Tip of the Week

Tip of the Week: Driving the Net

Too often when I watch games I see teams struggling to get any quality opportunities or scoring chances off their rushes and entries into the offensive zone. This is usually a result of the lack of a center lane drive. Instead of the forward in the middle of the ice closest to the puck carrier driving the middle lane between the defensemen, they are just sagging behind the puck carrier waiting for a drop pass wanting to be the shooter. The usual end result is being stuck on the perimeter without a quality scoring chance.

By having that forward drive the center lane between the two defensemen you can create a number of better quality scoring chances and open up the middle of the ice where you want to get your shots from. Three possible chances are as such; 1- a shot off the wing in which a rebound may be available for the middle forward driving the net; 2- the defenseman doesn’t pick up the middle forward going to the net and they end up wide open for a pass; or 3 – by driving the net the it opens up the middle of the ice for the third forward from the weak side to delay and come across into the middle of the ice late for a pass and quality scoring opportunity.

Every player wants to be the forward who gets to shoot the puck. However, there are times in which they must simply do the work and not be the shooter. Consistency in driving the center lane by every player on a line will create numerous scoring opportunities for each line mate and increase your teams quality scoring chances.