How Much Force Would You Feel When Being Hit by a Slap Shot?

As we're getting further into hockey season and there have already been some amazing shots, I wanted to look at the physics behind one of the most impressive shots in the sport to pull off, the slap shot. I wanted to find out how much force was exerted by the puck on a goalie and how much work was done by the puck during a slap shot.

Assumptions:

• the puck was at rest before it was hit
• the puck was about 40 ft away from the goalie
• the puck accelerated at a constant rate

What we know:

• mpuck = 6 ounces = 0.17 kg
• vo = 0 m/s
• vf = 108.8 mph (fastest slap shot ever recorded in NHL) = 48.6 m/s
• t = 0.5 s
• d = 40ft = 12.192 m

Calculations:

• a = (vf - vo) / t = (48.6 - 0) / 0.5 = 97.25 m/s^2
• F = ma = .17(97.25) = 16.53 N
• W = Fd = 16.53(12.192) = 201 J

For an object with such a small mass, a hockey puck can sure impact a goalie with a decently-sized force when it is propelled forward by a slap shot. It also does quite a bit of work.

Resources:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nhl/news/20130308/top-10-nhl-slap-shots-of-all-time/