Blood lactate response and performance in a simulated ice hockey task in male varsity and recreational players

The purpose was to compare the blood lactate response and performance of varsity hockey players to recreational players, and to provide a shift by shift analysis of blood lactate accumulation in a simulated ice hockey task. Ten university, varsity players and ten recreational players performed a continuous aerobic treadmill test (VO2max), a 45 s Wingate test, and four trials of the Repeat Sprint Skate (RSS) test. Each RSS test consisted of four repetitions of a 91.4 m skate with repetitions initiated on 30 s intervals. To simulate game, competition, 5 min of recovery separated each RSS test. Results indicated: (1) performance of the varsity players was superior (p < 0.01) to that of the recreational players in the RSS test; (2) four shifts of the RSS test elicited similar peak blood lactate concentrations for the varsity and recreational groups; (3) change in blood lactate following 15 min of passive recovery was similar in the two groups, and (4) there was a significant relationship (&prop; = 0.05) between performance indices in the RSS test and corresponding variables measured in the 45 s Wingate test