The use of vision during offensive ice hockey skills

The purpose of this study was to determine if any differences in gaze characteristics existed between accurate and inaccurate shooting groups. A total of twelve subjects participated in this study; five of which were placed in the AS group (accurate) and seven in the IS group (inaccurate) post-hoc. The task required the subjects to receive a pass from an assistant, followed by the execution of a wrist shot at one of two targets on net. Each subject performed 90 total shots which included 60 shots with a time pressure condition and 30 shots without any time constraints. Passes were directed to either the forehand or backhand of the subject for the time pressure task, while during the task with no time pressure passes were only directed to the forehand. Each subject executed the protocol wearing an eye tracking system which identified their eye-line-of-gaze which was recorded at 60 Hz. The results indicated that for the forehand reception / time pressure condition the AS group gazed at the net and target (combined time) for a significantly longer (p < 0.049) duration (0.191 s +/- 0.020) prior to the shot release, than the IS group (0.136 s +/- 0.017). The backhand reception / time pressure condition yielded similar results regarding this gaze characteristic. The results of the forehand reception / time pressure condition also revealed that the AS group was able to shift their gaze from the puck (on the ice) to the net in a significantly shorter (p < 0.014) duration of time (0.157 s +/- 0.023) than the IS group (0.238 s +/- 0.019). When no time constraints were placed on the subjects, no significant differences in gaze characteristics were found between the two accuracy groups. However, the AS group was able to significantly improve (p< 0.042) their accuracy results in the no time pressure condition (M=57.3% to 70.7%) while the IS group (M=28.1% to 30.0%) was not able to do so. The results of the present study suggest that accurate shooters in ice hockey are able to transfer their gaze to the net in a significantly shorter duration of time which ultimately allows them to gaze at the net and target for a significantly longer duration of time in comparison to an inaccurate shooter. These factors in combination with the kinematics of the shooter may help to determine the accuracy of a shooter in ice hockey. Verifying if these same differences exist, or if there are any more discrepancies when a goaltender is present in the net may be the next step for future studies.