How would using a hard rubber ball instead of a puck change the game?

[The Cheat]

Nope you're right. Punches a larger hole in the air so it would be slower

I would like to see someone good in physics explain this. The ball is not a flat cylinder flying through the air. It's a sphere, with the best average aerodynamics because no one side has more surface area since it's... well a sphere. A puck is a cylindrical with 2 curved sides but 2 flat sides as well (with a tapered/beveled edge and cross-hatching for friction) - the puck is also frozen, solid and vulcanized rubber.

I bet a ball hit just right, and rotating (like a bullet) would travel farther with less overall resistance than a puck (at least from efficiency standpoint)

 

[zzmoto]

There's a sport like this already.

To expand on this, here are some of the main differences from hockey:

- this is primarily a beer league or company league sport.
- the ball is made from cork, covered in plastic.
- checking is illegal.
- the stick can only be used for playing the ball, and the blade must remain below knee height when doing so.
- there are no offsides or icing.
- when playing the ball over the rink, the opposing team is awarded a free strike from that point.
- the goalkeeper does not have a stick.
- passing the ball to your own goalie is illegal.
- playing the ball with your hands or head is illegal, except for the goalies.
- chirping the ref, opposing players and management or the crowd is illegal.

On ice, a virtually frictionless surface, it would never roll, defeating the purpose. It would just glide for the most part.

I'm sorry but that's not how physics work.

 

[Finesse]

It would be near impossible to take a pass cleanly.

 

[417th]

The league that I play in has allowed hockey balls to be used in substitute for a puck on two different occasions. Once the game had been moved to the pond outside the rink due to a fire ( so we couldn't get into the equipment room) and the other time was because some tool had stollen all of the pucks (180 pucks in total).

I played in the first game that the ball was used and it was really fun. All of the sudden everyone was Jagr. Easy to get all the lift in close that you could ever want and while it wasn't fun trying to make long passes it sort of kept the game closer together. More physical without being stupid. I wouldn't want to see the NHL pick it up but it was fun to play that way.

 

[NYRcupboundyessir*]

The one where the rink was banked behind the goal?

Ah there we go. I actually loved the **** out of that league though lol. Was just so much fun to watch. Back when espn cared. 90's were good hockey times

 

[Risingwind]

To expand on this, here are some of the main differences from hockey:

- checking is illegal.
- the stick can only be used for playing the ball, and the blade must remain below knee height when doing so.

Rinkball has evolved in the last decade or so (at least in Finland) by becoming more hockey-like. While you can't tackle you can still obstruct the opposing players like in soccer or floorball and there are concussions and broken bones resulting from this. Hooking and such is called immediately so the players have a lot of speed but less protective gear than hockey players.

The blade of the stick was limited to below the knee in the past, but these days you can make slap shots like in hockey. Haven't seen anyone get measured but I think at the (high) divisional level the better players shoot at around 120 kmph. You can play the ball using the stick as long as the part of the stick that collides with the ball is at or below shoulder level. The goalie gear is a lot heavier than it used to be, and while the pads have to be more narrow and shorter than in hockey, towards the top level rinkball the goalies use hockey gear where it's legal. For example the last goalie glove model made by Pallas (the Pallas 510) was a modified jr. hockey glove which used to be 100% illegal in the old rules.

It really doesn't compare to how the game was in the 90s.

 

[DarylO]

I can tell you one thing from being a goalie in a ball hockey league...those shots can curve something fierce!

I wouldn't even want to know how much curve an NHL player with their strength would put on it. they would have to aim 4 feet wide of the net on any slapshot from the blue line.

They also have a tendency to drop or raise rapidly, but it would probably be funny to watch in an exhibition / for fun game.

 

[Asinine]

Do you people realize how hard it would be to control a ball on ice?

Probably why the sticks they're using in that video are like 3 feet long.

 

[Calderon]

Rinkball has evolved in the last decade or so (at least in Finland) by becoming more hockey-like. While you can't tackle you can still obstruct the opposing players like in soccer or floorball and there are concussions and broken bones resulting from this. Hooking and such is called immediately so the players have a lot of speed but less protective gear than hockey players.

The blade of the stick was limited to below the knee in the past, but these days you can make slap shots like in hockey. Haven't seen anyone get measured but I think at the (high) divisional level the better players shoot at around 120 kmph. You can play the ball using the stick as long as the part of the stick that collides with the ball is at or below shoulder level. The goalie gear is a lot heavier than it used to be, and while the pads have to be more narrow and shorter than in hockey, towards the top level rinkball the goalies use hockey gear where it's legal. For example the last goalie glove model made by Pallas (the Pallas 510) was a modified jr. hockey glove which used to be 100% illegal in the old rules.

It really doesn't compare to how the game was in the 90s.

Are there restrictions on the length of the sticks or has everybody just come to the conclusion that a short stick is the best?

 

[CarlWinslow]

Might make 'baseball' style goals more common. Giving the impossibility of saucer passing, and the ease of knocking a ball out of the air, would imagine we'd see more 2 on 1's ending in balls being hit out of the air.

And a lot more passes being gloved down.

Just a note on this comment. You can actually buy a ball hockey ball which will behave almost identically to a puck now. So much so that you can "saucer" pass it and when it hits the ground it will not bounce. You could throw it 15 ft. in the air and it won't bounce when it hits the ground. It is an incredible ball.

 

[CarlWinslow]

I would like to see someone good in physics explain this. The ball is not a flat cylinder flying through the air. It's a sphere, with the best average aerodynamics because no one side has more surface area since it's... well a sphere. A puck is a cylindrical with 2 curved sides but 2 flat sides as well (with a tapered/beveled edge and cross-hatching for friction) - the puck is also frozen, solid and vulcanized rubber.

I bet a ball hit just right, and rotating (like a bullet) would travel farther with less overall resistance than a puck (at least from efficiency standpoint)

I know a guy who was clocked at 121 on a radar gun with a ball. No skates of course.

 

[Risingwind]

Are there restrictions on the length of the sticks or has everybody just come to the conclusion that a short stick is the best?

It's restricted. I play only as a goalie so I'm not up to date what the current max length is, but it has been extended every couple years. Maybe around 114cm? Unofficially you can use 'illegally long' sticks if it's clearly marked with bright colors or something similar, and there's a gentleman's agreement to not make a fuss out of it.

I suppose the short stick is there to make the D have to work for it and not use a helicopter zone defence. Having no offside rule also makes the game faster so it favors strong skaters.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

It is very easy to hit a deadball/knuckleball on a slapshot. The ball does funny things in the air (curving and dipping). A deadball flies extremely fast too, the ball has 0 spin.

Scored from the red line on a deadball slapshot once. It was going high and wide by a feet, and it dipped in the top corner at the last second.

 

[wgknestrick]

Overall, I think this is an excellent idea.

Balls bounce much more predictably than pucks, and can be shot more accurately IMO. Balls also don't suffer as much as the ice surface degrades through the game. Overall, you get a faster game because the game object moves faster.

Injuries should decrease due to a larger and less blunt contact surface on a ball. Pucks are "sharp" compared to a ball (look at those rink "smiles" you get from them in your chest). I also think you could design the ball with much better shock absorption than a solid rubber puck to reduce bouncing. I also think you could take some weight out of a ball because it wouldn't have to have all that momentum that a puck does to keep moving. This makes for faster shots and more goals.

Balls tend to roll into the goal more often than pucks after the goalie saves it.

So what are the drawbacks? Breaks tradition?