Ice hockey facial protectors are essential to prevent eye and dental injuries but must also not encumber vision and, in turn, players' performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three different facial protection conditions on response time (RsT) and kinematics in a goal directed pointing task: helmet (control), visor, and cage. A 13 light target array and six-camera Vicon Mx system were used to collect response time and kinematic data. Subjects recruited were 16 male and 12 female varsity ice hockey players (n=28). Results demonstrated that although kinematics remained largely unaffected, throughout the visual field test RsT increased significantly with the cage (23 ms) as well as delayed head movement for both the visor (14 ms) and cage (18 ms). These differences may well represent a functional disadvantage to a player's performance given the dynamic, open environment where multiple players contest for puck possession. In summary, further research is warranted to achieve both optimal performance and safety.

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The purpose was to examine the effect of shaft stiffness on puck velocity and response characteristics of the stick during performance of a slap shot. Six elite male ice hockey players performed 6 slap shots with 4 sticks of different shaft stiffness designated as medium (13 N/m), stiff (16N/m), extra (17 N/m) and pro stiff (19 N/m). These four levels represent the range in stiffness of sticks available to hockey players. The mechanics of the slap shot were evaluated by recording ground reaction forces and kinematics from high speed filming and a radar gun. Data were analyzed with a 3-way repeated measures ANOVA for 7 dependant variables---puck velocity, peak Z force, peak Y force, time to achieve peak Z force, time to achieve peak Y force, peak deflection and time to peak deflection of the shaft. Results indicated: (1) the stick with shaft stiffness of 13 N/m produced the highest puck velocity, the greatest amount of shaft deflection, the longest time to peak deflection and the lowest peak Z forces; (2) time to obtain peak forces in the Y and Z directions were similar across level of shaft stiffness; (3) puck velocity was influenced by the interaction of subject and stiffness; (4) variability in performance measures across subjects was greater than the variability across stiffness.

This thesis was to examine the interaction of players' skill level, body strength, and various types of stick construction and stiffness on the performance of the hockey shots. Forty subjects were tested, and each subject performed the slap and wrist shots with different stick shaft constructions and stiffness. Shot mechanics were evaluated by simultaneously recording of ground reaction forces, stick movements and peak puck velocity. Data analyzed with a 4-way ANOVA for several dependent variables. The results indicated that: (1) the slap shot was faster than the wrist shot corresponding to greater vertical force, stick bending and hand placement; (2) the puck velocity was influenced by skill level and body strength not stick type; and, (3) the skilled players generated greater vertical force and stick bending by adjusting their hand positions. Further studies are needed to address the specific stick material and construction properties.

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A preconcentration procedure has been developed which at one and the same time raises the concentration of the two groups of elements, AS, Au, Cu, Os, Pb, Pd, Pt and Rh and As, Sb, Se, So, To and T1, in many natural materials above the detection limits of the spark-source mass spectrometric technique and separates them from interfering matrix elements. The technique involves the cementation of the elements from solution on amalgamated aluminium powder which can be pelleted directly to form the electrode for spark source mass spectrometric analysis. Through the use of wet oxidative digestions and oxygen flaskcombustion oxidation procedures in conjunction with the cementation procedure the above elements have been determined in a number of biological, geological and environmental samples.

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