If you play ice hockey, then you know how annoying it is when the puck goes straight into the goal, or if you miss a shot because the goalie covered the net.
Between the sting of the puck hitting the metal and the puck sliding towards your feet, there’s no padding that can make it better. You’ll have to make do with plain old ice or snow until the next game.
Thankfully, with creative thinking and resourcefulness, you can give your team a fighting chance with some DIY goal pads. Here’s how to make them.
Table of Contents
The Basics
To begin with, you’ll need to collect some old pants or shorts. With the rise of street hockey and kids playing in small areas, the demand for ice hockey pads has decreased. This has resulted in many people trying to offload their old skate pads, which are quite useless in stopping a puck anyway.
You’ll also need to get some hockey socks and some old t-shirts. The former will be the closest thing you have to padding, while the latter can be used to cover the bottom of the shorts to create a realistic effect. You’ll also need to get some spray paint to give the illusion that the pads have been professionally manufactured. Finally, you’ll need to put the time in to cut the holes for the head and arms.
The Brackets
The next step is to create the structure for the ice pads. It’s important to remember that these aren’t meant to be worn but rather used to stop a puck. As such, you’ll need to make sure that the structure is extremely strong. This can be difficult for some people, as they might not have the necessary tools, but with a little research and some determination, you can make the job easier. With that in mind, cut some 2″ x 2″ wooden blocks and glue them together, using rubber cement or liquid nails. You can use 2″ x 4″s for the corners and another pair of 2″ x 2″s for the edges, which will create an oblong shape that is slightly thinner than a standard hockey puck. This shape will create more surface area and allow for more effective stopping power. For added strength, you can staple another layer of 2″ x 2″s to the inner surfaces.
The Padding
Once you have your wooden structure, it’s time to move on to the fun part: the padding. For that, you’ll need to collect some old pillowcases or bedsheets and cut them into 2″ x 3″ rectangles. You’ll then need to stuff them with cotton balls, shredded newspapers or polyester fiberfill to create an incredibly realistic effect. To give the puck a more professional appearance, you can add small cushions on the inside to make it seem like there’s actual ice beneath the fabric. Remember that while this might make the pad look more realistic, it also makes it more difficult for the goalie to slide on. That’s why it’s best to keep it as real as possible while also making it easy to move around in. Keep in mind that the goalies of today are generally smaller than those from years past, so you might need to make some allowances for that as well.
The Hands
Hands are important, too, so you’ll need to prepare them for the task at hand. This means cutting them off of old t-shirts and either using a hacksaw or cutting them by hand with a knife. It might be a good idea to wear protective gloves while doing this, especially if you’re going to be using a knife. It also helps to wash your hands frequently in order to remove any sweat that might cause the gloves to slip and make a mess of your cutting surface.
Snow Removal
While we’re on the subject of gloves, it’s important to remember to remove any snow that builds up around the padding during the winter. This is important for several reasons. First of all, it looks cool and professional when the pads are resting on the top of a fluffy mound of snow. Second, snow naturally insulates the pads against extreme temperatures, greatly increasing their life span. Finally, when the snow melts in the spring, it leaves behind a thick layer of grime, which can make the pads deteriorate much faster than if they remained clean all year long. As such, you should remove any snow regularly, using a blowtorch or hairdryer on the pads until they sparkle like new.
The Final Product
Once you’ve collected all of your necessary items, it’s time to put them together. Begin by gluing the bottom of each pillowcase to a cardboard backing and cutting them to size. Then, take a pair of scissors or a knife and cut the corner of one of the long edges of each square. This will create a small flap, which you can use to close the pad whenever you’re done using it. The cardboard backing will also prevent any of the glue from seeping out and potentially causing a mess on the floor or some other surface. Once you’ve done this, glue the four remaining edges of the square together to complete the pad structure.
There, now you can help your favorite hockey player stop all of those shots with ease!