Watching a hockey
player score a goal

can be a rush of excitement,

but did you know players
often take physics

into account as they play?

We join the Raleigh, North
Carolina hockey team,

the Carolina Hurricanes,

and learn how torque,
friction, energy transfers,

and vectors make for
success on the ice.

- [Narrator] Hockey is one of
the fastest sports on Earth.

Players travel as
fast as vehicles.

Hockey pucks scream along
the ice at 90 miles per hour.

(crowd cheering)

- You gotta know not
just what you're doing,

but what everyone else is doing

and where everyone else is,

so it's awareness, knowing
where they're going,

anticipating where they're going

so that you can get the
puck to them sometime,

or your body in time.

- [Narrator] But it's
not just practice

that helps the
Carolina Hurricanes win

in this fast and frozen sport.

It's science.

We spent some time at a
Hurricanes practice to find out.

- A lot going on in
about a split second,

and these that are so good

they figure it all out
and it happens naturally.

- We've just played for so long

it just comes naturally now.

- There's a lot of information

being thrown at you as a goalie,

because you've gotta
worry about the shooter,

you've gotta worry
about the pass options.

Is there a screen?

Could it hit somebody
in front of you

and it's a broken play?

- [Narrator] Let's look
first at the slap shot.

It's one of the most
exciting moments in hockey,

as well as a dramatic example

of how multiple types
of energy are used.

The power comes from the player

transferring weight
from the back legs,

through the body, down the arms,

and right through to the stick.

The moving player,
and the moving stick,

are examples of kinetic energy.

That's the energy of movement,

but there's more
to it than that.

- Obviously the big windup,

but you're trying to hit
actually the ice first.

People may not know that

so you can bend the stick,

and the stick's
actually doing the work.

- [Narrator] The bent
stick is an example

of potential energy, the
energy stored in an object.

When the stick
actually hits the puck,

the energy stored
in the bowed stick

is converted to kinetic energy,
and released into the puck.

The overall motion
of the shooter

combined with the
stick snapping back

gives the slap
shot so much power.

- That torque on that
stick's gonna make that puck

go where it wants to go

at the speed at
which it wants to go.

can get a little more
torque on their stick,

a little more bend,

creates a lot more
velocity through the puck.

- [Narrator] And it
turns out there are

different types
of hockey sticks.

- There's a lot of physics
that goes into that for sure.

I mean a lot of guys use
different flexes of stick.

I use more of a whippy
stick, so it's easier to move

and then guys like Justin
Faulk use a really stiff stick,

so that means
basically if you have

a lot of upper body strength
and use a stiffer stick

then you're gonna
have a harder shot

just 'cause of the basic
physics of the stick.

- [Narrator] Here's a
different type of shot.

Players call it a
flick, or a wrist shot.

- Now you're talking
about no windup,

but you're still, if you watch,

guys will get torque
on that stick,

so they're still watching.

That stick's still gonna bend.

So now the puck's
right on the stick,

but they're pushing into the ice

to get again that
bend on that stick

to get that stick to do the work

and that whip of that stick
is getting the work done.

Now obviously they
have to have strength,

and you have to have timing

and you have to have skill

to put the puck
where you want it.

That's a whole nother game.

- [Narrator] That's an example

of what's called
projectile motion,

how an object propelled
through the air

is influenced by gravity.

As the player snaps his wrist,

the puck rolls off the blade
and towards the target.

The longer the puck is in
contact with the stick,

the faster it spins when
it leaves the stick,

and that spin keeps
the puck on target,

even though gravity
is pulling it down.

- But you'll move
it on your stick

so guys will pull it in to
get more torque in here,

you know to get that bend.

Sometimes guys like it

depending on the
curve of their stick.

There's a lot of stuff going on

where you release the
puck off the blade.

- These players are so
good that they can start

with the puck out here,

but by the time they release it,

it's two feet in tighter

so they're changing their angle

trying to sneak one by ya.

- [Narrator] Finally
there's passing.

It's one of the most
important skills in hockey.

Passing involves
speed, accuracy,

and a vision of
what is happening.

- How fast they're moving,

obviously if they're moving

then for sure you're
passing it where you think

they're gonna be,
where they're going.

That's kind of the famous
Wayne Gretzky quote

is he's not going
where the puck is,

he's going where
the puck is going.

- [Narrator] Passing
is an example

- [Narrator] Passing
is an example

of what's called velocity
vectors in physics.

A vector is a quantity with

more than one piece
of information.

The players, and
the puck itself,

all have speed and direction.

Putting the vectors
together shows

where the puck needs to
go to complete the pass.

Of course, hockey players do
all of this instinctively.

- There's a lot
going into passing.

It looks like
nothing's going on,

but there's the pace of
the pass, number one.

The curve that
you're passing it to,

so if the guy's on his forehand

I can fire it hard,

meaning I don't have
to lead him too much.

If he's on his backhand where
it's a harder pass to accept,

I better put a little
more touch on it.

A little more
gentle, if you will,

and I maybe have to put it

a little ahead of
him a little more

so he can skate into it.

(crowd cheering)

There's a lot going on.

People don't need to
probably know all that.

At the end of the day,

just putting it in the back
of the net however you can.

- Quest for more hockey,

visit

(pleasant music)