At 10:07 PM 1/25/98 EST, DGMacJr wrote:
>Read your rule book! There are no game disqualifications or sanctions for an
>equipment violation.
 
No one was suggesting that there were. I think the question posed was
whether attempting to conceal an illegal stick or to switch sticks with
someone on the bench after a stick check had been requested falls under the
definition of "unsportsmanlike conduct".
 
For my .02, it probably should. A game DQ is probably too severe, but a 10
min. misconduct penalty doesn't seem out of line.
 
>There are plenty of questionable  sticks being used in major college
>hockey and also a lot of questionable goaltender equipment.
 
... combined with....
 
>The oversized curve is an overrated advantage to a player's shot  giving
him a
>little  more lift on the forehand shot at the expense of accuracy on the
>backhand and puck control.
 
... which only makes me wonder... why do so many players take the risk for
such an overrated advantage? It seems counter-intuitive. Either there
really aren't that many, or the advantage isn't really under-rated. The
fact that stick checks are so rare indicates to me that either the practice
is so rare that no one wants to risk taking the penalty for checking a
legal stick, or that the practice is so ubiquitous that no one wants to
risk having their own players' sticks checked.
 
The incident also seems to suggest an ulterior motive for players having
more than one stick.. perhaps a "legal" one, and the one you play with
until you break it...
 
How about instituing a process whereby all sticks broken during play that
are still measurable are measured? I'm not sure I'd wanted penalties
assigned as a result because of the expected arguments about sticks bending
during play or while breaking, but at least it might give some indication
about how common a practice this is.
 
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