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"The Michigan"


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"The Michigan" is a hockey trick that consists of scooping up the puck with the blade of the stick and tucking it into the net. It is done entirely from behind the net where the player picks up the puck and, in one continuous move, tucks the puck in the top corner of the goal. Mike Legg who played for the University of Michigan in 1996, pulled this trick during a college ice hockey game. This move won him the “play of the year” by several sports broadcasters and magazines. This move has been completed in the Junior rankings and semi-pro leagues but it has not been done in successfully in an NHL game.

Physics Behind the move


So why doesn't the puck fall off the stick during this trick? To explain this you can think of a skateboarder going through a loop d loop or swinging a bucket over your head when you have water in it. In order for the move to work the player must move the puck along the trajectory at a high enough velocity to generate a high enough centripetal acceleration , to create enough contact force between puck and blade.  ac = v2/R 
R= the radius of curvature along the trajectory

The puck won’t slip off the blade as long as gravity is overcome by a large enough acceleration produced by the player, the puck must always be accelerating. If the motion stops, the puck falls down.
The blade of the stick must be positioned in the same way as the red arrows shown in the picture for this move to work.

If you are still confused by what actually happens in this move, click the link below to watch the video of the move

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWBYcugv11s

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