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The Goaltender is The Backbone
Of Your Hockey Team
Many coaches consider their Goaltender to be the most valuable
player on their team. The goalie has the very difficult job of
keeping the puck, sometimes fired at great speed, out of the net
and any mistake the goalie makes usually results in a goal
against.
If the goalie stops the first shot they have done their job. If
they have to stop the 2nd and 3rd shot on the same play, their
team mates are not doing their defensive job of clearing
rebounds and covering or moving opponents from in front of their
net and the slot area.
Keys to Good Goaltending
Positioning is the key to good goaltending. If you are in the
correct position to stop the puck it will hit you 99 times out
of 100. The goalie must be positioned square or 90 degrees to
the puck when it leaves the shooters stick and move to a square
position to stop any rebounds. Keep your eye on the puck at all
times even when it’s in the opposite end of the rink. Nothing is
worse for your team than giving up a soft long shot because you
weren’t watching the puck.
Another key element of goaltending is cutting the angle. The
goalie must move out of her net beyond the goal crease to cut
the angle in order to make the net seem smaller to the shooter
.The shooter will always tip the goalie off that she is going to
shoot by looking down at the puck to make sure it is on her
stick in the right shooting position. Move out 1 to 2 feet
further towards the shooter when she does this to make the net
seem even smaller.
Try to catch every puck shot at you, even on the blocker side,
this way you prevent any possible rebound and can get a stoppage
in play if required.
Stay up on your feet as long as you can and if you go down try
to get your legs spread out towards each post in the butterfly
style to prevent low shots from going in. Remember the entire
puck must cross the Goal line to count as a goal not 50% or 75%
of the puck.
Controlling rebounds will be another challenge for the goalie.
If she can stop the first shot and the puck rebounds forward or
off to the side, the goalie must be quick to fall on it, or
direct or shoot it into the corner to prevent the opposition
from getting a 2nd shot at it. Your defensemen and forwards
should also clear any rebounds away from the net.
Always talk to your defensemen to let them know if a player is
open in front of your net, or if you are screened. Also, let
them know if a forechecker is after them in the corner or if
they have time to make a good play. If you help them they will
help you.
Playing breakaways - Sooner or later you are going to have to
play a breakaway ~ 1 forward in alone against the goalie.
Move out to challenge the shooter then slowly retreat to the top
of the crease. Stay in a standing position as long as you can
and try to get the shooter to make the first move to either
shoot or deke. If you make the first move and go down early the
shooter will either shoot high or go around you, but if you hold
your position, always square to the shooter even when they tries
to deke you, the shooter will run out of room and either shoot
at you or miss the net 9 out of 10 times. |
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