Welcome

Rules

Penalties

General Team Skills

Basic Team Patterns

Phase One

Phase Two

Phase Three

Phase Four

Phase Five

Phase Six

Puck In Contention

Trick Stuff

Review
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     The defenseman nearest the puck carrier should try to force the puck carrier to the boards and poke the puck away.  The other defenseman must stay just ahead of whichever one of the other team's non-puck-carrying forwards is skating fastest towards our zone, ready to cut off a pass or (if that skater succeeds in getting a pass) to force him to the boards and get the puck off him.  Don't go for intercepting a pass unless you are absolutely sure you will get it.  The consequence of failure is a two-on-one against us!

     The first one of our forwards back should stay with the other team's head man.  Try to intercept a pass to him and get the puck off him if he gets the pass.  If the defenseman is successful in forcing the puck-carrier toward the boards, our forward should continue to go after him, but at an angle so that if the attacker tries to cut inside the defenseman he will run into our forward.  Then our forward takes the puck away from the attacker.  If another of the other team's forwards skates faster than the puck-carrier and becomes the head man, then the nearest defenseman and our first forward back should move to cover him.

     In Phase 2 our second and third forwards back should move fast to cover the other team's second and third forwards.

     By the time the other team crosses our blue line each of our forwards should be caught up to the player he is covering.  This requires full-speed skating.  See Figure 2.

     If the other team passes back to their defense, don't get trapped into chasing them.  Sooner or later they must either pass to a forward or skate it in.  If one of them skates it in, then he becomes a forward.  Our closest forward should intercept him.

     The important thing in Phase 2 is for our team to slow down the attack (mainly the job of our defensemen) and to regain position to create a three-on-five situation for the other team (the job of our forwards).  The objective is to get the puck back BEFORE the other team brings it across our blue line.  Many times you'll hear "Stand him up at the blue line."  This comment really applies better to full-check hockey than to our no-check rules.  Under our rules it means the defenseman and the forward together (emphasize together - team effort) try their best to force the puck carrier to the boards (where it's harder for him to maneuver), make him lose the puck, take the puck off him, or cause an off-side because you make him slow down and his teammate goes over the line ahead of the puck.  Don't slow down, don't coast, and don't give up.  Even if you're initially way behind, hustle hard to get back and cover your man.  And remember, if you are our forward closest to the puck, go for it.