Lacrosse goalies weigh in on NHL nets
By NEIL STEVENS
TORONTO (CP) - Making hockey nets bigger doesn't necessarily mean there'll be a lot more goals scored.
At least that's been the experience in the National Lacrosse League, which three years ago widened nets by three inches to four feet nine inches. One of the many suggestions the NHL is weighing to enhance offence is widening nets by a couple of inches.
"We might be up a goal a game but it hasn't had the drastic effect everybody thought it would have," said veteran NLL goalie Pat O'Toole of the Rochester Knighthawks. "The first few games, goalies struggled but as soon, as they widened the nets, defensive play picked up. Teams really concentrated on defence and checking."
Oh, great, more checking.
Steve Dietrich, the goalie for the NLL's Buffalo Bandits, suggests equipment be restricted before nets widened in hockey.
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