Offense1) With the ball: Your first, best option is usually to pass to an open teammate. The ball moves faster than your opponents, so passing to an open teammate is rarely a bad decision.
2) Without the ball: If your teammate has the ball, move to a space where you can see a clear lane from you to the ball and get ready to receive a pass. The lanes and spaces are continually moving, so you must keep moving as well.
3) Spacing: Do not "bunch up". When moving across another teammate's space, you should call out "switch" so they move in the other direction, toward the space you vacated. This is an art that underlies most offensive strategies, which can include misdirection and other tactics to create scoring opportunities.
4) Ball is being passed to you: Anticipate what you'll do upon receiving the pass, such as trying to see the pass or move that you'll make once you receive the ball. Note: The most important thing, though, is actually receiving the ball, which often means you have to move to the ball (not stand and wait for it) to avoid an opponent cutting off the pass.
5) You just passed the ball: After sending the pass, immediately break to an offensive opening where the receiver of the pass can quickly pass back to you. This is called the "give & go", which is one of the harder plays for the defense to stop.
6) Keep the end of your stick on the ice (not held up in the air). You can receive the ball and pass it faster this way.
7) Involve all five attackers. Your teammates playing in the two traditionally "defensive" positions need to come up at least to center ice and get involved in your offense. If they don't, you'll be trying to score with 3 players against 6 (including the opponent's goalie). On many high-scoring teams, the two "defensive" players run the offense, generating a lot of assists by passing to open teammates closer to the net.
8) Take "one-time" shots when possible. If you're in a good position to shoot and the ball is passed to you, swing at it. Sure, you might take a bad shot, or even miss the ball, but when you do connect, the goalie won't be ready for it. If you stop the ball and line up your shot, it will usually be more accurate, but the defenders, including the goalie, will have time to get in position to block the shot, or even prevent you from taking it.
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Defense1) Stay on your feet! Falling or diving is dangerous, can lead to a penalty, and is not a good default option because it generally takes you out of the play. That said, there are a few exceptions, which are effectively a "last resort":
- Diving to block a shot or knock the ball away after you have already been beaten on a breakaway
- Diving to intercept or deflect an opponent's pass
- Diving to receive a pass to you (usually in the neutral or offensive zone)
2) If the other team has the ball, you should always be close to one of their players. Play man-to-man coverage on this person until they leave your zone.
3) TALK! This is a highly underrated defensive skill. Tell your neighbor that someone is coming into their zone. Yell for help if there are two people in your zone. Warn the goalie if someone is all alone on the weak side. And, goalies, take charge of your team -- you often have the best view of the ice and of developing opponent plays.
4) Move your feet on defense, and try to follow the opponent's center of gravity (not the ball) when covering someone man-to-man. If you simply lean and stretch with your stick, the offensive player has two advantages:
- You are immobile and probably off-balance, making it easier for him/her to make just one move to get past you;
- S/he can make a pass and run past you because your body is out of position and/or you're focused on the ball instead of the opponent's center of gravity.
And both of these generally leave you "in the dust" scrambling to get back into the play. Note: Learn to run backwards on the ice and you'll have a great tool on defense.
5) All players should get back on defense quickly. No matter where you are on the ice or what your position is, if the other team is breaking with the ball, sprint into your defensive zone. If they slow down, you will be there ready to make the play.
6) Remember that it is legal to use your hand to bat the ball down to a teammate if both of you are behind your defensive blue line. In other words, if the ball is in the air near your goal, bat it diagonally down towards a teammate near the boards. |
