Slower Stick-side Low Shots

[seagoal]

One thing I have been burned on a few times lately is on slower stick-side shots, low on the ice, that end up just slightly being pushed out in front of me, right of center, for a rebound to be pounced on, forcing me to make a reactive second save.

Kinda from this position

which a pic grab from this video starting at the 5:10 mark with the stick-side shots

Taking these like in the video is easy enough and I have zero problems with these when the shots have enough speed on them to actually direct them and deflect them away.

Where I struggle is when the shots, for whatever reason, are slow enough to where they just either softly deflect maybe a foot or two away from me, or, just kinda die on my blade .  In either case, I am not in a good position to cover easily and I am forced to fight to get into position for a blocking save or fight to make a reactive save on a second shot that someone pounces on.

So I starte telling myself in my pre-game self-talk "no lazy stick-side rebounds, cover aggressively or push it aggressively."

What do you guys think is the best option on these?

-be better at taking these slower shots more centered and symmetrically and not off to my stick-side right?

-be more aggressive at recovering and trying to get my glove on the puck?

-be more aggressive at recovering with a poke/push with my stick ?

[Novasteel31]

I mean personally I also find it hard when the shot comes in super slow to direct it into the corner and what I have been doing myself for these is since the shot is coming in sower I have more time to actually centre myself to the shot and cradle it and usually not allow a rebound and stop the play.

[coopaloop1234]

3 minutes ago, Novasteel31 said:

I mean personally I also find it hard when the shot comes in super slow to direct it into the corner and what I have been doing myself for these is since the shot is coming in sower I have more time to actually centre myself to the shot and cradle it and usually not allow a rebound and stop the play.

Definitely. 

@seagoal it sounds like you're reaching for slower shots which is just going to cause the issues you're describing. The second you reach for a save, your recovery and ability to reposition is surmountably longer. If you're able to, you should be leaning or shifting into these shots to get them centre mass. 

Obviously sometimes that's not possible whether the puck takes an odd bounce or you miss / misread the initial shot, but in a perfect scenario you'll want to be repositioning yourself to the shot and not remain static and start reaching. 

Otherwise, the other way you could tackle this is to get way faster at your post save recoveries so that you can get back to position before the opposing player is able to get to the puck so you can make a better save selection on the follow up. 

Though that's always tougher than just playing the initial shot better.  

[seagoal]

57 minutes ago, Novasteel31 said:

I mean personally I also find it hard when the shot comes in super slow to direct it into the corner and what I have been doing myself for these is since the shot is coming in sower I have more time to actually centre myself to the shot and cradle it and usually not allow a rebound and stop the play.

 

49 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Definitely. 

@seagoal it sounds like you're reaching for slower shots which is just going to cause the issues you're describing. The second you reach for a save, your recovery and ability to reposition is surmountably longer. If you're able to, you should be leaning or shifting into these shots to get them centre mass. 

Obviously sometimes that's not possible whether the puck takes an odd bounce or you miss / misread the initial shot, but in a perfect scenario you'll want to be repositioning yourself to the shot and not remain static and start reaching. 

Otherwise, the other way you could tackle this is to get way faster at your post save recoveries so that you can get back to position before the opposing player is able to get to the puck so you can make a better save selection on the follow up. 

Though that's always tougher than just playing the initial shot better.  

Thank you both.  What you're saying makes perfect sense.

I think for me this is one of those situations where a save selection is locked and loaded in my mind and body and then once the shot develops it requires and pivot to adjust to the situation.  I end up taking these as though they have some heat on them but then this save selection is no longer effective and I get trapped left of center and, yes @coopaloop1234, reaching is a great word.  Reaching for a puck too far too my right and too far in front of me.

I definitely have no problems with slower shots on my left, glove-side, or dead center.  These can be covered easily.  Just gotta work on these stick-side shots and not trapping myself.

Not having this problem on my Div. 4 team, just mostly in my lower 40+ league.

[coopaloop1234]

48 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Not having this problem on my Div. 4 team, just mostly in my lower 40+ league.

Yea, it's a problem I encounter more the lower I go down on the tier list. 

Weaker shots, weaker players, puck is somehow more bouncy. 

Frustrating 

[Chenner29]

1 hour ago, seagoal said:

-be better at taking these slower shots more centered and symmetrically and not off to my stick-side right?

-be more aggressive at recovering and trying to get my glove on the puck?

-be more aggressive at recovering with a poke/push with my stick ?

None of these.

Your head, torso, shoulders should slightly shift toward your right on a blocker save as your head tracks down over it. You're not just moving your torso laterally but also twisting a little bit at the spine.

This puts your torso on angle in case of a rebound on that side (so you just pick up your left leg and push), allows you to reach forward and laterally a little bit more to fill space, and gets your glove more toward that side if you do need to cover a muffin. 

Note you do not want to be "punching" into the puck (I think we discussed this before) as that takes away velocity from the flight path and will frequently just put pucks in the kill zone around you, nor do you want to flex or snap your wrist for the same reason.  Just let the board do the work and direct it to the corner.

[coopaloop1234]

26 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

Note you do not want to be "punching" into the puck (I think we discussed this before) as that takes away velocity from the flight path and will frequently just put pucks in the kill zone around you, nor do you want to flex or snap your wrist for the same reason.  Just let the board do the work and direct it to the corner.

Yea, but punching it back into the slot is just too much fun. 

[Novasteel31]

48 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Yea, it's a problem I encounter more the lower I go down on the tier list. 

Weaker shots, weaker players, puck is somehow more bouncy. 

Frustrating 

Agreed, the lower the caliber the more unpredictable the play.

[seagoal]

34 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

None of these.

Your head, torso, shoulders should slightly shift toward your right on a blocker save as your head tracks down over it. You're not just moving your torso laterally but also twisting a little bit at the spine.

This puts your torso on angle in case of a rebound on that side (so you just pick up your left leg and push), allows you to reach forward and laterally a little bit more to fill space, and gets your glove more toward that side if you do need to cover a muffin. 

Note you do not want to be "punching" into the puck (I think we discussed this before) as that takes away velocity from the flight path and will frequently just put pucks in the kill zone around you, nor do you want to flex or snap your wrist for the same reason.  Just let the board do the work and direct it to the corner.

Just to clarify, these situations in discussion here are on the ice, so these are stick saves on the blocker side, not blocker saves.

I have a video clip of an example I want to pull from my game this past Tuesday. I can grab it this evening after work and I'll post it.

[WillyGrips13]

Have we considered the traditional skate-save/stick-save combination to generate the power to get the puck to the corner? If it’s a slow shot you would have time to alter your technique. This might be especially helpful if another opponent is driving the net expecting the sloppy rebound.