Faloon studies the science of hockey

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Neighbors | Submitted .Phantom members, from left, Mites Coach Joe Creighton, Pee Wee player Brendan Faloon, Youth Hockey Director Brad Patterson and Mites Coach Tim Sicafuse worked together to see “How Far Can You Shoot a Hockey Puck.” Faloon used the topic for St. Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary’s science fair.

Brendan Faloon, a sixth-grade student at St. Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Austintown, used his interest in hockey as inspiration for a middle school science experiment with some help from his teammates and coaches.

Faloon is a member of the Youngstown Phantoms Pee Wee hockey team and has been involved in the program for four years. When the SJIHM students were asked to participate in the annual SJIHM school science fair, he incorporated his enthusiasm for the sport into his project, titling it “How Far Can You Shoot A Hockey Puck?”

Faloon faced the challenge of designing and planning an experiment that would determine how friction affected the distance the puck would travel. He had each participant shoot a puck three times on smooth ice and three times on rough ice, while Faloon recorded data that would be used in his final report.

In order to conduct his experiment over the course of one month, he enlisted the help of Brad Patterson, Youngstown Phantoms’ Youth Hockey Director.

Patterson was able to schedule special times at the Ice Zone where Faloon and volunteer participants had access to the ice rink. There were 27 Phantom youth hockey players from the ages of 7-13 who had their parents’ permission to participate.

Aside from proving his hypothesis that the puck would travel farther on smooth ice with less friction, he also learned that being a part of Youngstown Phantoms’ youth hockey is being a part of a special “family” where people are willing to help.

Faloon had help conducting the experiment from Tim Sicafuse and Joe Creighton, coaches of the Phantoms’ Mites, and from Zack Harris, an Ice Zone employee.

Faloon’s project was judged at the SJIHM Science Fair Feb. 9 and received a Superior rating award. The honor makes him eligible to participate in the Lake to River Science Fair at YSU.