I went to my first ever hockey game tonight. Had center ice tickets right next to the penalty box. Actually got them as a valentines day present for my girlfriend who was thrilled to watch her hometown kick ass.
Here is one that wasn't blurry. I pushed the iso as far up it would go but couldn't get a fast enough shutter speed for the absurdly fast game.
I like it because it tells a complete story: action in the foreground and context in the background with the glass adding interesting angles. I also like it in B&W as I suspect the color version would be full of color contrast distractions.
The only negatives are the distractions of the rail and spectator's hands in the foreground. I'd suggest you crop up from the bottom just below the elbow of the player entering the ice across his jersey above his pants. No important story value will be lost but the distractions of the spectator and rail will be eliminated.
Going along with Chuck's point @ story, I'd look at cropping some off the rafters, as they aren't necessary to tell the story, and can detract the viewer's eye up (away from the subject) to check out the banners, i.e. away from the real story.
I'd tend to disagree with the idea to crop out the rafters. For me, it gives a sense of "enormity" of what it is to play hockey at the professional level. The large stadium, many fans, the banners of historic players from days past (albeit the Panthers don't really have that history yet).
The cropped photo is a little more intimate, but to me it loses that "gravity" (so-to-speak) of that larger photo.
I can definitely feel your frustration due to the speed of the game. You need some fast glass to keep up. I find myself shooting a lot of goalie shots since they are relatively slow moving compared to the rest of the skaters. I was also a goalie during my playing days, so there's probably a little bias there.
The crop depends on the title and where you want to focus your viewers attention to your intended message.
+1 @ the rafters extend the magnitude of the arena and if the title / intended message is about playing at the highest level they contribute more toward that vibe. I left the crop to include the "sky club" marquis to suggest the level of play that the extraction of the rafters/banners intimated.
Imo, the decision at the crop is relative to the message you are trying to convey ... so either can work. One just needs to recognize how they impact the message you are sending to your viewer. The crop can either harmonize, contradict or rebalance things, so knowing your point/message can help suggest which way to go.
Either way, it's a nice depiction of a portion of the game that is rather unique to hockey.
