Player Safety

[Guest]

USA hockey wants to enforce what mask a goalie wears, mouth guards, ear pieces, chin straps but not medical for all rinks. We were at tournament this past weekend and saw multiple players get hurt. One ambulance was needed and it took almost 10 min for them to get there. I'm not a big fan of the drive to Steel Ice to play the Phantoms but I will give them credit, they always have medical at the rink for games. I have 2 sons (1 squirt and 1 Midget) and a daughter that play and every time we have gone they have them there, no matter what level. USA hockey, leagues, rinks and clubs should see how they do it.

[Guest]

I couldn't agree more! My son was boarded at the Phantom's rink. His shoulder dislocated. They had medical staff on hand who assisted in getting the shoulder back in the socket. They even called a few days later to check on him. Well done.
At our tourney this weekend, we had several delays in face offs because Refs were checking mouthguards. But the same refs did not call the dangerous hits and missed several head hits. People get over missed ticky tack calls with some close offsides or an errant trip. But the head hits and dangerous boarding from behind need to be called every time. No exceptions.

[Guest]

They do a really nice job. The other year my son collided with his teammate and his knee popped out. Medical got it back in place, braced and wrapped it then helped us bring him out to the car. They offered to call an ambulance, which we declined. We didn't get a phone call though, which is ok.

Just wondering what you don't like about going their?

[Guest]

Sorry it's not the rink or Phantoms that I dislike, it's just the hour 45 min drive. I could save 15 min but I'm not paying those ridiculous turnpike fees. The rink in my opinion is one of if not the best kept rinks in the league, the snack bar is up their also. My 2 oldest always get a soft pretzel and my youngest boy gets the chicken fingers and fries. Never been in the Pub, either there before it opens or late when it's too crowded but it looks nice.

[Guest]

I'd go farther with what USA hockey should do other than making rinks have medical which is a great idea and that is they should have a rink/ice inspector to check on the facilities unannounced at least 2 times a year. We played in Rochester a few months ago at Tim Hortons and sheets 2 & 3 were unsafe. Sheet 4 wasn't to bad and sheet 1, the sheet the college uses was really nice. The boards were not lined up properly, the ice was so thick that it was even with the top of the yellow paint on the boards and multiple doors were broke. Our one 16U player got checked  so hard he ended up over the boards, no penalty it was a clean hit. They don't have glass all the around, most of the bench side is open.

[Guest]

Add neck guards to the list of gear to be enforced. While I'm all for player safety I think they are missing the biggest safety measure there is, Medical at the rinks. I agree with the original comment and also like the rink inspection idea from the other commentor. My son was hurt the other year at Klick Lewis. When we got there an ambulance was at the rink so we thought they had medical. When he got hurt I went looking for them and was told they left. The rink said they only need to be there for the AAA and once that was over they were no longer needed. Is medical required for AAA? If so then it can be for all levels, a broken bone is a broken bone no matter what the level is.

[Guest]

Had 2 games this past weekend with an injury in both. The Sat game had medical and evaluated our player on the ice and then went onto our bench and did some more checks. You could as soon as our player went down she was at the door waiting for the whistle, as soon as it blew she was on the ice. After her checks she cleared him to go back out, checked for concussion. On Sunday a player went down and eventually got up no medical, never checked and went back into the game. After 3 shifts he almost passed out on the bench, concussion. Yes the Saturday game was in Lehigh against the Phantoms and no it wasn't a dirty hit. Our player collided with theirs.

[Guest]

It is my understanding that the Phantoms Youth and St Luke's has a partnership and it doesn't cost the Phantoms anything. I was also told St Luke's runs the gym and provides trainers at a minimal cost to the player, my co-worker said it was around $100 per player for the season. He said they get 2 45min sessions a week. I always wondered why they had St Luke's on their jersey.

[Guest]

Lancaster has an athletic trainer on site for all games bantam and up.  They’ve been put to use quite a bit this year.  Thankfully nothing really serious that I know of.

[Guest]

Is that the Firebirds or CCP? When did that start? Played the Firebirds last yr and CCP the yr before at 16U and no trainers on hand. It's good to hear others started having them. St Luke's has medical at the LVSHL games as well. St Luke's also provides players bantam and older  pre-season ImPACT testing to establish baseline measures in case a head injury or concussion occurs. The Phantoms youth have had medical since my oldest started playing so that's at least 10yrs. 1st it was with the Lehigh Valley Health Network then switched to St Luke's. I agree with the original poster 1000%, all rinks need this.