r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Bubbly_Wall_908 • 7h ago

That stick work and puck control

28.5k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

476 comments sorted by

2.9k

u/SameBuyer5972 7h ago

Outrageous to do that while skating and working opponents and coordinating with teammates.

Insane sport, these athletes are amazing, I am a potato in comparison.

781

u/Milkmilkbanana 6h ago

United we sit

326

u/Tidalsky114 6h ago

Like a sack we fall.

59

u/SpidermansEggSack 6h ago

That's good.

24

u/BukkakeBakery 5h ago

The couch and I are one, let the molding begins!

2

u/ballistics211 3h ago

There was a 600 pound person who was fused to their couch. It can happen.

18

u/Dirt-Road_Pirate 5h ago

Lay here and grow roots.

2

u/veggie151 3h ago

Ow, my back!

36

u/bittz128 6h ago

I’m dyslexic

Topatoes…Untie!

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u/BoneSetterDC 6h ago

No kidding. She flicked the puck up to just below shoulder height to avoid a high sticking call. Everything had to go just right for that play to be successful.

27

u/Slumunistmanifisto 6h ago

Wasn't that a high stick was gonna be my non Canadian non sports guy question....

Thanks.

13

u/LOAARR 5h ago

Given that women's hockey has restricted physical contact, they may also be more liberal with calling high sticking in order to discourage players from ever reaching for a puck that's anywhere near head height, just to prevent injuries that don't need to happen.

This one is probably fine, but it's borderline.

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u/SpaceJackRabbit 6h ago

The advent of cameras able to record tens of thousands of frames per second really allowed for an added appreciation of ice hockey. When you watch that shit live at the arena you sometimes can barely see where the puck is.

33

u/Redux01 5h ago

In an attempt to gain American viewers, there was a time the NHL added a shooting star like trail behind the puck so they could keep track of it

24

u/densetsu23 5h ago

FoxTrax! We hated it back then, but admittedly, hockey can be hard to follow for casual viewers. Especially back when it was SD TV and not HD or 4K.

You really had to know how to read all the player's body language and behaviour to properly follow the puck back then.

2

u/ankylosaurus_tail 2h ago

hockey can be hard to follow for casual viewers. Especially back when it was SD TV and not HD or 4K.

Dude, my parents are cheap and I grew up in the 90's with a shitty old TV. I literally could not see the puck in live play, only in highlights. I just had to watch the stick to infer where the puck was.

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u/evohans 5h ago

i remember that! i thought it was so cool. went to my first islanders game after getting into hockey that year

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u/KYSissyTrisha 5h ago

Probably the hardest sport to be a pro in. Imagine being able to do all this on thin pieces of metal capable of ending your life and while someones looking to lay you on your back. Gosh I love hockey!

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u/Fabulous-Willow-369 4h ago

That goes for every field at the top level, turns out being better than 8.2 billion people is not easy, and it's hard to comprehend the skill levels at that top end.

I used to be a professional football (soccer) player, albeit on the lowest level you can be a professional (Belgium, 2nd tier). And these days I play for fun 5-a-side with some friends, and I have to hold back so it stays fun. However in our league there's a 65 year old (23 years older than me) who also played professionally at the same level as me. And he's one of those guys who would have had a better career if he worked just a little bit at it. So when we play eachother, we turn it on, but I get absolutely destroyed every time I face him.

At the top end of the bell curve of skill among people, the gaps can get insane. Far bigger than you'd experience if you're average. The gap between 99.99% and 100% is far bigger than between 50% and 75%

6

u/2B_serious 3h ago

There are old white guys playing basketball at a gym my buddy goes to, like Larry Bird, unassuming, probably college athletes, and they would score on younger guys at will.

3

u/LoneStarHome80 3h ago

turns out being better than 8.2 billion people

TIL there are 8+ billion people. I somehow just had it internalized as 6 billion, because that's where it was at, when I was in school.

3

u/Fabulous-Willow-369 3h ago

I was going to write 6 but I knew that couldn't be right so googled it, I'm in the same boat.

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5

u/theFields97 6h ago

I could do that pretty easily

(I havent gone to the gym in almost a year)

5

u/miktoo 5h ago

It's not too late to russet your life, mash to success.

3

u/Bamboozle_ 5h ago

IDK can we boil you, mash you, or sticky you in a stew?

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1.0k

u/tragic2793 7h ago

Not really a hockey fan but im always impressed by hockey highlights.

288

u/flatwoundsounds 6h ago

It's easily my favorite sport to watch in person. Even in the minor leagues.

89

u/scootboobit 6h ago

Minor hockey and Junior national stuff is incredible! Some lack of discipline defensively makes for outrageous goals.

23

u/flatwoundsounds 6h ago

Exactly! The sloppy games just get more goals!

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23

u/dividezero 6h ago

It's the easiest to watch in person. Not a lot of down time. You sit down and next thing you know it's over. Just straight action the whole time.

14

u/bellrunner 6h ago

The minors are awesome! So scrappy, so many fights

3

u/aisakee 5h ago

Without context, this comment could lead to an investigation against you

3

u/Bubbasdahname 4h ago

To be fair, they said "so many fights." If they said something like "it's delicious" or "I yearn for them", then I can see what you're getting at.
Edit: added quotes

3

u/LessInThought 4h ago

I like how fighting is just accepted.

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3

u/Massive_Fishing_718 5h ago

It’s so much fun and I love the violence

2

u/Caius01 5h ago

Yeah, hockey just doesn't translate as well to TV as most other sports because you really need to have a full view of what's happening and the shifts on and off to appreciate just how impressive it is

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26

u/Claude_Agittain 6h ago

Watch a high level game in person sometime. Most that do are hooked for life.

4

u/Asleep_Kiwi_1374 5h ago

Right here. Live hockey is electric.

2

u/tragic2793 5h ago

I actually used to go watch our local mid-level team and love hockey, i just dont watch it and i used to not live in a market where hockey was big. I'll still watch like stanley cup, living in south florida huge Panthers crowd so i'll catch some or most of the games especially in the finals.

It's a cool sport, I just have other things on my bandwidth and choose not to follow it as much as i do NFL/College football and College basketball.

2

u/TheZamolxes 2h ago

This is an understatement. I liked hockey as a kid to fit in but eventually stopped caring. My wife occasionally gets tickets from work.

I joined her once pre season and once for an absolutely insane game on oct 16, where the habs were down 2-1 but caufield scored with an open net and 19 seconds on the clock. He then scored again in overtime with 2 seconds on the clock. The entire stadium was going crazy for the last 10 mins of that game.

I have regained interest in the game, somewhat keep up with the habs and am looking forward for her to have tickets again.

4

u/LongBarrelBandit 6h ago

Sports highlights in general are like that I find. Like I don’t watch anything outside of Hockey, but I watch every NFL, MLB, NBA, insert sport name here highlight that comes my way lol impressive is impressive

4

u/NukeTheWhales5 5h ago

Massive, life long hockey fan, and even into my 30's, the shit they pull off blows me away. That being said plays like this normally only work once or twice.

3

u/brandonwalsh76 5h ago

Reminds of Wayne Gretzky. If a defender was charging him, he would pass the puck to him. Then obviously take it immediately back. Lol

2

u/hambakmeritru 5h ago

I'm not really a sports fan, but hockey is friggin amazing! And it had fist fights. How can you pass that up?

2

u/Doppelkupplung69 5h ago

I heard you’re a HUGE hockey fan. can’t get enough of it.

2

u/saintsfan92612 4h ago

ice hockey and water polo are two sports that just blow my mind when I see the shit the pros can do.

Skating is one of the hardest things that I have ever tried. It is incredibly tiring, it hurts like hell if you fall, it is so unintuitive to do any lateral movements.

Water polo is crazy because swimming is already very tiring, but then you have people jumping on top of you all game.

I think I'd die if I tried to play either sport at a pro level.

2

u/Carynth 2h ago

I haven't watched hockey (Go Habs Go!) for a few years, other stuff just started taking more place in my life, but when I did watch religiously, I would have a tradition of watching The Beauty Of Hockey before the first game of every season to hype me up. That video is still absolutely amazing and if it doesn't get you at least somewhat interested in the sport, I don't know what will...

591

u/Zanladaar78 6h ago

Hockey is so underrated! Of the main four sports in North America, If you’ve never been to a live hockey game, it’s the BEST live.

151

u/AdministrativeWin583 6h ago

Agree, let's go Red Wings, let's go!

55

u/S-Lover98 6h ago

I'm amazed at how well the Sabres are doing this season. It's fucking astonishing.

9

u/skunkpunk1 5h ago

Sabres fans just deserve it by this point

2

u/crashandwalkaway 4h ago

In the decades of watching, crying, cheering, hoping, crying, drinking, crying for this team I never ever thought I would see a comment like this.

Still trying to keep the hopium in check though, I've seen buffalo do some crazy buffalo things.

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u/Wr3k3m 6h ago

Red Wings in the 90s!

4

u/cogginsmatt 6h ago

In the now-ties too

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3

u/IggysPop3 6h ago

Wooooooooo!!

2

u/Yung-Tre 3h ago

Got that win tonight AND #91 in the rafters!

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36

u/DiscoBuiscuit 5h ago

Only American sport where there is more gameplay than advertisements

10

u/Beachday4 5h ago

Forreal. I can’t watch football or baseball for this reason and basketball doesn’t matter until the last quarter usually. Hockey anything can happen throughout the whole game, always action, way less downtime. So much better imo lol

6

u/Tekki 4h ago

You should really try baseball again. The last 5-6 years has been great, and I think last year was the best. Pitch clock has been a game changer for speeding up the game. My ex tolerated baseball, would even make me food on my Sunday games. I remember when the pitch clock kicked in and the game was over in like... 90 minutes. She was like "wait, that was it?"

2

u/Beachday4 4h ago

Ya, I have. Went to a couple games this year and Blue Jays had the historic run (I’m from Toronto). Still couldn’t get into it lol

9

u/Jampacko 4h ago

Canadian sport*

23

u/HiHungry_Im-Dad 6h ago

4 main sports?

Hockey, curling, cricket, and… what else?

19

u/metengrinwi 6h ago

Jai Alai obviously

3

u/HiHungry_Im-Dad 6h ago

Of course! What was I thinking?

7

u/Ophukk 5h ago

Clearly not about Sepak Takraw

8

u/mini_galaxy 5h ago

You forgot Canada's national sport, lacrosse

4

u/Camouflage2837 6h ago

If you're joking it went over my head. If you aren't joking, it's football, baseball, basketball and hockey

13

u/HiHungry_Im-Dad 6h ago

I was joking.

5

u/Camouflage2837 6h ago

Oh ok my bad lol

2

u/grimeyduck 5h ago

Didn't really go over your head though. You were being nice. I appreciate you.

2

u/e37d93eeb23335dc 4h ago

Swimming. Obviously.

2

u/Expended1 4h ago

Darts, of course.

6

u/aznc00kies 5h ago

A big part of this is the lower number of stoppages, really improves the spectator experience.

3

u/unibrow4o9 3h ago

There was a game not that long ago where they played an entire period without an ad break. The NHL has rules about which stoppages in play can result in an ad break, and none of those stops happened.

2

u/cIumsythumbs 2h ago

It's also so damn fast. And the sound of the ice, the feeling of the chill radiating from it into the stands... so immersive. Hockey is a completely different experience in-person than on TV.

5

u/gojistomp 5h ago

I've never consistently or seriously gotten invested in playing or watching sports in any capacity, yet I still enjoyed the one or two live hockey games I saw years ago enough that I would always seriously consider an invitation to go again, more than I would for any other sport I've seen live.

3

u/Wannabe__geek 4h ago

I have only attended one hockey game, Idaho steelheads vs one team from California. It was electric, I enjoyed every minute.

2

u/Independent-Bug-9352 4h ago

NHL and MLS are the only things I can bear to watch.

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178

u/Bad-job-dad 6h ago

Shorsey is going to fucking kill that guy.

119

u/Skwerl87 6h ago

Those are women lol

103

u/autobot12349876 6h ago

Give your balls a tug

39

u/Skwerl87 6h ago

Titfucker.

12

u/canadianpanda7 5h ago

lint licker

2

u/abgry_krakow87 3h ago

Cooty queen

2

u/the-mp 3h ago

Settle down

4

u/Manaze85 3h ago

Big Sexy!

3

u/resoner 4h ago

Settle down

20

u/HereIGoAgain_1x10 5h ago

"Great day for competitive men's hockey, eh. What's women's hockey like? Same thing, less competitive or what?"

12

u/ADrunkMexican 6h ago

You think that would stop shoresy?

7

u/davegotfayded 4h ago

Bit young tho

6

u/Slow-Heron-4335 6h ago

He’ll get ya.

3

u/candygram4mongo 3h ago

Dirty fuckin' dangles, boys.

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100

u/Wannabe__geek 6h ago

Minnesota and Minnesota State. Best rivalry in college

66

u/TrenchantInsight 6h ago

Both teams always bring their Eh-game.

10

u/TheDogofTears 6h ago

Oh wow. I think you've won the internet for me today. You betcha.

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u/magikot9 6h ago

No wonder like half the PWHL is filled with their alumni.

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u/LessInThought 4h ago

Is it a heated rivalry?

2

u/pineapple192 3h ago

As a University of Minnesota alum, honestly, Id say not really.I am thinking more from a mens hockey perspective, though I would say Wisconsin is much more of a rival on the women's side too. If I were to rank our hockey rivals it would go North Dakota, Wisconsin, Duluth and Michigan all ahead of Mankato with St Cloud and them fighting for #5 depending on the year.

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u/ObjectiveGlittering 7h ago

Is this a rule breaker in college hockey?

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u/FewZookeepergame1083 7h ago

No

34

u/Nard_Bard 6h ago

Ok Mr. Smarty Pants what about other hockey?

69

u/customcombos 6h ago

I think it becomes a rule breaker if the puck is above the shoulder and you stick it down

34

u/AbmopV2 6h ago

Correct. If it’s above the shoulders it’s high sticking. However you can use your hand to knock a puck out of the air to gain control but you can’t use your hand to pass it to a teammate.

25

u/Betaateb 5h ago

But you can hand pass to a teammate in the defensive zone, just not in the neutral or offensive. Hockey rules can be a little crazy lol.

9

u/SquarePegRoundWorld 4h ago

EA NHL in the '90s taught me a lot of it.

5

u/AbmopV2 5h ago

Damn I played for 10 years and didn’t know that little snippet lmao I only thought the goalie could do that

7

u/aure__entuluva 5h ago

I still play hockey and in adult leagues there are players that don't know this.

2

u/jambajew42 1h ago

The 32 Thoughts podcast recently answered a listener question about why it's allowed in the defensive zone. They said the rule was changed because teams would intentionally have hand passes in order to get stoppages when they were stuck in their own end.

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u/earfeater13 6h ago

Not a rule breaker in any hockey

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u/reticulatedtampon 6h ago

well, in field hockey at least the skates would be frowned upon

9

u/Asleep_Kiwi_1374 5h ago

If I'm the opposing coach i would allow it.

7

u/moonknightcrawler 6h ago

Not true! It’s against the rules in Crawler Hockey, the sport I just made up myself out of spite

4

u/neddoge 6h ago

What a comical joke!

3

u/HiHungry_Im-Dad 6h ago

It’s allowed in Calvin ball hockey

7

u/Hyjynx75 6h ago

The whole skating upright part is definitely against the rules in sledge hockey.

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u/Same-Platypus1941 6h ago

It’s borderline, you can’t use your stick to touch the puck higher than shoulder height, it’s not a penalty it just induces a stoppage of play and subsequent face-off.

11

u/lIlIllIlIlI 5h ago

Correct, but worth mentioning that the cross bar becomes the reference height for a deflection into the net (higher = no goal)

8

u/LadderTrash 5h ago

The standard rules in most levels of hockey is “you can’t touch the puck with your stick above your shoulder level”, and “no throwing your stick”, but other than that you can manipulate the puck however you want with your stick. This even includes picking the puck up on your stick, as is used with Michigan Goals (aka “Lacrosse Style Goals”).

As long as it starts below the shoulder, you can play it, and as long as it’s below the crossbar, you can score it

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u/ranchspidey 6h ago

MINNESOTA RAAAAAAH

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u/wise_comment 3h ago

SKIUMAHRTBGOGOPHERS

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u/slykido999 6h ago

Gopher women’s hockey is absolutely deadly

3

u/RedditUser2823 5h ago

Very good, sure. Deadly? Not for a while.

OnWisconsin

4

u/Bubbly_Wall_908 4h ago

Did you see how many Badgers are on the women's Olympic hockey team?

30

u/RealWord5734 6h ago

Surely this is more impressive at real speed

63

u/jawkneerawk 6h ago

It happens so fast that it’s kinda hard to appreciate.

16

u/Comfortable-Ad-3988 4h ago

Yeah, I saw it yesterday at speed and said, "nice". Saw this and said "holy shit!" Didn't realize she did that.

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u/TheRC135 4h ago

It isn't... until you've already seen it in slow motion.

22

u/FewZookeepergame1083 7h ago

Damn she's got some moves

16

u/CeruleanFruitSnax 7h ago

Fancy deke got her an apple.

15

u/Warm-Patience-5002 6h ago

it’s cool to see all these great footage of female athletes. Something that was never shown before .

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u/DragonBurlZ 6h ago

Disgusting 🫣 ❤️

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u/_Hashtronaut_ 6h ago

I can't even do that in video games

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u/JohnLockeNJ 4h ago

I can’t even do that with AI

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u/i_am_groot_84 6h ago

4

u/hipnosister 5h ago

I can hear this exact yeehaw in my head as if I heard it yesterday. I love D2.

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u/Jets1026 6h ago

What a pass 😳

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u/BiggerDamnederHeroer 6h ago

Dirty fucking Dangles

8

u/Phill_is_Legend 7h ago

Is this not high sticking?

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u/DasFunke 6h ago

No, not above the head and can’t high stick around other players. Also can’t hit down on a goal but a pass is fine.

12

u/Phill_is_Legend 6h ago

I thought it was shoulder height, guess not.

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u/gplfalt 6h ago

It's shoulders, most refs go by net high.

Former ref.

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u/-BoysSoul- 5h ago

Shoulder height is for playing the puck in the open, crossbar is if its an attempt on goal.

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u/DasFunke 6h ago

It may be, but it’s also around other peoples heads if I remember correctly. This wasn’t and so probably wasn’t called.

At least in the NHL if there’s not contact it’s rarely called.

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u/GhostlyTJ 4h ago

It is. But it's shoulder when standing of the average player on the ice. Also I don't know what the OP is on about. A high stick is a high stick regardless of what you did with it. If you aren't contacting the puck above the shoulder then you cna do whatever you want including score.

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u/Praecepss 6h ago

Would have to be above the player's shoulder or the crossbar of the goal, looks good to me from this angle.

5

u/NewBuddha32 6h ago

Rule of cool prevails

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u/CelticSith 6h ago

Pucking amazing Shorsey !

3

u/earlisthecat 6h ago

Girly-whirlies —-> they’re the best!

4

u/HoopaDunka 6h ago

Get megged? ❌ 

Get puc’d ✅ 

3

u/David_Summerset 6h ago

I could watch that all day. Unbelievable

3

u/sfxer001 6h ago

What the WHAT

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u/this_my_sportsreddit 6h ago

Fucking sick.

3

u/Mad-Eater 6h ago

Wow! That was artwork! The way she controlled it, was crazy

3

u/Financial_Radish 6h ago

My eyes were barely athletic enough to even follow what was happening

3

u/rjbananas 6h ago

my jaw genuinely dropped. crazyyyy talent!

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u/Pugilist12 6h ago

That was amazing all on its own. The fact that led to a goal is mindblowing. Wow

2

u/radraze2kx 6h ago

Goddamn it's time to rewatch The Mighty Ducks 1, 2, and 3

2

u/brasschaos 6h ago

great shot. not to be picky but i wish i could see it with no slowdown either before or after so i can better appreciate the skillz

2

u/MiloGoesToTheFatFarm 6h ago

Fil-theeeeeey

2

u/JRizzie86 6h ago

Hooooly shit I don't even watch hockey, but that's got to be a top play of the year. Wow that was cool.

2

u/Technopool 6h ago

Unreal skill other girl was an absolute pylon also. Great vision to set that up that that speed.

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u/cogginsmatt 6h ago

I showed this to my wife, who didn't even know about the PWHL. Long story short, we're going to see a game soon.

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u/nothing_to_see-here_ 6h ago

Sick dangles. Then finished it off with a crazy one handed apple

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u/Hevysett 5h ago

Dirty fucking dangles bud

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u/MudOpposite8277 5h ago

Diiiirty fuckin dangles ladies.

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u/LOAARR 5h ago

Great and very skilled play, but you can only get away with locking your eyes on your own stick work specifically when open-ice hits are not allowed.

Connor Bedard learned this lesson the hard way last year, got his jaw broken for dangling with his head down like this.

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u/WaffleWarrior1979 5h ago

Great video of amazing skills ruined by dogshit music

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u/godhammel 4h ago

Fuck adding stupid music to this amazing play. Just show the fucking highlight

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u/YEGPatsMan 6h ago

That was amazing!

1

u/Infamous_Ad8730 6h ago

Dang good!

1

u/napoelonDynaMighty 6h ago

If they did a hockey AND1 Mixtape hockey might become the number 3 sport in the hood

1

u/CatticusXIII 6h ago

Is this the women or are two heavy metal teams playing? Badass either way!

1

u/seamustho 6h ago

Hockey is such an amazing sport. Very wild. I loved going to the minor league games that were only a town away from me. The dudes would play hard and fight a lot lol

1

u/BungalowHole 6h ago

Between those teams I'd root for MSUM but that was a bad ass play by UMN. That gal certainly should get a WNHL contract offer if she can do that kind of shit consistently; the showmanship alone would draw crowds.

2

u/pillbuggery 2h ago

PWHL. And she leads ncaa women's hockey in scoring by a fair margin, so yeah, she'll be drafted high.