Page:Hockey, Canada's Royal Winter Game.djvu/42

 from injuring this tender, vulnerable spot, and in their weight, differ so little from the others, that in every respect, they are a great improvement upon the latter. Of course, there are other ways of padding the knees to prevent injury, but pants padded at hips and knees is the most satisfactory, because the cords or straps that bind the pads to the knees, are so tightly tied that they may easily stop the circulation of the blood in the leg, and cause parts of the feet to freeze, or cramp.

A blow from the stick or the puck, is, perhaps, the most frequent cause of injury to a player, unless he be singularly unfortunate, but this never, or scarcely ever, amounts to anything serious. Our rules have been carried to such perfection, that, with rare exceptions, this accident of being struck with the stick occurs only in games between inexperienced men, because referees are so strict in enforcing the rule that forbids a man to raise his stick above the shoulder, that players who are up in the game, and respect the decision of the latter, are chary about erring in this manner.

Beginners are the most serious offenders against this rule, either because they are not sufficiently conversant with the game or because the referees of important matches err on the side of leniency.