# Hockey Question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-question/720459
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [May 21, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-question/720459 "2015-05-21T00:39:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-question/720459/1 "2015-05-21T00:39:10Z")
Watching the Blackhawks/Ducks game last night, I noticed a difference in the sticks. On the sticks of one team (I do not recall which) the bottom of the stick was white. On the other team it was black. Why? I’m not a big Hockey guy, but I thought black was preferred because it “hid” the puck better.
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### Author:  [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-question/720459/2 "2015-05-21T02:18:23Z")
I’ll take a wild stab and guess that in close quarters when 3-4 players are battling for the puck, the players can tell which sticks are theirs and which are their opponents. That would theoretically make it easier to tell where you’re trying to guide the puck to, while not giving either team an advantage.
Or, since it’s a playoff game, maybe it’s just a superstition that started with one player on the team and caught on. Pro athletes are weird, ya know?
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### Author:  [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-question/720459/3 "2015-05-21T02:21:44Z")
[It’s tape.](http://www.explorecuriocity.org/Content.aspx?contentid=318) There are many threads on hockey boards out there about black tape vs. white tape, but you’ll often find [goalies insisting that it makes no difference](http://www.reddit.com/r/hockeyplayers/comments/2ubspc/question_for_the_goaltenders_of_rhockeyplayers/) in their ability to follow the puck, so a lot of it comes down to personal preference.
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### Author:  [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-question/720459/4 "2015-05-21T02:26:15Z")
Just seems more than coincidental that one team used one color and the other team another.
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### Author:  [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-question/720459/5 "2015-05-21T03:43:15Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#):
>
> Just seems more than coincidental that one team used one color and the other team another.
They didn’t. It’s individual player preference not team based. Go through the pics [here](http://www.nhl.com/ice/series.htm?season=20142015&series=n&navid=nhl:topheads) and you’ll see it’s random.