We grew up with those Hawks! Oh man.....

Not only the body armor, but the beefed-up muscles and the big bones of today's huge players-- just like a handgun built on a large frame absorbs a lot of kick, so too the larger bodies handle impact differently than small bodies.

I don't doubt the glass/boards systems' technology has changed a lot since the old days, too, to absorb some of the shock. See the way the glass waves around the arena when there's a hit.

In the game we saw last night, we wanted to know the answer to the joking question of the commentators-- when your guy is hit on accident by a TEAMMATE, does the hit register in the stats, and can there be a penalty? :~)

Or, didja ever see 2 current teammates drop the gloves on each other? I'd think the goalie might occasionally like to nail one of his own guys, and vice versa.

~Susan

~S~