Carnosine Gel for Ice Hockey

The Hockey Room Secret: Why LactiGo Became Standard in Visiting Locker Rooms

Nineteen years ago, a small team of performance scientists tested a radical idea: could a topical gel deliver carnosine fast enough to matter on game day—and help buffer the acid burn from repeat, high-intensity efforts? It wasn’t built for sports, but when players felt the difference, ice hockey became the proving ground.

Recommended read: ESPN’s feature, “The ex-NHL teammates working on hockey’s ‘secret’ remedy,” profiles ex-Capitals teammates Jay Beagle, Eric Fehr, and Karl Alzner, how they reconnected around LactiGo, and how those unmistakable green-capped bottles started showing up in locker rooms across the sport.
👉 https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39907876/nhl-capitals-teammates-lactigo-recovery-beagle-fehr-alzner ESPN.com

From lab bench to bench doors

Carnosine is a histidine-containing dipeptide that helps buffer hydrogen ions and slow the drop in muscle pH during intense efforts—one reason it supports repeat sprints and late-shift legs in sports like hockey. Beyond buffering, research describes carnosine’s antioxidant and anti-glycation roles that help protect proteins and tissues from oxidative stress and sugar-related stiffness over time. ESPN.com

Why hockey adopted it first

Hockey demands hard changes and repeat accelerations with minimal recovery. A fast, topical approach that players can apply pre-game or between periods—and actually feel—made practical sense to equipment staffs and performance coaches. The ESPN piece even notes how veterans noticed LactiGo turning up in elite settings (e.g., the U.S. men’s World Juniors celebration scene showed those green caps in the room). ESPN.com

Listen to LactiGo Chief Science Officer Chad Macias talking about the NHL:

Certified clean for pros (and everyone else)

For athletes under zero-tolerance testing, trust is everything. LactiGo is Informed Sport–certified, and every batch from certified brands is tested for banned substances before release—the standard teams look for before anything touches the shelf. Informed Sport+1

What players feel (and why)

• More push late in a shift: consistent with carnosine’s intramuscular buffering role.

• Quicker bounce-back: aligns with carnosine’s antioxidant support under heavy workloads.

• A looser, less “sticky” feel over time: reflects carnosine’s anti-glycation activity that helps protect proteins in muscle and connective tissues. ESPN.com

Here is a quick video with Stanley Cup Champion Eric Fehr's LactiGo story:

Beyond the rink

What started in hockey didn’t stay there. As data and word-of-mouth spread, elite teams in other sports integrated topical carnosine gels for the same reasons: they’re fast, topical, and certified clean—and in repeat-effort sports, that last 5–10% often decides games. ESPN.com

Bottom line: LactiGo wasn’t adopted because of a marketing campaign—it spread player-to-player and trainer-to-trainer because it’s practical on game day, grounded in physiology, and every batch is Informed Sport tested so athletes can trust what goes on their skin.