Calling out all goalies who are old skool

[Dumpy]

@Wonder35  @Naz  yall seem to know old skool goalering. I am looking for technique and resources as I am older but didn’t start playing til I was 45. I do butterfly but my hips and knees aint what they used to be and too much ibuprofen makes your liver bad I already drink a case of beer a week. What books do I need to buy for technique? Thank you.

[Naz]

@Dumpy , I'll be honest, the only book I read was Jacques Plante's book.  And the only video I watched was Andy Moog's....  through the years I did observe the styles of Moog, Hextall, Kirk Mclean to pick up on certain moves in situations.
I am NOT the modern butterfly AT all... if you watch old youtube videos of Stephane Fiset, that is very close to my style.
Sorry I'm not much help as I am mostly self taught.

Oh, I also read Vic Lemire's "Goaltenders Are Not Targets"

[Dumpy]

19 minutes ago, Naz said:

@Dumpy , I'll be honest, the only book I read was Jacques Plante's book.  And the only video I watched was Andy Moog's....  through the years I did observe the styles of Moog, Hextall, Kirk Mclean to pick up on certain moves in situations.
I am NOT the modern butterfly AT all... if you watch old youtube videos of Stephane Fiset, that is very close to my style.
Sorry I'm not much help as I am mostly self taught.

Oh, I also read Vic Lemire's "Goaltenders Are Not Targets"

So watch youtube and look up old goalies check thank you kindly

[Wonder35]

At this stage I have forced myself to play angles and be aggressive in doing so.  My defence know that they have to guard the free man and be prepared for a rebound due to my attacking nature.

Many years ago I was filling in for a team and recognized one of the defensemen as a former Junior A goaltender, Ian Young of the Oshawa Generals (google him). He was a successful businessman and did some goalie coaching at the time for the NY Islanders, I think. Naturally I had to ask for one tidbit of advice.

He said to be sure to skate out to meet the shooter but also remember to keep your feet moving and skate backwards if the shooter was attempting a deke. DON'T GET CAUGHT FLATFOOTED!  Keep your feet light on the ice and moving with the play.

It seems so basic now (35 years later) but having always been a stand up style player I quickly adapted.  At my full height of 5'7" I probably wouldn't have been allowed to progress as a goaltender in today's butterfly world.  That may have been a mixed blessing when I hear of young players requiring hip surgeries of various types. No way I would have been this competitive had my still developing body been channelled to that style of play.

DISCLAIMER

This is free advice from a non professional with little coaching along the way............... who is still playing on a regular basis* and having as much fun as a 70 year old is entitled to.

*COVID-19 interruption acknowledged.

[Dumpy]

6 minutes ago, Wonder35 said:

At this stage I have forced myself to play angles and be aggressive in doing so.  My defence know that they have to guard the free man and be prepared for a rebound due to my attacking nature.

Many years ago I was filling in for a team and recognized one of the defensemen as a former Junior A goaltender, Ian Young of the Oshawa Generals (google him). He was a successful businessman and did some goalie coaching at the time for the NY Islanders, I think. Naturally I had to ask for one tidbit of advice.

He said to be sure to skate out to meet the shooter but also remember to keep your feet moving and skate backwards if the shooter was attempting a deke. DON'T GET CAUGHT FLATFOOTED!  Keep your feet light on the ice and moving with the play.

It seems so basic now (35 years later) but having always been a stand up style player I quickly adapted.  At my full height of 5'7" I probably wouldn't have been allowed to progress as a goaltender in today's butterfly world.  That may have been a mixed blessing when I hear of young players requiring hip surgeries of various types. No way I would have been this competitive had my still developing body been channelled to that style of play.

DISCLAIMER

 

This is free advice from a non professional with little coaching along the way............... who is still playing on a regular basis* and having as much fun as a 70 year old is entitled to.

*COVID-19 interruption acknowledged.

I appreciate that. Playing angles is something I gotta learn. I get zinged on my height as I am 5’8” but get pinged down low. Id make you feel great about your playing cause I suck. Thank you kindly.

[MTH]

Get bigger. Like 6' wide. Technique? Fat guy in small net. What I used.

[keeper_13]

Skating!  If you are in proper position when the shot is taken, the puck will hit you 70% of the time even if you don't move.  Three ways to increase your skating:

1)set a half dozen pucks down in a rainbow arc maybe 5 feet outside your crease.  Practice shuffling back and forth between them with your heels on your crease.  This should have you moving along an arc, not along a line.  If D is your net, you will skate this arc: ( D, not this line: | D.  Shuffle from one puck to the next across the arc, stopping briefly when the puck is at the centre of your goalie stick.  As you get better, assign a number to each puck, and then shuffle random sequences of numbers, ie: 1 4, 2 6, 1 2 6 4, etc.  If you had better hips I would tell you to go into your butterfly and then back up when you reach the puck.

2)Get into your net and skate some letters.  A, W, Y and Z are the best.  Once you're feeling comfortable with them, try the alphabet.  Focus on being loose and relaxed while moving and snapping tightly into position at the end, like how a boxer is loose while swinging and tight while connecting.

3)Set two pucks out past your hash marks, each with a go-pro behind it.  Get tight to one of you posts and look towards the corner, visualizing an imaginary scrum.  Glance towards one of the pucks as though you are glancing at a passing option, then return your gaze to the imaginary corner scrum.  Visualize the pass leaving the corner and going to where the puck is.  Push off your post and address that puck as though it were the one timer.  When you think you are in perfect position to make the save, hold a second, then skate to the other post and do it again.  Both posts is one rep, do 5 reps emphasizing proper technique and then do 5 reps emphasizing an explosive push off the post and the quickest re-setting you can manage.  Now look at the go-pro footage.  Any visible net is net the puck could find if it were shot.  Do you see any double coverage (that's when two parts of your body cover the same area of net).  How smooth is your skating?

[Trepid]

We have similar challenges. I hadn't played hockey since the 2nd grade then started goaltending at 50. Played 6 years and my hip objected to butterflying. Took 6 years off and I've just resumed except now I'm trying to play and make stops without butterflying as much.

 

I've spent hours on youtube trying to figure it out watching goalies in the 60's and 70's.

One tip: even though they were playing back then, different goalies used butterfly different percentages of the time. I'm hoping sometimes you can guess where they may fall by watching how far apart their feet are when facing shots.

Here is a video where the goalies have different styles. Although they both make kick saves Jacques Plante is mire stand up and Gilles Villemure is more butterfly

 

A single goalie may also change during his career. As an example, if you watch the long Tretiak video he is standing up on saves at the start of the video in the 72 series and butterflying more later in the video in the later series. 

 

There are many differences among the styles of goalies who would each be labelled stand up. So seeking consistent lessons from many of them may not pan out for some puck locations and player arrangements.

 

I've switched my gear from butterfly pads to earlier models so I have to relearn to play with the technical limitations they had. As examples: foam box old leathers, durasoft, foam box pads.

Old time goalies told me they prepared their skates differently for stand up play. Some didn't sharpen theirs at all. Some only rarely. Some used some kind of cross cut sharpening rather than a radius. Some sharpened to one inch. Some sharpened to half inch. All seemed to deliberately take the bite out of their blades after sharpening. Dull skates facilitate lateral movement while on the blades. It also softens the edges that would interfere with turning the toe outward for a kick save and with sending the skate out to the side for a half butterfly with the pad facing the shooter. I've moved from a frequently sharpened 3/8 to a never resharpened 1/2. I'd requested a 1" but the skate sharpener warned that moving from 3/8 to 1" would have been too much of a change for me to adapt to without repeatedly falling.

 

Here is a 70 video stand up goaltending playlist I've put together over the past year or so. If you click through to youtube you will see the entire playlist.

 

If you find any good resources, please post links 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Trepid

[Scythe]

There's a guy that puts up videos of his games from behind the net on YT. I think his channel is called standup goalie? Lots of cool saves to watch. 

[Trepid]

His name is Jay Pawlowski.

He is big and quick and, if there is no passing threat goes way out for depth.

 

https://youtube.com/user/TheFairDM

Edited November 16, 2021 by Trepid

[aircanuck]

My old goalie coach. I swear by it. 

 

[Fullright]

All the information cited here is helpful and accurate. Goaltending by Plante details the theory of the standup approach better than anything else. Funny, though, Jacques had an open mind because he spends a whole chapter detailing Tony Esposito's approach. Youtube must have a load of Plante film. Also check out youtube for Bernie Parent film.

Skating agility and patience are the basis in that for standup you have to use all four edges and generally not make the first move. Biggest vulnerability to the standup is the back door and cross ice plays. So you have to be mindful with your depth.