Which is your favorite goal crease design?

[hacksaw7]

The NHL has gone through a few in its history. First it was just the simple rectangle which was around forever. Then they did the semi circle around the rectangle.

Around 1991 they went to a full semi circle colored in blue and the inside of the net blue. This lasted through the lockout season of 1995. Personally I love this look the best

1995-1996 they left the ice in the crease white while the rest of the semi circle remained blue.

Finally during the stupid crease rule nonsense they shaved the sides of the semicircle off and now we're left with some kind of weird rounded rectangle
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[The Pale King]

Partial to the '99 version with the Brett Hull shaped leg insert like a crime scene chalk fairy.

 

[VanIslander]

No blue, please.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I like the blue semicircle with white net. Creates a nice graceful geometric shape.

 

[tornadowarning33]

Even though its been around since I was 9-10 years old, having the sides shaved off the semicircle always throws me off. Maybe having it that way cuts down on automatic GI calls close to the posts? I prefer the full semicircle, but leave the blue out of the net.

On a different note, what was the purpose of the shape of the net behind Smith? Those were before my time and I never understood what the function of having the footprint come to a point in the middle of the net was.

 

[hacksaw7]

Even though its been around since I was 9-10 years old, having the sides shaved off the semicircle always throws me off. Maybe having it that way cuts down on automatic GI calls close to the posts? I prefer the full semicircle, but leave the blue out of the net.

On a different note, what was the purpose of the shape of the net behind Smith? Those were before my time and I never understood what the function of having the footprint come to a point in the middle of the net was.

To impale Mark Howe

I really don't know. It was designed by Art Ross I believe so perhaps it was to make it a B for Bruins

 

[tarheelhockey]

On a different note, what was the purpose of the shape of the net behind Smith? Those were before my time and I never understood what the function of having the footprint come to a point in the middle of the net was.

The Art Ross nets were implemented to help keep the puck inside the net after a goal was scored.

Key to understanding the need for this is to mentally throw yourself back to around 1925. There were only two people empowered to say whether a goal was scored -- the referee, and the judge of play who functioned as a goal judge. Also, hockey nets weren't really standardized from rink to rink; the tightness of the twine was simply a judgment call by the rink manager. So it was frustratingly commonplace for a shot to hit the twine near the post, bounce immediately back into play, and neither of the officials to see it cross the line. As the pace got faster and shots got harder, that became a fairly routine occurrence and led to concerns about match-fixing, protests against certain referees, etc.

The B-shaped Ross net made it so that if the puck hit the twine just behind the post, it would usually circle back into the middle of the net, ruffling the twine and popping back out at an angle that made it clear the goal had occurred. These nets continued in use until 1982, when Mark Howe slid into the net at a high speed and (brace yourself for a cringe) impaled himself through the anus on the sharp metal tip of the B. He missed a spinal injury by a hair's breadth, and at that point the hockey world switched to deep square-backed nets which to this day still manage to produce the occasional "did it really go in or did it hit the pipe?" controversy.

 

[DJ Man]

I thought it was pretty stupid to paint the ice inside goal as blue as the crease itself. Good way to obscure the distinction between goal and no-goal.

I'd say, get rid of the blue anyway. I suppose that it was a visual aid and reminder, but if the players haven't figured out that they're supposed to stay out of there, it's their own fault.

And while we're redecorating, get rid of the centerline. It isn't used for offsides any more, so keep the neutral zone cleaner.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

Of all of the things the league has done to increase scoring Ill never understand why they didnt think of reverting to the old style box creases with less area. Its the only clear cut way of increasing offence that doesnt involve messing with the integrity of the game or the safety of the goaltenders, but I havent heard of it being considered even once

 

[golfortennis]

The Art Ross nets were implemented to help keep the puck inside the net after a goal was scored.

(snip)
the hockey world switched to deep square-backed nets which to this day still manage to produce the occasional "did it really go in or did it hit the pipe?" controversy.

But wouldn't that issue be solved by simply not having the netting so tight? I know Cherry always said to keep it looser and the puck won't bounce back out. I don't think the design is the issue so much as the netting.

 

[hacksaw7]

I also seem to remember some nets having the upper half of the net containing a sort of pocket of netting. It would be loose twine...a goal would be scored and drop into this pouch

 

[tarheelhockey]

But wouldn't that issue be solved by simply not having the netting so tight? I know Cherry always said to keep it looser and the puck won't bounce back out. I don't think the design is the issue so much as the netting.

In the old days, it was definitely an issue of net tightness. The original NHL nets were designed by Percy LeSueur and had extremely taught netting pulled over a squared-off frame. One can imagine the trampoline-like effect this must have created, and no wonder there was so much controversy over goal calls.

Nowadays, at least as far as I've ever heard, the rationale for keeping the netting so tight is that it keeps the puck from stopping on the back or top of the net. Personally I'd be OK with going back to looser netting, but apparently the powers-that-be don't like those stoppages in play.

Just a side note, one of my favorite bits of lore is that the first complete hockey nets were made by Nova Scotian fishermen. The story goes that they got tired of chasing down pucks that went through the original empty-backed goals, so they draped their fishing nets across the frame. It's probably apocryphal, but a nice way to imagine Maritime culture echoing through the sport through the ages.