Page:Hockey, Canada's Royal Winter Game.djvu/48

 a sharp projection is often the cause of a nasty fall, and also of a dangerous cut to the wearer of the skates or to one of his opponents.

A good hockey skate should be a combination of great strength and lightness of weight. It should be strong because the thousand twistings and turnings of a player strain every inch of the blade, each plate, and every rivet; it should be light because the lightness of the skate adds to the swiftness of the skater, and because a heavy skate is tiring. To again refer to the length of the skate, the blade should project about an inch in front of the toe of the boot, and an inch or a little more behind the heel, and the width of the bottom of the blade should retain the same thickness from toe to heel, or rather on that part of blade that touches the ice when a skater maintains a standing position. The two ends back and front should taper slightly in width, becoming thinner towards the points.

A player's clothes should be light enough to be of no perceptible weight, and warm enough to insure him against catching cold. A moderately heavy sweater, pants padded at the hips and knees and heavy stockings with a suit of light underwear are the necessary articles of clothing for a hockey player.