How to Play Goalie in Hockey

Posted in Hockey Tips |

Ice hockey, being a demanding sport no doubt, demands the most from a goaltender where one can get injured in bearing the brunt of the attack from the opposition.

Although goaltending can only be learnt from practice, every goaltender will find that blocking the puck from entering the net, also known as a save, is part and parcel of their lives. This can be done by catching the puck with their hand, using their hockey stick or blocker to push the puck away from the goal and even blocking the puck with different parts of their body with moves such as the butterfly save that can be complicated and require a higher level of fitness to handle.

Not only that, here are five ‘open’ areas that any budding goalkeeper must learn to cover:

1. Glove side, high – is a position that is on the right top hand corner of the net, which is where the post and the top of the goal meet.
2. Glove side, low – is the position that is on the right bottom area of the net, which is where the post and the ice meet.
3. Stick side, high – is the position on the left top corner of the net, which is where the post and the top of the goal meet.
4. Stick side, low – is the position that is on the left bottom area of the net, which is where the post and the ice meet.
5. Five-hole – This position is between the goalie’s leg pads and skates.

For a start, if you learn how to figure this out, you will get the basics of playing the goalie position right.