Help with shooting kid's hockey

Hey folks,

I am just getting back into photography and never shot any types of sports at all. The opportunity has come up where I may be shooting a friend's kid playing hockey.

I am looking for any advice on how to shoot the practice and game in order to get the best photos.

I have an XSi, 18-55mm IS F/4-5.6 kit lens, 70-200mm F/4 L (non-is) lens and a 420EX flash.

I was reading some of GMens advice and will probably shoot JPEG in this case. Not sure if I am secure enough yet to go fully manual or not. I would imagine the lighting in the arena would be pretty even, so going manual may be an option. He also mentioned shooting at 1/1000 or higher. With that in mind, would the F/4 70-200 be better than the 18-55 F4-5.6? Would a flash even be needed or would the existing light be enough?

Lot of questions, but any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance...
Al

Depending on the rink i shoot manual f/4, 1/500 (1/1000 is nice if you have the light - you won't IMHO) and iso 3200 or 6400 for kids. I try and meter for the ice and shoot one stop over that without clipping. If you can't push iso that high you could try to use your flash. If you don't want to use your flash you could go with a slower shutter speed and do candid's of face-offs, goal celebrations, kids on bench, coach talking to kids between periods...
I got great advice here when i started - still learning

Thanks for the info MrWilliams. I will see if I can get out to a rink and practice shooting before I do my friends kid.

I have to agree with you here about getting great advice. This is one of the best forums that I've seen where egos are left at the door and everyone is willing to help out. Absolutely fantastic experience every time I come here.

Al