Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 40, Issue 2 159-163, Copyright © 1976 by American Physiological Society
Time-motion and physiological assessments of ice hockey performance
H. Green, P. Bishop, M. Houston, R. McKillop, R. Norman and P. Stothart
Ice hockey performance was studied during 10 contests to assess time-motion
characteristics and associated physiological changes that occur for each
position. Depending on the position played, the actual playing time per
game for forwards and defensemen ranged between 20.7 and 28.0 min. The
number of shifts ranged from 14 to 21 with an average playing time of 85.4
s/shift. Further analysis of each shift indicated that there was an average
of 2.3 play stoppages which averaged 27.1 s, producing a continuous playing
time of 39.7 s. Telemetered recordings of heart rate during each shift
revealed sustained rates of between 170 and 174 beats/min over the three
periods of the game. For both the forwards and defensemen, values for blood
lactates were highest during the first and second periods (x = 78.0 and
66.1 mg/100 ml), then declined considerably during the third period (x =
44.5 mg/100 ml). Blood glucose showed a similar tendency (x = 139.3, 133.7,
114.1 mg/100 ml), while hematocrit and total protein showed little tendency
to change.
