Hockey Stinks (in an olfactory sense)

[blog.syracuse.com]

Jillson and Ross heavily quoted. Given the wafts of odor over the glass during games, I can only imagine what it must be like the in concentrated confines of a locker room.

CK

In Schafer's first year as head coach, Cornell played a truly limp game against a weak Army squad at West Point, losing 1-4. Coach was so upset with the team that he made them keep their equipment and unis on, and run around the rink for about twenty minutes - then he loaded them on the bus for the the three-and-a-half hour ride home.

He said later that it was one of the worst mistakes he'd ever made, because he'd never smelled anything so bad in his entire life, and he was stuck on the bus with them.

I still remember sitting directly above the players during the 1986 double overtime SF at Boston Garden. PWR is not the only rank associated with hockey.

Trotsky
I still remember sitting directly above the players during the 1986 double overtime SF at Boston Garden. PWR is not the only rank associated with hockey.

There's also the KRACH rank.

I have 3 hockey playing sons who play 6 days a week in season, 3-4 days a week out in the spring/summer. If you stay on top of it, it's not so bad. I air EVERYTHING out after every practice or game. Wash the hockey short jocks 1-2 times a month. Wash the shin guard inserts a few times a season. Febreeze everything (including the bag) 1-2 times a month. Sprinkle Odor-Eaters foot powder inside the skates every time. Wash jerseys, socks, underarmour etc. every time. Of course, this takes literally 20-30 minutes a day because you have to repack everything. It's a big commitment.

The stench can be beaten. I hang the gear on hockey racks in my office and the smell isn't too bad. It's air conditioned and heated and the humidity is controlled.

I think that there is some stench but I'm used to it because I'm in my office a lot. Perhaps I've taken on the smell myself. I think I'm ok, I don't see people walking away from me all that much.

P.S. It's totally worth it. Hockey is awesome, especially watching your kids play!

I find it's mostly sufficient to simply dry everything off. The vast majority of the stink can be defeated by not leaving sweaty equipment lying around: to that end, I have a rack set up in my basement with a box fan at the bottom, blowing upward, that dries everything within a few hours. I have to wash my socks after every game and my shirt/skullcap every few games, but as a result of this strategy I only need to wash the pads a few times per year, for which I use a combination of Penguin wash and OxyClean free as an hour-long soak. Even in the middle of the summer, my basement does not smell like a locker room.

My conclusion is that stinking equipment is mostly the result of laziness (or the inability of a team to air out equipment on a long bus ride home, for instance, something that doesn't really apply to disorganized hockey).

As an added benefit, removing the insoles from the skates and actively drying everything out will also keep the blade holder rivets from rusting, if your skates are susceptible to that sort of thing.

RatushnyFan
I think that there is some stench but I'm used to it because I'm in my office a lot. Perhaps I've taken on the smell myself. I think I'm ok, I don't see people walking away from me all that much.

P.S. It's totally worth it. Hockey is awesome, especially watching your kids play!

Does Mom agree? Did you stop having kids as one started playing hockey?

Mom is totally into it and big Cornell hockey fan, too. You can't have 3 tier 1 players without Mom agreeing, there is a ton of driving involved and a big financial commitment as well!

On occasion, I can smell it at Lynah when the players come out of the locker room at the start of the period (usually before the third period). Last year, during a game when the smell was particularly bad, someone sitting in Section A on the aisle right next to the visitor's locker room yelled "Hey sieve, you smell!" which I found amusing.

Also, does anyone have an idea as to which rink Ross is referring to here?

Donnie Webb
There’s one rink in the Ivy League with a subterranean locker room that Ross describes as “gross.”

I have the same experience as Kyle and RatushnyFan (minus the kids!). Actually, I do even less: I hang everything up on a few plastic crates such that it's exposed to the room, and that's about it. The room has a ceiling fan that seems to get enough circulation to dry everything out pretty quickly. I'll wash my pads about once a year, and the clothes about once a month.

jtn27
On occasion, I can smell it at Lynah when the players come out of the locker room at the start of the period (usually before the third period). Last year, during a game when the smell was particularly bad, someone sitting in Section A on the aisle right next to the visitor's locker room yelled "Hey sieve, you smell!" which I found amusing.

Also, does anyone have an idea as to which rink Ross is referring to here?

Donnie Webb
There’s one rink in the Ivy League with a subterranean locker room that Ross describes as “gross.”

I was manager during our dark ages (92-94). If I had to guess at which rink he was referring to, I would have to say Princeton. Then again, it was almost 20 years ago, so I could very well be wrong. We had to go down a set of stairs from outside the rink to get to the locker room. What I remember, it wasn't the best accomodations (although Lynahs visitor lockerroom was horrendous during that time period as well).

More hockey-related stories:

[www.nytimes.com]

Those Saskatoon boys know how to fight.

toddlose

jtn27
On occasion, I can smell it at Lynah when the players come out of the locker room at the start of the period (usually before the third period). Last year, during a game when the smell was particularly bad, someone sitting in Section A on the aisle right next to the visitor's locker room yelled "Hey sieve, you smell!" which I found amusing.

Also, does anyone have an idea as to which rink Ross is referring to here?

Donnie Webb
There’s one rink in the Ivy League with a subterranean locker room that Ross describes as “gross.”

I was manager during our dark ages (92-94). If I had to guess at which rink he was referring to, I would have to say Princeton. Then again, it was almost 20 years ago, so I could very well be wrong. We had to go down a set of stairs from outside the rink to get to the locker room. What I remember, it wasn't the best accomodations (although Lynahs visitor lockerroom was horrendous during that time period as well).

I remember playing games at Lynah and the times we were "lucky" enough to use the visitor lockerroom. The only nice thing for it was the benches. Usually it was 15 women getting dressed in the ladies room at the bottom of section O, it was nice to have a bench to sit on while tying skates and stuff like that. I wouldn't even use the toilets in that lockerroom, never mind take a shower after the game. YUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKK.

Worst job in ECAC hockey: visiting penalty box attendant on Saturday night.

To go off on a slight tangent: interesting article at SI.com, with some quotes from Ryan O'Byrne, on another olfactory offense in hockey that, thankfully, seems to have mostly died out.

ACM
Worst job in ECAC hockey: visiting penalty box attendant on Saturday night.

To go off on a slight tangent: interesting article at SI.com, with some quotes from Ryan O'Byrne, on another olfactory offense in hockey that, thankfully, seems to have mostly died out.

For those who haven't followed the link above, the article is about smoking and NHL players. Although not at all referenced in the article, smoking was one of the key issues that caused a rift between Ned and the Red Wing players he inherited. Alex Delvecchio, in particular, was very fond of smoking cigars in the locker room, even between periods, and the older guys on the team basically fought against Ned's new rules.

So wait, keeping my goalie equipment in the car because I have games on back-to-back nights isn't the way to combat stench?

My favorite hockey-related T-shirt: "My Hands Stink" above a Bauer logo.

jkahn
Although not at all referenced in the article, smoking was one of the key issues that caused a rift between Ned and the Red Wing players he inherited. Alex Delvecchio, in particular, was very fond of smoking cigars in the locker room, even between periods, and the older guys on the team basically fought against Ned's new rules.

I'd never heard that before, thanks for the info!

Josh '99

jkahn
Although not at all referenced in the article, smoking was one of the key issues that caused a rift between Ned and the Red Wing players he inherited. Alex Delvecchio, in particular, was very fond of smoking cigars in the locker room, even between periods, and the older guys on the team basically fought against Ned's new rules.

I'd never heard that before, thanks for the info!

I just tried googling "Alex Devecchio and cigars" to see if I could find an old story about it - and I found this ebay auctioned picture of their old top line:
[www.ebay.com]
Jack Berry of the Detroit Free Press was the pro-Ned writer in town, seeing that necessary changes had to be made, but Joe Falls of the Detroit News was absolutely brutal toward Ned.

We launched Odor Gladiator in Pittsburgh last September with a primary focus on lax (our two sons have played for 8+ years). Not surprisingly, the hockey community has jumped on board, too. Given the discussion here, I thought folks might be interested in what parents and players have to say about OG [odorgladiator.com]

Mike Morneault
Chief Gladiator
mike@odorgladiator.com

5-10 years ago we saw ads for a hockey gear bag with what looked like a dryer vent port at one end. It came with a blower that air-dryed the gear, more or less, while still in the bag. The modern American garage or mud room ought to have an air circulator system with a dozen 2"-3" hoses for drying gloves, boots, skates, lax gloves, helmets.

OdorGladiator
We launched Odor Gladiator in Pittsburgh last September with a primary focus on lax (our two sons have played for 8+ years). Not surprisingly, the hockey community has jumped on board, too. Given the discussion here, I thought folks might be interested in what parents and players have to say about OG [odorgladiator.com]

Mike Morneault
Chief Gladiator
mike@odorgladiator.com

Yay! An advertisement! My favorite! Off to go buy some Odor Gladiator now even though I don't play hockey or lacrosse.