Little space, little time: lots of options

[seagoal]

I really wish I had a regular goalie coach on standby today.  There is this one scenario that I've encountered 3 times the past couple of weeks--twice in the same game-- and it's a tricky one considering there is very little space, very little time, and lots of options to consider during this fairly unusual situation.  Here'a little reference diagram:

So the situation involves a shooter receiving the puck very close in, just off the crease and slightly off center, in my recent siutations to my right.  I'm right handed and so is the shooter.  He receives the puck--in one situation from a hard pass from a D at the point, in another from a high, flipping deflection where he fields it like a baseball outfielder then drops it to his stick.  In both situations, he receives the puck facing up ice/I'm looking at his back.  No interruptions from my team here, he's all alone. 

Given the space involved here, there's very little time to react.  And he has many options here that a goalie must consider:

-stay put, hard back hand at me/under me ( a hockey slam dunk)

-peel further right, back hand around my right leg

-peel left, turn to forehand, shoot high or low

-peel left, turn to forehand, hard forehand at me/under me from roughly center (a hockey slam dunk)

-peel further left, shoot high or low

-any combo of the above to get the goalie sliding one way, then going the other

This a very high number of scoring scenarios to consider in this little time and space.  Keep in mind, this is a legit poke check distance that would not require much of a choke up on the stick to reach his stick right as he gets the puck on his blade facing up ice.  I didn't do this in either situation, but I thought about it after and thought maybe that would be an option with high success.

Consider the puck on his stick and freeze frame there.  We are lined up body-body pretty perfectly. The stay put option above is least likely at higher levels of play...more likely at lower levels.

So what do you guys think is the safest, highest success choice here:

-do you poke check as he receivest he puck and before he chooses one of his many options?

-if you move left, do you do it laterally OR do you retreat back to the left post?

-if you move right, do you do it laterally OR do you retreat back to the right post?

-is anticipation/guessing in this situation best, or, is waiting for him to make his choice and then responding best?

In both situations in my game last night, here's how they went:

1) shooter receives a hard pass from his D at the point, he faked to my right, got me moving right, and then did a quick slam dunk pretty centered. I had enough time to get my glove hand down and out but missed and it went in kinda under my armpit on the ice. 

2) shooter receives the puck by fielding it with his hand as it was flipping in the air, he drops it, fakes to my left, quickly cut to our right and kinda roofed it with a backhand chipper.  

2 VERY frustrating, demoralizing, embarassing type of goals.  You guys know these: there's a difference in how it feels when a guy looks, finds his spot, shoots, and beats you , and , how it feels when a guy has time to successfully toy with you, undress you, and score with you scrambling. 

Unfortunately, in either situation, I did not maintain technique discipline and stay on my knees and upright. These types of scenarios are more....wild, in terms of form because they happen so damn quickly.  

[coopaloop1234]

Honestly the majority of it comes down to patience. Correctly reading the shooter, staying on your feet for as long as possible, and not making the initial move are all incredibly important in a situation where it's 1 on 1 in tight with time.

It's like a breakaway/penalty shot. If you're the first to bite, you're dead in the water.

This is all easy to write down as in the moment it's always more difficult, but remaining calm and trying to get the shooter to second guess his movements will allow you to win a lot of these high danger scenarios.

 

[bildeer]

When something like this happens and I have a guy very close to the crease with a puck and he has few reasonable options I do a few things.

1.  Hold the line and wait for them to commit 

2. Throw a fake poke to force him to commit to a deke and have even less time and space,

3. Fly out at him just before he receives the puck and gain a lot of depth. (works very well in certain situations, it freaks forwards out so they'll just shoot it straight into you or wide.

I also noticed that you said that you are lined up to the player's body. (you probably know this) You should ideally be lined up to the puck and base your movements accordingly.

Remember that when quick plays like this happen, the forward usually has no idea what they are going to do with the puck, and you can change the outcome rather easily.

Edited August 18, 2021 by bildeer
added "few"

[CJ Boiss]

Throwing a poke check before or as he receives the puck would be ideal, I suppose; deny him possession in the first place.

Like coop said though, if you make the first move you'll probably get beat, so keeping your feet and reacting to his moves as he makes them is key.

Moving to the left would be a terrible idea; it takes your body away from the puck and gives him an easy backhand to your right side if you do that.

Adjusting *slightly* to your right would make you more square to the puck and take away some of his options, forcing him to try and stuff the puck under your pads or go around to your left side. The important thing here is keeping your feet, so that if he tries to fake you're not caught sliding away from the puck.

Given how close to the net he is, and how comfortable you are playing inside your crease, backing up a little bit wouldn't be the worst idea. It would give you a bit more time to see what he's doing, so you're less likely to bite on a fake, but obviously it opens up more of the net to a shot. (not much, given how close he is to you, but some)

[seagoal]

Thanks you 3 @coopaloop1234 @bildeer @CJ Boiss for the quick response .

My biggest regret overall is not staying upright on my knees.  One goal I have set for myself and have been proactively working on is more fully committing to good, solid technique and getting beat more upright on my knees, rather than on my sides or belly.  Especially now with my V9 pads, I have gear to do this better and I have improved dramatically as of late.  I'm a very different goalie now than I was 5-10 years ago.  I am a very quick, nimble, athletic person/goalie but that was my primary tool way too often. Nowadays, my goal is to have technique be my primary tool and and in these situations lately I just collapsed.

I definitely bit first and as Coop said was dead in the water. And bildeer, man you nailed it.  I was totally lined up to his body and not the puck...even in my diagram above you can see it. That got me "chasing" the puck a bit and already put me at a disadvantage.  I hadn't even considered that until you mentioned it, so thanks.

CJ I like your point about backing up, what I called retreating.  By being too close to him, that allowed him to sorta pivot around me like a fulcrum and get behind me with too much net to use.  A quick, slight retreat would lessen that fulcrum point and put me more in a blocking position closer to the goal line.  I'm very aware of those real estate gambles, generally, but in these situations where the time and space is so limited, I just lost it and honestly, kinda panicked.  I like your idea too of staying on my feet longer because you're right, any commitment too early here is failure and being on knees and sliding is a commitment too soon.

That panic is what took me out of my technique, made me lose awareness of space and distance, and forced me to scramble and chase the puck rather than execute good goaltending.

Thanks guys.

Edited August 18, 2021 by seagoal

[BadAngle41]

The dreaded time & space scenario... shooter holds most of the advantages. First and foremost I'd say make the shooter beat you. Sounds obvious but what I mean is don't beat yourself by thinking or moving too much.

1. Hold ground. Any time you can be square and reduce the distance between you and the puck, options for it getting around (or behind) you diminish greatly. If possible stay on your feet and get over the puck... nose... chest... glove... and blocker. Retreating may give you a millisecond more react to something... but from the puck's eye you're giving more net and a chance to be beat while simply moving back.

2. Make the shooter commit. If he's in real tight give a little jab poke... don't take your hand off of your normal grip on the paddle... just try and make him commit one way or another (if you can't just straight knock the puck off his stick.) Over-reaching will throw off your balance and likely result in you pulling the puck out of the net.

3. Stretch. If the shooter goes forehand and is extending to wrap the puck around you, their ability to elevate the puck off the ice goes down pretty dramatically. Being able to keep a good seal and stretch to the left post will give you the best chance for doing your job and stopping the initial shot.

[seagoal]

21 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

The dreaded time & space scenario... shooter holds most of the advantages. First and foremost I'd say make the shooter beat you. Sounds obvious but what I mean is don't beat yourself by thinking or moving too much.

1. Hold ground. Any time you can be square and reduce the distance between you and the puck, options for it getting around (or behind) you diminish greatly. If possible stay on your feet and get over the puck... nose... chest... glove... and blocker. Retreating may give you a millisecond more react to something... but from the puck's eye you're giving more net and a chance to be beat while simply moving back.

2. Make the shooter commit. If he's in real tight give a little jab poke... don't take your hand off of your normal grip on the paddle... just try and make him commit one way or another (if you can't just straight knock the puck off his stick.) Over-reaching will throw off your balance and likely result in you pulling the puck out of the net.

3. Stretch. If the shooter goes forehand and is extending to wrap the puck around you, their ability to elevate the puck off the ice goes down pretty dramatically. Being able to keep a good seal and stretch to the left post will give you the best chance for doing your job and stopping the initial shot.

Thanks, good points you've added to this.

Point 1 is something I think about A LOT with my hands for shot a bit further out than described here. I'm attempting to never again make a glove save with my arm beside my body, pointing left, unless it's like split second reactions where a puck is caught like beside my head.  If I'm facing forward, say 12 o'clock, I want to catch pucks at at 10 or 11.  Also, if I'm in a more blocking/passive scenario on the goal line, I'm extending hands towards the puck as much as I can.  We did this specifically at my most recent goalie camp.   It's interesting to think of this in the situation described above here in terms of my whole body.

Point 2 was  my big regret.  My stick basically did nothing in these exchanges which was a huge mistake.  In scenarios otherwise I'm pretty good about active stick, trying to minimize pad saves in favor of stick saves, etc.  I do have this bad habit of at times when I'm in reaction mode I'll swing my blocker out, like a tennis backhand motion, and of course take my stick with it. I most likely did this in these situations.

For point 3, I assume you mean upright and with my left leg, and yes....trying to make my sprawling glove arm save was not a good choice, no matter how "awesome" those saves look.

I'm almost at a point now in my playing where I'd rather not make a save in good form than make a save in bad form.  I'm trying to more fully commit to technique and form at all times and stop the fun, scrambling, agile stuff.  This is probably more a training mindset but I think it is at least the proper mindset to have if you are looking for subtle improvements, bumping stats, etc.

[Chenner29]

6 hours ago, seagoal said:

  -if you move left, do you do it laterally OR do you retreat back to the left post?

-if you move right, do you do it laterally OR do you retreat back to the right post?

1) shooter receives a hard pass from his D at the point, he faked to my right, got me moving right, and then did a quick slam dunk pretty centered. I had enough time to get my glove hand down and out but missed and it went in kinda under my armpit on the ice. 

2) shooter receives the puck by fielding it with his hand as it was flipping in the air, he drops it, fakes to my left, quickly cut to our right and kinda roofed it with a backhand chipper. 

Based on how they went in (but without game video), these are my suggestions.

• Always rotate before push.  In a situation like this where the shooter has time and space, if he sees you move with the play across dead horizontal to the goal line, he's going to hold until you're no longer square and then release.
• IMO you want to attack this play with your toes at the top of the crease and a slightly wider base.  How wide you go is dependent on your comfort level in being able to grab an edge with enough power to hit either post.  But know that with toes on top of the paint, you basically have the net framed and only need to move laterally while still being able to threaten a poke.  Gloves need to be projected forward at a lower angle due to proximity.  I'd say your shoulders need to be crested over the puck as well.  At this angle, he's probably got a 4x3 to work with instead of the full 4x6 so be confident in your coverage.
• I actually like that you are a bit off angle to start the play. With a bit of patience you can force him to the short side, and then your save selection is a simple lateral release with your toe box into the post.  You can also load your left leg to be ready to push right when he does commit here too.  I wouldn't square up exactly to the shooters body as you'd be giving up too much net, but you can line up to where the shaft meets the blade if you are working to bait a certain direction.
• When they cut, pivot and retreat to post.  If you do mistime it and the shooter cuts back, you can bump off your toe box back to grab center of crease.
• Hand and body control is also key when you move laterally.  Think of your body as a wave coming over the puck and project your head and corresponding hand over the puck to smother the aerial angle and your pad eliminating low ice.  Also know not to project your gloves past the angle you need to.  Once you get moving laterally, if your glove as reached where you need to seal, bring it back in line with your body so you're not extending past the post. 
• Getting beat under the arm in the first example means your glove wasn't projected exactly on angle you need it to be.
• Pic below is actually a decent comparison to what I'm talking about, although I can't think of many scenarios at the pro level where a guy would be camped out in front of the net with no pressure like we would face in rec leagues.  IIRC this was a one-T scenario from the playoffs with the puck moving east-west, so it's not a perfect example, but the player positioning is pretty damn close to what you gave above.  Look at Price's depth management (toes/knees on top of the crease) and how his head and shoulders are in front of his knees, blocker is projected forward on angle to the release point of the shot.  
  
  

[bunnyman666]

I tend to try to make them bite first. Half of my break away saves are made standing up.  I also tend to stop a LOT with the poke check. The trick is staying square to the puck and not the shooter. My D-man/defensive forward mindset needed to be changed as I used to tend heavily to square to the shooter and not the puck. There were particularly good answers to this scenario you had described, so all I can add is to try and make them bite, and half the time it works well; other times I either tracked the puck to the space behind me in the net or made an improbable save that gets stick taps from both benches. 

[Lucky Pucker]

On 8/18/2021 at 12:56 PM, seagoal said:

I really wish I had a regular goalie coach on standby today.  There is this one scenario that I've encountered 3 times the past couple of weeks--twice in the same game-- and it's a tricky one considering there is very little space, very little time, and lots of options to consider during this fairly unusual situation.  Here'a little reference diagram:

So the situation involves a shooter receiving the puck very close in, just off the crease and slightly off center, in my recent siutations to my right.  I'm right handed and so is the shooter.  He receives the puck--in one situation from a hard pass from a D at the point, in another from a high, flipping deflection where he fields it like a baseball outfielder then drops it to his stick.  In both situations, he receives the puck facing up ice/I'm looking at his back.  No interruptions from my team here, he's all alone. 

Given the space involved here, there's very little time to react.  And he has many options here that a goalie must consider:

-stay put, hard back hand at me/under me ( a hockey slam dunk)

-peel further right, back hand around my right leg

-peel left, turn to forehand, shoot high or low

-peel left, turn to forehand, hard forehand at me/under me from roughly center (a hockey slam dunk)

-peel further left, shoot high or low

-any combo of the above to get the goalie sliding one way, then going the other

This a very high number of scoring scenarios to consider in this little time and space.  Keep in mind, this is a legit poke check distance that would not require much of a choke up on the stick to reach his stick right as he gets the puck on his blade facing up ice.  I didn't do this in either situation, but I thought about it after and thought maybe that would be an option with high success.

Consider the puck on his stick and freeze frame there.  We are lined up body-body pretty perfectly. The stay put option above is least likely at higher levels of play...more likely at lower levels.

So what do you guys think is the safest, highest success choice here:

-do you poke check as he receivest he puck and before he chooses one of his many options?

-if you move left, do you do it laterally OR do you retreat back to the left post?

-if you move right, do you do it laterally OR do you retreat back to the right post?

-is anticipation/guessing in this situation best, or, is waiting for him to make his choice and then responding best?

In both situations in my game last night, here's how they went:

1) shooter receives a hard pass from his D at the point, he faked to my right, got me moving right, and then did a quick slam dunk pretty centered. I had enough time to get my glove hand down and out but missed and it went in kinda under my armpit on the ice. 

2) shooter receives the puck by fielding it with his hand as it was flipping in the air, he drops it, fakes to my left, quickly cut to our right and kinda roofed it with a backhand chipper.  

2 VERY frustrating, demoralizing, embarassing type of goals.  You guys know these: there's a difference in how it feels when a guy looks, finds his spot, shoots, and beats you , and , how it feels when a guy has time to successfully toy with you, undress you, and score with you scrambling. 

Unfortunately, in either situation, I did not maintain technique discipline and stay on my knees and upright. These types of scenarios are more....wild, in terms of form because they happen so damn quickly.  

Thanks for taking the time to write this out and post it - and thanks to others for the replies. Trust me when I tell you, @seagoal that although one person asked, many others benefit!

[seagoal]

13 minutes ago, Lucky Pucker said:

Thanks for taking the time to write this out and post it - and thanks to others for the replies. Trust me when I tell you, @seagoal that although one person asked, many others benefit!

Thanks for the words man.  I was super happy with the responses and they definitely got my brain working.  I had a game the night after posting this and while this exact type of situation did not happen, I was thinking of some of these concepts and putting them to action that night.  I played well and got the win and worked on some stuff. Good times.

I hit up one of my teammates who subscribes to the video recording service at the rink this happened in. He was supposed to get me video clips of these 2 goal but I have not gotten them yet.

[SaveByRichter35]

I think in this situation I probably would have poke checked since his back was to me.  Same outcome could have happened, I'd likely get burned too lol.  I'd poke from the butterfly so I could at least move laterally with him if he moved.  

As for the flip and catch play.  Fuck him, I am knocking him on his ass while the puck is in the air and I am catching it myself lol.

[insertnamehere]

On 8/18/2021 at 11:56 AM, seagoal said:

I really wish I had a regular goalie coach on standby today.  There is this one scenario that I've encountered 3 times the past couple of weeks--twice in the same game-- and it's a tricky one considering there is very little space, very little time, and lots of options to consider during this fairly unusual situation.  Here'a little reference diagram:

So the situation involves a shooter receiving the puck very close in, just off the crease and slightly off center, in my recent siutations to my right.  I'm right handed and so is the shooter.  He receives the puck--in one situation from a hard pass from a D at the point, in another from a high, flipping deflection where he fields it like a baseball outfielder then drops it to his stick.  In both situations, he receives the puck facing up ice/I'm looking at his back.  No interruptions from my team here, he's all alone. 

Given the space involved here, there's very little time to react.  And he has many options here that a goalie must consider:

-stay put, hard back hand at me/under me ( a hockey slam dunk)

-peel further right, back hand around my right leg

-peel left, turn to forehand, shoot high or low

-peel left, turn to forehand, hard forehand at me/under me from roughly center (a hockey slam dunk)

-peel further left, shoot high or low

-any combo of the above to get the goalie sliding one way, then going the other

This a very high number of scoring scenarios to consider in this little time and space.  Keep in mind, this is a legit poke check distance that would not require much of a choke up on the stick to reach his stick right as he gets the puck on his blade facing up ice.  I didn't do this in either situation, but I thought about it after and thought maybe that would be an option with high success.

Consider the puck on his stick and freeze frame there.  We are lined up body-body pretty perfectly. The stay put option above is least likely at higher levels of play...more likely at lower levels.

So what do you guys think is the safest, highest success choice here:

-do you poke check as he receivest he puck and before he chooses one of his many options?

-if you move left, do you do it laterally OR do you retreat back to the left post?

-if you move right, do you do it laterally OR do you retreat back to the right post?

-is anticipation/guessing in this situation best, or, is waiting for him to make his choice and then responding best?

In both situations in my game last night, here's how they went:

1) shooter receives a hard pass from his D at the point, he faked to my right, got me moving right, and then did a quick slam dunk pretty centered. I had enough time to get my glove hand down and out but missed and it went in kinda under my armpit on the ice. 

2) shooter receives the puck by fielding it with his hand as it was flipping in the air, he drops it, fakes to my left, quickly cut to our right and kinda roofed it with a backhand chipper.  

2 VERY frustrating, demoralizing, embarassing type of goals.  You guys know these: there's a difference in how it feels when a guy looks, finds his spot, shoots, and beats you , and , how it feels when a guy has time to successfully toy with you, undress you, and score with you scrambling. 

Unfortunately, in either situation, I did not maintain technique discipline and stay on my knees and upright. These types of scenarios are more....wild, in terms of form because they happen so damn quickly.  

Perhaps this video could help? I was just watching it and it somewhat emulates what you're talking about. Link should start from 7:02, but if it doesn't, scroll ahead to that timestamp.

 

[seagoal]

13 minutes ago, insertnamehere said:

Perhaps this video could help? I was just watching it and it somewhat emulates what you're talking about. Link should start from 7:02, but if it doesn't, scroll ahead to that timestamp.

 

Hell yeah, that is the perfect video to show these types of situations.  Good call and thanks for keeping this thread in mind.  

I've actually watched this video before but had forgotten about it and now that I see it again, it is really helpful.  This is precisely the type of goalie training/coaching scenario I am craving these days with a coach and a skilled shooter hammering away at a very specific detail or situation. 

The key moment in this session for me is the coach saying "his hands will always beat your knees" this close in.  That highlights the importance of geometry in these situations because we can't "beat" them at this distance if we are on our feet. Getting down and properly playing geometry games is the best strategy.

Thanks again man, good looking out. 

[insertnamehere]

4 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Hell yeah, that is the perfect video to show these types of situations.  Good call and thanks for keeping this thread in mind.  

I've actually watched this video before but had forgotten about it and now that I see it again, it is really helpful.  This is precisely the type of goalie training/coaching scenario I am craving these days with a coach and a skilled shooter hammering away at a very specific detail or situation. 

The key moment in this session for me is the coach saying "his hands will always beat your knees" this close in.  That highlights the importance of geometry in these situations because we can't "beat" them at this distance if we are on our feet. Getting down and properly playing geometry games is the best strategy.

Thanks again man, good looking out. 

Happy to help. Get that stick out in front. 

[Chenner29]

2 hours ago, seagoal said:

Hell yeah, that is the perfect video to show these types of situations.  Good call and thanks for keeping this thread in mind.  

I've actually watched this video before but had forgotten about it and now that I see it again, it is really helpful.  This is precisely the type of goalie training/coaching scenario I am craving these days with a coach and a skilled shooter hammering away at a very specific detail or situation. 

The key moment in this session for me is the coach saying "his hands will always beat your knees" this close in.  That highlights the importance of geometry in these situations because we can't "beat" them at this distance if we are on our feet. Getting down and properly playing geometry games is the best strategy.

Thanks again man, good looking out. 

Another key takeaway is the rep starting at about 8 min.

Shooter snaps a shot hard into the goalie's pads, rebound pops out, and goalie pushes to his right straight across with chest facing center.  He over-commits to that play which allows the shooter to take it behind the net and wrap it on the left post. 
Coach corrects that rep and tells him he needs to pivot and drive into the post.

The nice thing with framing your play around the posts is that in situations like these, you have a obstacle to attach to (the post).  It also functions as a brake for you so you don't go chasing the puck past where you need to be.

In a position where our judgment calls are based on three key components (space, time, options) you sacrifice a little space (depth) while giving yourself time and eliminating the shooter's options.

Also notice how his shoulders crest over the puck as the rep starts and while he's moving around the crease.
It not only eliminates the top of the net, but also allows him to activate his hands forward onto the puck flight path and helps focus his pushes to the front portion of his blade

 

[seagoal]

33 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

Another key takeaway is the rep starting at about 8 min.

Shooter snaps a shot hard into the goalie's pads, rebound pops out, and goalie pushes to his right straight across with chest facing center.  He over-commits to that play which allows the shooter to take it behind the net and wrap it on the left post. 
Coach corrects that rep and tells him he needs to pivot and drive into the post.

The nice thing with framing your play around the posts is that in situations like these, you have a obstacle to attach to (the post).  It also functions as a brake for you so you don't go chasing the puck past where you need to be.

In a position where our judgment calls are based on three key components (space, time, options) you sacrifice a little space (depth) while giving yourself time and eliminating the shooter's options.

Also notice how his shoulders crest over the puck as the rep starts and while he's moving around the crease.
It not only eliminates the top of the net, but also allows him to activate his hands forward onto the puck flight path and helps focus his pushes to the front portion of his blade

 

Can I pay you to come to Seattle and go to stick n pucks with me with one of my skilled skater dork friends??

Free lodging, free food, free beer.  

Do it

[Chenner29]

53 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Can I pay you to come to Seattle and go to stick n pucks with me with one of my skilled skater dork friends??

Free lodging, free food, free beer.  

Do it

LOL

I'm not a coach, but I have been getting a lot of work in with some good coaches around here.  This doesn't mean I'm good, but I think I have a decent understanding of the game.  Whether or not my body wants to do those things is another thing entirely

I also have some friends in the Seattle metro area that are overdue for a visit

If not we can always connect off-board and I'm happy to discuss stuff there too

PMing you my #

[seagoal]

 

On 9/4/2021 at 2:59 PM, Chenner29 said:

LOL

I'm not a coach, but I have been getting a lot of work in with some good coaches around here.  This doesn't mean I'm good, but I think I have a decent understanding of the game.  Whether or not my body wants to do those things is another thing entirely

I also have some friends in the Seattle metro area that are overdue for a visit

If not we can always connect off-board and I'm happy to discuss stuff there too

PMing you my #

I had a chance to play this scenario again this week, this time though the guy with the puck was facing me, not with his back to me.  Again he was off center to my right, caught the puck from high up on his back hand, left hand shot, I closed the gap some between me and the puck , dropped down, loaded my right leg because I knew his only play was to my left, he attempted to cross center, and boom, poke check with default grip position  which I was able to do only because I had closed the gap as he got the puck.  Closing that gap cut his options and time substantially and put me in control rather than him.

So it worked great from a geometry, distance-gap, and active stick standpoint and as soon as I did it I said "Chenner!!" and thought of this thread.  Pretty proud of myself and I was appreciative of our chat in this thread.

Oh, and his response was "you motherf'er" as I caught him off guard.  He was paying attention to the puck and not me which was in my favor.

Edited September 9, 2021 by seagoal

[Chenner29]

2 hours ago, seagoal said:

 

I had a chance to play this scenario again this week, this time though the guy with the puck was facing me, not with his back to me.  Again he was off center to my right, caught the puck from high up on his back hand, left hand shot, I closed the gap some between me and the puck , dropped down, loaded my right leg because I knew his only play was to my left, he attempted to cross center, and boom, poke check with default grip position  which I was able to do only because I had closed the gap as he got the puck.  Closing that gap cut his options and time substantially and put me in control rather than him.

So it worked great from a geometry, distance-gap, and active stick standpoint and as soon as I did it I said "Chenner!!" and thought of this thread.  Pretty proud of myself and I was appreciative of our chat in this thread.

Oh, and his response was "you motherf'er" as I caught him off guard.  He was paying attention to the puck and not me which was in my favor.

fkinnnnn right!

I'd love to take credit for it, but a lot of other people chimed in this thread as well and you had the presence of mind to execute

Now next time you have to pad stack him

[seagoal]

55 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

fkinnnnn right!

I'd love to take credit for it, but a lot of other people chimed in this thread as well and you had the presence of mind to execute

Now next time you have to pad stack him

For sure.  I absolutely meant everyone in here.  My analytic brain has been in overdrive lately and this thread was great for diagnosing and improving on a problem.