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This has good accurate information:
Ice Hockey Skate Buying Demystified
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I investigated this link also and was about to post it.
The one thing that it reinforces and that I would also have advised is that skates should fit 'snugly'. There really dosen't need to be room between your toes and the tip like in shoes.
Smaller is ok. I always remember that Paul Coffey used to weak skates 2 sizes to small, and he was a pretty good hockey player.