Sports Etc

You really cannot get much better than this store when it comes to hockey. Tremendous wealth of knowledge and a good old fashioned dose of local customer service and personal attention. You will not get this anywhere else.

Quick, knowledgeable and friendly !!! Can’t say how easy it was to get the right help in buying skates for my 6year old. We will definitely be back!!!

The best sporting goods store around. Amazing expertise in hockey and more hockey! These guys know their stuff! Fabulous customer service, extremely professional. The best, hands down in New England. So no surprise people come from far and wide. Shop Local — Shop Sports Etc.

Great for hockey! They did a great job sharpening skates and have everything one could want about hockey. Very knowledgeable staff. Locally owned.

The best. These guys know everything about hockey and hockey equipment. Highly recommend.

This is a really great hockey store. (Sure, they have some random other things like frisbees and soccer balls but really, this is a hockey store.)
This is the website:
They have quite a bit of everything in terms of hockey — shin pads, elbow pads, goalie skates, regular skater skates, shoulder pads, practice jerseys, regular pucks and weighted pucks, various tape (stick and all-​purpose), goalie pads, sticks, helmets, shields, hockey pants, hockey pant shells, gloves, blade guards, hockey bags, goalie gear (blockers, gloves, pads, etc.) you name it. And everything from the amateur starter to a semi-​professional. They may not have everything (e.g., you won’t find official Team USA Olympic jerseys or every team’s NHL gear or «Red Tackla Hockey Pant Shells») but certainly enough. Prices are okay, and they do have sales every so often. I don’t think they had any used gear — all new.
After college when I was continuing to play intramural hockey, I probably bought about half of my upgraded gear from Sports Etc.
They do skate sharpening as well. And you can get a multi-​sharpening package. I ALWAYS and ONLY get my skates sharpened here. They also do skate repairs. One of my pretty nice skates became a bit loose in the heel because of some cracked plastic and they fixed that in reasonable time and cost (I think it was like 10 years ago, $ 20). Felt like brand new. Never had any problems with the skates since.
The sales people seemed very nice and very knowledgeable. (I’ve never been barked at and sometimes I’ve just wandered in to look at stuff.)
They’re up at Arlington Heights and usually I can find parking in that area. I think it was pretty close to Penzey’s Spices so I parked for both (for free — no meter).

Can’t say enough good things about Sports Etc.
I started shopping there this summer having never played ice hockey before. They were kind, helpful and up front about everything. They had no problem walking my friend and I thorough every purchase, from skates to sticks and pads to helmets.
I’ve continued to do the majority of my shopping. I even had a bag break (manufacturer’s defect), and the store replaced it for me even though I didn’t have the receipt anymore.
It’s a shame that more stores like this don’t exist. Great selection and even better customer service. Highly recommended!

I just went for skate sharpening, because NEVER PUT YOUR SKATES IN THOSE AWFUL AUTOMATIC MACHINES.
Anyway, really — go to a professional. My hockey skates are embarrassingly rusty but they came back prettier than before, and done while I waited on a weekday afternoon (hint: they have a whole wall of autographed hockey sticks, which are pretty cool to look at). They seemed well staffed; in addition to cash and shop work, they had a couple sales people there fitting skates and helping other customers with equipment. I was really drooling over the equipment and really wanted to buy all the things while I was there, even though I can’t play hockey.
Maybe my Canadian is showing, but I wish more recreational women skaters would just buy hockey skates. (I refrained from proselytizing while I was there) [/​personal rant]
I also got a pair of blade guards, and they advised me well. He was patient while I asked questions about their sharpening and what diameter they’d use.
While I’ve had my skates sharpened for less money, I don’t think the sharpening job was as good as Sports Etc did. I’ll definitely go back there.
You can often find street parking right in Arlington Heights, but there’s also a lot right beside the row of shops which you can park in.

This is a great store with very helpful staff, and I don’t feel as if they are just trying to make a sale. This is where I get my son’s hockey gear every time.

This place was great! I wanted to find a local place to buy some hockey skates, and I can’t imagine a better store or experience. We got in there to find a big (yet cozy) shop full to the brim with hockey equipment. Their skate selection was huge and very reasonably priced. The salespeople are super-​knowledgeable and helpful. We got in there, and within a few minutes, I was trying skates on. I told them what I needed and they got it right with the first try. We got free sharpening, and we were probably in and out within 15 minutes.

The staff is sooooo nice and knowledgeable!!! The selection of skates is huge. Very convenient. And we like the intimate nature of the store, unlike huge chain stores. Definitely your go-​to store for hockey stuff!

I went to Sports Etc yesterday to buy ice skates for my preschool-​aged son. Very pleased with the pleasant and helpful service that I received. It is a pleasure to support a small business that offers such a great experience.

After a sharpening here, I took the ice a few times and I skate very hard. harder than most I might add, Nice and even, I will be back here for my future skate needs.

I’ve been a goalie in Boston from youth league through DII college and now into Senior Leage.
Sports Etc is the BEST place I have found (and I’ve been to a LOT of places) for:
— Goalie Equipment selection and Service
— Skate sharpening (custom radius, sharpness)
— General Goaltending advice

I have been to Sports Etc twice. The first time was a few months ago with my boyfriend when he needed a new hockey stick. The salesman was so knowledgeable and friendly. I wanted to stick around for a while longer to learn more about hockey sticks!
The second time was this past Saturday when I went to get some ice skates. The salesman was patient and knowledgeable about the skates. I tried on several pairs and he made sure I would understand the difference between each one. He helped me decide on a very cute pair of figure skates. We went skating on them Saturday night, and my feet were so happy to be out of rental skates!

Aside from the misleading name, this is a great hockey shop with an impressive selection and extremely knowledgeable and helpful employees. Their prices are very reasonable and the service is top-​notch. I live and work in Boston but will gladly take the 45-​minute trip to Arlington Heights for all my hockey needs.
I bought my skates there recently and they worked with me on three separate visits, helping me to understand the proper fit while also listening well to my needs. They provide a warranty on skates at no extra charge.
They gladly explained a lot of other things to me while I was there and offered advice and recommendations for someone just starting out (me). I bought a bunch of equipment here as well. Again, good selection and excellent service.
My only complaint is that they close early, although they are open til 8pm on Thursdays. Check before you venture out there.

Short version: this is THE place to go for hockey stuff. Great selection, even better assistance.
Long version: I’m just back from an amazing experience at Sports, Etc. As I said, this is THE place in the Boston area for hockey stuff. They also have some general sports stuff (baseball, basketball, lacrosse, some running shoes, rollerblades), but its core is hockey.
About two years ago I bought a pair of skates there. My daughter has taken up hockey, and I wanted to skate with her. I have wide feet, and so I needed someplace where they had a broad selection and knew the brands well enough to find the right fit. They found me a pair of Bauer skates that fit pretty well (they are the type that you can heat and fit to your foot).
So far so good, but I found after about a half-​dozen uses that they weren’t perfect. Still not wide enough. They had told me that I could come back twice to reheat and refit the boots. That was two years ago, however, and I got lazy and just didn’t skate much. Finally, I got it together to go back.
They were as helpful as can be. It didn’t seem to matter that I’d bought the skates two years previously. The guy (Mike) probably spent 20 minutes with me. He reheated the boots, then asked me to walk around and give him insight into how they felt. He had various tools to shape the boots in the places where they were uncomfortable. He took them back to his workbench several times, adjusting here and there, and using a special tool to spread the inside of the boots wider. Long story short, they fit great now. At the end I offered to pay him, but he would accept money. All part of the service.
On the way out, I complemented the check-​out people on how helpful Mike was. They said, «Oh yes, he’s been with us for 20 years. We actually have 6 people on staff who’ve been here for 20 years or more.» Wow. What retail store has that kind of experienced staff on hand any more? This guy must know more about hockey equipment than almost anyone. And the way he seemed to have all the time in the world for me made it worth it. I’m told the prices are reasonable there, but I don’t really care what they are at this point. This is where we are going to get our hockey equipment from now on.

A while back I was looking to have custom T’s made for party favors. Sports Etc in Arlington Heights came to my rescue. Brian was a delight to work with and when a miscommunication resulted in a misprint, he was eager to have it fixed within 48 hours of my event. The tees were a MAJOR hit. In the future, I’ll do my best to fax orders in order to avoid miscommunications but I’d definitely go to Sports Etc for this purpose again.
Sports Etc is also apparently THE local spot for hockey equipment, my local hockey playing friends always stop there first. For Menotomites, Sports Etc. offers convenience, provides excellent customer service and saves a trip to Cambridge for personalized Ts. What more can one ask for?