The $20 Hockey Goal

Back in the day, I worked at a sporting goods store.  I remember the Evers family coming in every fall to buy new gear for their hockey playing sons.  They would easily lay down $1500 in that visit.  The moral of this story?  Hockey is an expensive sport!  So when the future Mario LeMieux and Jaromir Jagr in my life started playing hockey, I decided we needed to start economizing now!

A hockey goal isn't much more than some pipe and mesh, right?  So why not make one instead of buying one?  I laid down about $15 for 3/4 inch PVC pipe, PVC cement, spray paint, and some 90 degree joints at the local Home Depot.  I paid about $5 for some utility mesh and at the craft store, then added some muslin scraps I had on hand.

They wanted me to make the net NHL regulation size which I did.  It's taller than them at this point!  They are growing like weeds so it won't stay that way for long.  You could save yourself $5 and skip the spray paint, but we think it looks pretty snazzy.

It's easy to take apart.  So easy, even a cat can do it! (Though, my cat is exceptionally smart.)  If I get my act together, I may make them a duffel bag to tote it around in.

This net is big enough that it would be good for soccer practice, too.  There was some discussion about the need to weight the net in the back for stability.  With street hockey, that doesn't seen to be much of an issue.  If you do use one for soccer, I would suggest you come up with a way to weight it down.

That's the story of the $20 hockey goal.  As my dad has always said, "Vote early and vote often!"