James Clippinger wrote:
 
>Having sat behind the stick-supply area of the Colgate bench for the
>past few years, I have never noticed any switches at any time
>except when a stick was broken or lost on the ice.  They might have
>happened, but I think the chances of an illegal stick being discovered
>are so slim that it would not be worth the effort.
>
>It was an odd penalty--according to the Colgate equipment people
>(great source, I know :) ), all of the varsity team's sticks
>are NHL-spec, although they are not usually measured before games.
>I would not be surprised if they did start measuring, especially
>since I think future opponents might demand stick inspections
>after hearing of Cornell's success.
 
I've played a bit of hockey in the past, now I officiate.  Most people at
a level of competition as high as NCAA Division I:
 
1) order their sticks custom made for them by one of the stick
manufacturers
2) make some sort of alteration to each stick they receive, (some) in
order to "push the envelope"
3) don't check to ensure that each stick they receive from the
manufacturer is legal
4) could be penalized for an illegal stick because a surprising number of
sticks are illegal
 
Teams often use stick measurements as an offensive tactic, particularly
in close games at the end of the season.  Some teams have their players
look for obviously illegal sticks in the hands of opponents in case they
need a power play at the end of the game.  A team will not call for a
stick measurement unless they are virtually certain that the selected
opponent's stick is illegal.
 
Most rule books permit an official to measure equipment (like sticks and
goaltender pads/gloves) before allowing its first use in the game.  But,
this is rarely done.
 
No team, that I have been associated with, has ever measured every stick
that is ready for play.  This is because:
 
1) most players and staff do not know all of the measurements which must
be checked
2) many teams don't even have a stick gauge, which referees use to make
most stick rulings
3) there is too much turnover of stick inventory (due to breakage) at
high levels
 
I sort of missed the beginning of this thread, so I hope that I didn't
repeat these points.
 
 
 
 
 
Dave Aiello
Chatham Township Data Corporation
31 Birchwood Road
Denville, NJ 07834-1224 USA
 
(201) 586-0700
(201) 586-1837 FAX
 
http://www.ctdata.com/ctdata/
 
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