How to Improve Angles When Playing Goalie in Hockey
As a hockey goalie, your job is to stop the puck from entering the goal. A good way to do that is to cut off the net's angles. For instance, if a shooter has a wide angle, he also has less goal area to try to score. If you know where your shooter is positioned, you have a better chance of judging the angle, giving yourself an added advantage.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Practice making saves from the top of the crease during warm-ups. By moving out of the crease, you appear to cover more of the net, minimizing the angles for the shooter. Have your teammates practice skating toward you, almost like they're trying to score on a breakaway.
-
2
Judge where the shooter is in relation to the goal. If the shooter has a wide angle, there's a small amount of area of the goal for him to try to score. This translates to you staying put in the net since you don't have to come out as far to be effective.
-
-
3
Position yourself at the top of the crease if the shooter is near the middle of the net. Place your heels outside the crease to minimize the angles.
-
4
Imagine the hockey puck as a light source and the net as the shadow you want to create. This should be helpful in positioning yourself between the shooter with the puck and the net. One of the problems you may find is keeping yourself centered on the goal, so this trick should help.
-
5
Hold your stick and glove in the ready position at all times. You may need to use your blocker as well, so keep that ready. Cutting off the angles does help, but that doesn't mean that the shooter won't still try to score.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Be alert for dekes or other moves the shooter may make once he realizes you've cut off his shooting angle. Be ready to skate backward to protect the net if he's still skating with the puck and not going for the shot.
Don't overcommit when skating out of the crease. You increase the chance of being backdoored or could be late in deflecting a lateral pass made by the shooter.
Keep in mind that for every inch you're off-line and out of position in relation to the puck, 2 inches are given up, allowing the angle to be bigger for the shooter. For instance, if the goalie is 10 inches too far to the left, 20 inches of space should be open toward his right.
