Difference ice hockey / roller hockey?

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133

I think the TS is talking about technique, and game tactics. I too am curious about that. It seems learning to rollerblade is harder than ice skating.

And also how does one crossover to the other. Roller is obviously cheaper. You can play on the streets. But I wonder, will it help with you ice hockey.

They carry over fairly well. The difference is comparable to squash vs racquetball or tennis...

Rollerblading is good offseason practice for ice skating. The main difference is that you have lateral give in ice, but no lateral give on rollerblades on pavement. Your transitions from backwards to forwards are a bit different, stopping is a bit different, but they carry over very well. The essentials of skating remain unchanged.

Roller hockey is played with four skaters instead of five. This mildly changes the tactics but not drastically. They do play with a puck in the sanctioned leagues, but in pickup games balls are used commonly as well.

I don't think they have icing stoppages in roller hockey.

Checking is a penalty in most leagues with roller hockey.

There isn't much difference in tactics, skills, etc...passing, stick handling, shooting, speed are all important, and the skills transfer over closely.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by JONOV

They carry over fairly well. The difference is comparable to squash vs racquetball or tennis...

Rollerblading is good offseason practice for ice skating. The main difference is that you have lateral give in ice, but no lateral give on rollerblades on pavement. Your transitions from backwards to forwards are a bit different, stopping is a bit different, but they carry over very well. The essentials of skating remain unchanged.

Roller hockey is played with four skaters instead of five. This mildly changes the tactics but not drastically. They do play with a puck in the sanctioned leagues, but in pickup games balls are used commonly as well.

I don't think they have icing stoppages in roller hockey.

Checking is a penalty in most leagues with roller hockey.

There isn't much difference in tactics, skills, etc...passing, stick handling, shooting, speed are all important, and the skills transfer over closely.

This sounds about right. I've been playing ice hockey since I was a kid (played travel extensively until my mid teens) and I agree. The techniques are more or less the same. The main difference is stopping. Ice skating also involves a lot more edge work. To put it into perspective, I learned to ice skate at around 3. I got my first roller blades at 5. No one had to teach me how to roller blade. It was a bit of an adjustment at first, but the basics were the same.

To this day, I do find rollerblading to be slightly more difficult, probably due to the fact that on ice one can "dig" into the surface for rapid changes in direction, quick stops, sharp turns, etc. Rollerblades always feel a little bit more "slippery" ironically.

But it has always been a good thing for me to rollerblade outside when not ice skating. It involves the use of the same muscles, and basically the same movements.