What is your best practice to protect 5 hole?

[goalieisalwaysgoalie]

Hi there,

 

What is your best practice to protect 5 hole?

 

I realized after yesterday's game that my pads are not straight (it looks like) and it leaves a 5 hole open (slightly a b it), even when I do my best to close the 5 hole. Perhaps my muscles aren't that strong to keep 5 hole closed? Or perhaps my pads are the problem.

 

How do you close your 5 hole, and other tips?

 

Regards

[Azkals OG]

Hey,

I recently made a few adjustments to help with this for myself. I believe a few simple changes helped a lot.

1. I got taller pads. I wanted more pad going higher to seal up better in the butterfly, but having stiffer pads that didn't curve much, it helped some but not a whole lot since it didn't seal up as well as I'd initially hoped. So I added a strap at the top connection point of the pads on the inner part of each leg pad that runs down and across my thigh/knee and clips just on the outer part of the pad just below my knee. This helps keep them in tight and curve some, the strap doesn't get in the way, and has helped seal it up a fair amount.

2. I have been working on getting my stick out in front of myself more when I go down. Being a newer goalie (Been playing beginner league for about a year now) it's part of proper form that I've had some bad habits on. This helps me be able to get more poke checks in as well as to stop the puck.

3. Keep skating and work on dropping and getting back up, a lot. Butterfly slides are a good way to  help strengthen the legs as well. I found that as my legs and core got stronger, it was easier and felt more natural to close up the pads as much as I could. Not everyone is able to perfectly seal it from what I've observed. If you have a wider butterfly or depending on any range of motion issues in your knees or legs, there is usually some gap. At that point I do my best to cover the gap with my stick.

[Md30]

I would consider eliminating the boot strap, adding to the length of your lace or bungee toe tie a little at a time until its something that you can live with, but get the results you are looking for, and maybe keeping the strap at the bottom of the pad a little looser. I am not sure what pad you are using, or if its the correct size for you.

[coopaloop1234]

Stick placement, technique, and gear that works with your physical abilities.

As much as my statement above over simplifies the topic at hand, it truly is all there is to accomplish proper seal of the five hole. Find gear that works well with your strengths and flexibility, keep that stick out front and centered and slam those knees down.

[CJ Boiss]

1 hour ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Stick placement, technique, and gear that works with your physical abilities.

As much as my statement above over simplifies the topic at hand, it truly is all there is to accomplish proper seal of the five hole. Find gear that works well with your strengths and flexibility, keep that stick out front and centered and slam those knees down.

Can't overstate the importance there. You don't want to "drop" into the butterfly, you want to drive into the butterfly. When I go from my ready-stance into a butterfly, my upper body doesn't move all that much; I'm crouched down so low that, once I'm actually on my knees and get my chest upright, my shoulders are close to the same height as when I'm in my stance. Take a look at these two pictures:

In the first pic, I'm ready in a deep crouch, out a bit to cut down the angle on an incoming shot. In the second pic, I'm playing the puck out to my left, away from an attacking player and towards my defenceman. In both pictures there's about a foot of net visible between the top of my shoulder and the crossbar, even though I'm on my feet in the first one, and on my knees in the second one.

Getting low in your stance is what lets you butterfly quickly and close off that five-hole.

[#16]

1 hour ago, CJ Boiss said:

Getting low in your stance is what lets you butterfly quickly and close off that five-hole.

But that also gives up a lot of coverage while your up.

[CJ Boiss]

1 hour ago, #16 said:

But that also gives up a lot of coverage while your up.

Only if you play deep in your net, which I don't. We see a foot of net over my shoulder in these pics, but they were taken from slightly above crossbar height (you can see the white of the netting behind the crossbar); the puck doesn't see that open net, because it's coming from ice level. If you play the angles well then you won't get beat over your shoulder.

It's harder if you're not tall, granted; I'm about 6'2" so it's not particularly hard for me to play this way, but a smaller goalie might struggle with it if their defence can't be trusted to cover the backdoor/cross crease passes.

[#16]

Good point. Doesn't work so well for me though cuz I'm about 5'5.

[Chenner29]

Stick discipline is important as it eliminates easy on-ice goals, and that is the farthest point your knees will have to travel to seal.
Once your stick is in the proper place, the shooter will be forced to slightly elevate the shot above the stick blade, which the pads should be working to cover.  Your thighs should be tight together and there should be no space between your knees.

Giguere had almost zero pad flare when in the butterfly and he was able to make it work - although his stick placement could have been better here.

A way of thinking that helped me with driving the pads down to the ice is to think of your knees hitting the ice before your ankles.  It's not physically/mechanically possible, but it helps program the mind to execute the save.

A concept I'd like to add to the discussion:
Consider widening your stance and getting lower as the puck gets closer to the net.
The puck has less vertical space to find net as it gets closer to you.  Coincidentally, a butterfly blocking save is ideal in tight.  It's a win-win for us.

If you're looking for help with flaring your skates out, look up Maria Mountain's butterfly challenge.  It's a free program (PDF and smartphone app) that you can follow for a few weeks.