Functional model of italian ice hockey

It is actually accepted that, because of the shifts’ high intensity, hockey players require to develop muscle strength, anaerobic power and anaerobic endurance; the duration of the game and the need to quickly recover also demands a good aerobic system. The functional model of ice hockey has been particularly studied in United States and Canada; on the contrary physiological qualities of European ice hockey players are not well known. Therefore the purpose of this study is to verify the actual energy expenditure of Italian ice hockey and the actual physiological qualities of ice hockey players. 18 ice hockey players (age 25.54.9 years; fat mass 14.02.9 %), belonging to a middle rank club of Italian premier league championship, volunteered to participate in the study and underwent both laboratory and field tests: incremental test to exhaustion on a cycle-ergometer (Bikerace, Technogym, Italy) in order to identify maximal oxygen consumption (V’O2max) and lactate anaerobic threshold (LAT) on breath by breath basis (K4b2, Cosmed, Italy); modified repeated sprint skate test (RSS), in order to calculate anaerobic power and capacity; peak blood lactate concentration (LApeak) was measured at the end of the test (Biosen 5030, EKF, Germany). Moreover 3 players played a simulated on-ice hockey match during which oxygen consumption (V’O2) and heart rate (HR) were continuously monitored (K4b2, Cosmed, Italy), while blood lactate (LA) was detected at baseline and every 2 min (Biosen 5030, EKF, Germany). They were also observed during a whole match by means of a camera in order to analyze all shifts and the sprints performed during each shift (a sprint was considered a speed higher than 7 m/sec). Physiological parameters of the studied hockey team are statistically lower for V’O2max (14%), anaerobic power (40%) and capacity (30%) if compared with USA ice hockey players (see figure 1 and 2). The players performed for 6.03±0.49min of a 20-min game. Each shift lasts 54.07±5.27sec with an average of 7 shifts per game. V’O2 during the shifts reached 72.84±12.32% of V’O2max with average values (shifts and recovery) of about 56.56±5.01% of V’O2max. Blood lactate remained elevated above resting values (average LA 4.98±0.74mM) with peak values of about 6.87±1.45mM. These preliminary results on Italian ice hockey players demonstrate that they possess lower physiological qualities if compared with elite American ice hockey players. Such a difference can be partly explained by the fact that the studied players don’t practice any specific off-ice training session to enhance aerobic or anaerobic components. Besides the energy demand of the game doesn’t seem high enough to stimulate to the maximum extent and in the optimal required amount both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Not taking into consideration the technical and tactical abilities, it could be concluded that low physiological qualities are the main limiting factors of Italian ice hockey players. Therefore attention should be given to the physical preparation both on-ice and off-ice.