1.) It's a damn sight easier to slapshot on the ice than it is in rollerhockey. I have been going to ice hockey training for about 2.5 months (and already the girls are asking when I'm going to be playing league games) and didn't attempt a slapshot on the ice until Friday just previous because I was scared of the result.

I was scared that it'd be way too embarrasing because I was so used to hitting a lighter, plastic puck compared to the heavier, rubber ones that are used at ice hockey.

Turns out I didn't need to worry at all. I did my first slapshot on the ice during a blue line drill for one time shots and it zinged off towards the middle of the goal at a respectable height and speed. Good stuff I thought. All that stuff about hitting the ice first before the puck really does count - whereas in roller hockey, you tend to have to be very accurate in hitting just the puck and not the floor too much otherwise you'll lose a lot of power straight into the floor owing to the higher friction.

2.) Everyone has a better side to stop on. I have two fairly crappy knees. One I wrecked when I was about 12 in a skiing accident and that healed a bit wonky but otherwise works just fine. The other I smashed to pieces in a car crash about 6 years ago, that one needs continuous work to keep functioning so that I can play my sports.

I'm right handed in life, right handed on the rink and as it goes, I find it much easier to ice hockey stop with my left foot. I figure it's because my right leg is a bit wonky and instead of smoothly cutting into the ice like with my left foot, it judders along the ice. I'm not going to let it dissuade me because it just needs some work.

3.) Having that 5th player on the pad really does mix things up. When asked what 'rollerhockey' is, a lot of people say that it's like ice hockey with one less player. It really isn't! During scrimmages I find myself occasionally caught out by the positioning, as I'm so embedded in the rollerhockey style of play. I play as defense in roller but I'm not sure what my niche is in ice yet, I quite like playing centre at the moment; but at the end, it's down to the coach.

4.) I don't sweat as much during ice hockey but I work just as hard. Sounds odd I know. I'm very used to coming home after a 2 hour training session from rollerhockey absolutely drenched in sweat. Because ice time is so hard to get hold of here, we only have an hour training session on a Friday night but the rink is one of the biggest in the UK and much bigger than the sports hall I'm used to training in. So I cover more ground, but because it's so cool I don't sweat nearly as much. An oddity I hope to overcome by the time I'm playing some league games (in Sept I hope!).

5.) I'm loving it! My skating needs some work as I'm so used to rollerblades and my balancing is different but I can't wait to keep improving my skills on the ice and become an asset to the team. :)

So last night was my first ever attempt at playing ice hockey!

I can ice skate although my ice hockey stops leave something to be desired. Borrowed some kit, just some shorts, socks and body armour (I had the rest from my roller hockey) and I was away.

Nervous as all hell about it, but that quickly dispersed as soon as I got on the ice and did some basic drills. All the drills were familiar to me and all I had to worry about really was my skating.

The puck handles differently a) because it's heavier and solid and b) because it's on ice, it tends to travel for a lot longer.

One thing that took me by surprise was how easy it was to build up loads of speed at not a lot of effort. Trouble was, my stopping is a bit limited, but I didn't end up on my ass a single time.

We did drills for an hour and then had a scrimmage for a half hour. (Which threw me, I thought it was only an hour session, so I didn't get home until 12:30am!)

As the main squad did their own training and the rest of us stragglers did our own thing, we did 3 on 3 whilst the main squad did 5 on 5. We took turns on the rink for about 2/3 minutes a time.

What shocked me was that after my first 3 on 3 scrimmage, one of the main squad asked me to join in with them on the 5 on 5 scrimmage after my next turn. That was surprising, but awesome.

It's so much faster on the ice than you ever realise and it's a bigger rink than I'm used to, so whilst my fitness helped me out, I can see it myself getting fitter because of it.

Thoroughly looking forward to next Friday's session :D

This probably isn't the right time to write this but I've gotta get it out on 'paper'.

In the Summer of 2010, I played for the GB Womens Inline Hockey Squad and was also Captain. It was my first time playing for GB. Had a great time playing in the AAU Junior Olympics and came home with 2 medals (Silver and Bronze in 2 different tournys, silver in International).

Time passed, new trials began, I duly went along. I worked my butt off, skated around that rink, made my passes, stopped all bar one player getting past me on defensive drills.

Then something that really shook me up today happened.

I got told that I didn't make the squad.

I'm confused, how do I go from Captain to not in the squad at all. And trust me, I'm not the only person confused by the move. A few of the other girls have asked why I've been cut and are also quite shocked by the news.

The only explaination I've had is that there were a greater number of girls at the trials than before.

I can't do anything about it, the decision has been made.

Nonetheless, it's really torn me up. I'm now doubting everything about myself and I'm not sure where to go from here in terms of my hockey.

Gotta say, this one really hurts.

This is my first blog entry. Hello :)

I feel like a frog in a fish pond here because I don't play ice hockey, I only play inline (roller) hockey. I play here in the UK and over the last few years of getting back into the sport after a nasty car crash, I've gotten to the point of knowing that if I go almost anywhere in the UK to play hockey, I'll bump into someone I know in the hockey world.

This Summer I played for the Ladies Great Britain Roller Hockey squad over in Los Angeles in the Junior Olympics. It was a great experience for me and to top it off, I got picked as Captain before we flew out. My first time in the GB squad and made Captain, I wish I could have seen my face when they announced it. :)

I'm hoping to play with the GB squad again soon as they want to put a senior squad into the World Championships in July 2011 (which are being held in Italy).

My local team is technically a mixed squad but out of 2 women that play, I'm the only one who plays in league games. Because I'm a lass, I play in the seniors league (which is 21 years+) and I can also play down to Under 21's AND play up to the Veterans age group. Which is nice, because I can play more hockey than most.

I've been considering playing ice hockey for several years but always thought that my knees wouldn't be able to handle it. However, after lots of extra exercise to get myself fitter for the GB games, I found my knees really improved and handled all the additional abuse I threw their way.

So I'm more open to the idea of playing ice - except I'm not sure how well my 'skills' (if you can call them that) would transfer over to ice.

I've found that in playing with the lads, I've had to bring myself up towards their standards - I'm older than most of them (although not all) and have to wonder if that will help my case at all.

Basically, I'm asking for any opinions or if indeed anyone else has been in a similar situation?

Thoughts are most gratefully received.