| dc.description.abstract | Success in ice hockey depends on an individual’s ability to accelerate from a standing
start or change direction and continue skating quickly and efficiently. Previous research to
determine those factors which had the greatest contribution to on-ice acceleration was limited to
two-dimensional biomechanical analyses of skating technique, without regard for the influence
of physiological measures. The purpose of the present study was therefore to predict on-ice
acceleration using peak anaerobic power from a Wingate test and kinematic variables from a
three dimensional analysis of the biomechanics of skating technique. A sub-purpose of the
present study was to examine the variability of skating technique at the elite level. The
participants in this research study were thirty-seven ice hockey players from the Florida Panthers
and Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League participating in the 1999 Prospects Camp
in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The players completed a thirty second, maximal intensity Wingate
anaerobic cycle ergometer test against a resistance of 0.095 kg-kg bodyweight-1. Peak anaerobic
power was calculated and recorded as the highest anaerobic power value (number of flywheel
revolutions) produced during any of the five-second intervals. One week following the Wingate
anaerobic test, the players performed two maximal, on-ice accelerations over a distance of
twenty meters, while being taped by two, Panasonic™ CL-350 digital cameras mounted on Peak
Performance™ pan/tilt heads. The Peak Performance™ 3D Video Analysis System and a 23-
point spatial model were used to extract the raw coordinates for the fastest of the two trials for
each player, as measured by a photoelectric timer. The system was then used to smooth the raw
data from both camera views and to combine the smoothed data to produce a three-dimensional
image. Center of mass and kinematic variables of interest were measured at push-off and
touchdown for the first five strides. | |
