Alongwith the helmets and other equipment, this still does not change the style ofplay that the players endure, which is hard andbrutal. Hits on a player even with protective equipment may be safer, but if players beginto understand that severe consequences may be at hand,penalties and other infractions that can pose a threat to the team or a playercan be a good solutionto go by. With plays and moves being dangerous in its own, the real reasonbehind thesesplays are because of player aggravation at hate-motivated plays within thesport of hockey.Aggressive behavior has been a staple of this sport, but with this anger comes consequences,and one such consequence is injury. Inthe peer-review journal called “Effectivenessof interventions to reduce aggression and injuries among ice hockey players: A systematicreview.
” Medical personnel from the Divisionof Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto considered and examined closely at studiesthat were aimed at aggressive behavior. While this is good information, the part thatis most intriguing is that of penalties, which make up for actions that are against the rule book,and can result in player being placed in the penalty box for a short amount of time while the otherteam has a main advantage for this period. Within the studies that were conducted, the journalstates “Of 13 studies that evaluated changes in mandatoryrules intended to lessen aggression (most commonly the restriction of body checking),11 observed a reduction in penalty or injury rates associated with rulechanges, and 9 ofthese showed a statistically significant decrease.” (Effectiveness of interventions toreduce aggression and injuries amongice hockey players: A systematic review, 2013). Even though this maysound confusing and bad, its good. When the leagues change rules to fit withcurrent issues suchas certain moves and plays that can give leeway to more safer play, forexample, if a rule waschanged, such as cross checking and blind hits, this could eliminate moves andactions can resultin serious bodily harm. In addition to this, these new rule changes can alsoset example to youngerplayers and give them the idea that its not acceptable in that their team couldbe down a playerand down overall considering their own actions.