning on your team is not an effective way of showing dissatisfaction, nor is it a way to motivate the player(s) to pick up their play. I think it’s a sad state of affairs when players expect that they will be booed by their home town fans. Part of home-ice advantage is having the crowd behind you at all times. I do understand the occasional smattering of boos if the team is mired in a disastrous slump. However, I would expect any base of “intelligent, sophisticated hockey fans” to help be the 6th skater on the ice for the team and generate some good vibes.

Booing your team gives the visiting team an edge, it shows a lack of class and it shows the rest of the players in the league that the home town fans are about as supportive as underwear made from wet toilet paper. What is the attraction with booing your team? Do these people honestly believe that their negativity will bring about change, whether through improved performances, or personnel moves?

I’d like to hear what you have to say on the topic, not just about the Canadiens’ fans of course but about boo birds in general.

Alex Semin Burns Coburn, Emery For Highlight Reel Goal

On Tuesday night Alexander Semin absolutely scorched Philadelphia defenceman Braydon Coburn and beat Ray Emery through the five hole on what may be the best highlight reel goal of the season thus far.

Semin brought the puck in over the Philadelphia blueline, pulled the puck through Coburn’s legs while beating him to the outside.  Semin then grabbed the puck on his backhand, brought it quickly to his forehand and snapped it between the legs of Ray Emery.

Video of the Semin Goal below…Enjoy.

Update:

As noted in the comments, Mike Richards scored a hat trick with all three goals coming in the second period.  This is apparently the first time any Philadelphia Flyer has ever scored three goals in a home opener.

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