Checking: Players
use
their body and speed to get the opposite team off of the puck
It is known that these skaters can skate up to about 25miles per hour on ice. Imagine two objects skating at each other at that speed, and coliding. The collision can generate couple thousand of pound of force for a split second. An average player weights about 200 pounds. If 200 pounds is going 25 miles per hour, it can carry about 350 pounds in kinetic engergy. (F=ma)
Because there are lots of forces involved in checking, lots of hockey players get hurt from getting checked into the boards, or by getting an open ice hit.
Go to main page Physics in Shooting Phyiscs in Hockey