Physical and Performance Differences Among Forwards, Defensemen, and Goalies in Elite Women's Ice Hockey

Abstract

Positional differences have been examined in women's basketball, field hockey, netball, and volleyball, but not in elite women's ice hockey. Our purpose was to describe and compare physical, fitness, and skating performance characteristics of forwards (F), defensemen (D), and goalies (G). Subjects were 112 University of Alberta women players (21.4 +/- 2.9 years of age). A full anthropometric battery was conducted on each player. Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotypes were calculated. Percent body fat (%fat) was estimated from both general and population-specific equations. Subjects performed off-ice fitness tests (vertical jump, 40-yd dash, Leger test for predicting .V(O2)max) and on-ice fitness (Modified 3-Repeat Sprint Skate Test-MRSS, blood lactate after sprint test) and skating performance tests (6.10-m acceleration test, Cornering S-Turn Agility Test). Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses of variance were run using SPSS (Version 10.0) for the MacIntosh, with a significance level set a priori at p < 0.05. Significant positional differences were found for bicristal breadths (D > G, F > G); relaxed arm circumference (D > F, G > F); supraspinale and biceps skinfolds (G > D, G > F); and endomorphy (G > F). Significant differences among positions were also found for the MRSS (G > D > F) and agility tests (G > D, G > F). D tended to have the most robust build overall. F were leaner than D and G, and their smaller relaxed arm circumference measurements most likely reflect less subcutaneous fat on the upper arm. F had greater anaerobic power than D, followed by G, and they tended to have greater aerobic capacity. F and D were more agile than G. Performance demands appear to be position specific. F need to be the most versatile and fit because of a greater amount and variety of work performed both during practices and games; their required degrees of versatility and fitness are followed by those required of D and G.

Physiological Correlates of Skating Performance in Women's and Men's Ice Hockey

“…Off-ice physiological fitness in men's ice hockey players has been studied before (1,3,(6)(7)(8)(9)(10) and the physiological profile has changed over the years as the players of today are taller and more physically fit, but with an unchanged body composition (1,7). Recent research has studied the physiological profiles of women's ice hockey players as well (11)(12)(13) On-ice tests for ice hockey players may measure physiologic fitness as well as skill, depending on the structure of test (3). A test involving predominantly forward skating is considered better for measurement of fitness whereas a more complex test has been reported to result in greater performance differences between players of different skill levels (3).…”

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“…It is difficult to compare our results with others, because there is a great variation among studies in used off-ice tests (Mascaro et al, 1992;Geithner et al, 2006;Burr et al, 2008;Ransdell & Murray, 2011;Ransdell et al, 2013;Henriksson et al, 2015). Moreover, above mentioned studies are conducted predominantly in elite women ice hockey players.…”

“…There is no doubt that off-season training has become more advanced, but there is a paucity of studies reporting the effect of this training on the physical profiles in elite hockey players (Leiter et al, 2015). Only one study was conducted exclusively in women hockey players (Geithner et al, 2006). However off-season training was performed according to their own programs and time constraints.…”

“…It can assists as the predictor of on-ice performance (Mascaro et al, 1992;Bracko & George, 2001;Burr et al, 2007;Henriksson et al, 2015;Rice, 2015), as the determinant of selection process (Vescovi et al, 2006a;Douglas, 2015), for positional performance profiling (Geithner et al, 2006;Vescovi et al, 2006b;Ransdell et al, 2013), assessment tool for the effect of season on physical performance (Green, & Houston, 1974;Buck, 2013) or can assists in identify issues with conditioning that can be improved through training (Bracko & George, 2001). Studies dealing with off-season performance or positional differences in physical characteristics among junior elite male hockey players are limited (Greer et al, 1992;Geithner et al, 2006). Therefore the aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the effect of club-determined off-season strength and conditioning training on physical performance in elite male ice hockey players U18.…”

Buz hokeycilerde uzun süre paten kullanımının ayak tabanı basınç dağılımlarına etkisinin araştırılması

“…Buz hokeyi sporcularının performans ve başarısı birçok faktöre bağlıdır. Bunların içinde en önemlisi patenle kayma becerisidir (1,7,8) ve bir çok uzman buz hokeyindeki en önemli becerinin patenle kaymak olduğu konusunda görüş birliğine sahiptir. Bunun en önemli sebebinin yüksek yoğunluktaki koordinasyona ihtiyaç duymasına bağlanır (9).…”