You have to have good hand-eye coordination, and good reflexes. And you must know where you are around the net at all times. Here's some tips:
Goaltender is typically a specialized position in ice hockey; at higher levels in the game, no goalies play other positions and no other players play goalie. A typical ice hockey team may have on its roster two or three goaltenders. The goaltender has special privileges that other players do not. He wears special goaltending equipment that is subject to different regulations from those regarding the gear of other players. The goalie may legally hold (or freeze) the puck with his hands to cause a stoppage of play. If a player from the other team hits him without making an attempt to get out of his way, the offending player is penalized. In some leagues, if a goalie's stick breaks, he can continue playing with a broken stick until the play is stopped, unlike other players who must drop any broken sticks immediately.
Saves
When a goalie blocks or stops a shot from going into his goal net, that action is called a save. Goalies often use a particular style, but in general they make saves any way they can: catching the puck with their glove hand, deflecting the shot with their stick, blocking it with their leg pads or blocker or another part of their body, collapsing to butterfly position to block any low shot coming, especially in close proximity. After making a save, the goaltender attempts to control the rebound to avoid a goal scored by an opposing player when the goaltender is out of position ('scoring on a rebound'), or simply to allow the goalie's own team to get control of the puck. Goalies often catch a shot if they can to better control how it re-enters play. If there is immediate pressure, a goalie may choose to hold on to the puck (for a second or more, with judgment from the referee) to stop play for a face-off. If a goalie holds on to the puck for too long without any pressure they may be subject to a 2-minute 'delay of game' penalty. Recently, in the NHL and AHL, goalies have been restricted as to where they can play the puck behind the net.
Glossary & technique
Angle play: The method where, by positioning themselves in a direct line between the shooter and the net, a goaltender covers more of the net than he would otherwise be able to. One of the most notable angle goaltenders was Bernie Parent.
Blocker: Worn on the right hand (for right-handed goaltenders), the blocker is a rectangular piece of equipment with a glove to hold the stick. It protects the wrist area, and can be used to direct shots away from the net. The blocker should be positioned at one's side, and at a height which allows the goaltender's stick to remain flat on the ice. Some goalies, such as Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders, have their blocker on the left hand, and their trapper on the right hand. This setup is described as a Full-right goalie.
Butterfly save: On low shots, modern goaltenders usually work in the "butterfly" position, keeping their knees together and their stick covering their five-hole. The glove is kept up, ready for a possible deflection, and the goaltender is focused on the incoming shot.
Holes one through five: There exist five distinct positions a goaltender needs to cover:
At the corner of the net on the ice on the goaltender's stick side.
At the corner of the net on the ice on the goaltender's glove side.
On the goaltender's glove side, near the upper crossbar.
On the goaltender's stick side, near the upper crossbar.
Between the goaltender's legs. The five-hole is the only hole named by number in the present age.
In addition, some also refer to the 11-hole and 7-hole. These are the gaps between the goaltender's glove arm and body and between the goaltender's stick arm and body, respectively. It is difficult for goaltenders to make saves in this area, so therefore some skillful players have been known to aim for the 11-hole or 7-hole in shootout or break away situations.
Leg pads: Worn on the goaltender's legs to both protect the legs and help stop shots. The leg pads may not be more than twelve inches in width. (Current NHL Rules have reduced this to 11" in width, while also restricting the overall height to 38".) The leg pads should come to about three inches above the knee. Pads which are too long will affect balance and timing; pads which are too short will not protect the knees properly.
Leg pad save: A save made with any part of the leg pads. The goaltender should remain relaxed and skate backwards with the incoming shot, thus helping to absorb the blow and reduce the rebound effect. One type of leg pad save is the butterfly save.
Lie: The angle created between the handle of a goaltender's stick and the paddle. The higher the lie, the closer the stick resembles the capital letter "L".
Paddle: The thick part of the goaltender's stick, not to be confused with the blade; the blade should remain flat on the ice as often as possible.
Paddle down: A type of stance by the goaltender when the play is coming from the corner to the front of the net and the puck carrier is carrying the puck in front of the net looking to score. Here the goaltender puts the stick down on the ground, parallel to the ice, with the leg farthest from the post down and the other up and ready to push. This works well against angled rushes or Wrap Arounds where the skater would normally out skate the goalie. The skater does have the top part of the net to shoot at, but lifting the puck over the goalie from up close tends to be difficult. The paddle down stance is also effective against low passes from behind the net to players looking to score from the slot.
Poke check: When the goaltender wants to poke the puck away from an opposing puck-carrier, he/she quickly slides his hand up the stick, thrusting forward towards the puck. This is a dangerous move, and occasionally the goaltender will miss and the puck-carrier will be left with an unguarded net.
Screen shot: Screen shots are blind shots, in which the goalie has to anticipate where the puck will hit. In the screen shot, another player (usually an opponent, but sometimes the goaltender's own teammate) stands between the shooter and the goaltender, obscuring the goaltender's vision of the shot. On a screen shot, the goaltender must do everything possible to try to see the shot, dropping to the butterfly stance and thrusting their trapper out at the sound of a shot. Some goalies, such as Ed Belfour or Ron Hextall, go as far as (illegally) punching players in the head or slashing their legs.
Shuffle: A technique for lateral movement when the puck is relatively close to the net. The goaltender slides his legs, one at a time, in the desired direction. If the goaltender is not quick this techniques momentarily leaves the five-hole open. This is the most common method of movement for a goaltender.
Skate save: A save made with the goaltender's skate. The goaltender decides which direction the rebound should travel in, and turns his skate in that direction. Then, bending the other leg, he/she pushes towards the puck with the off leg, as the bent knee drops to the ice. This move is rarely used and widely thought of as "not effective"
Skating: A common fallacy is that the goaltender can get by with merely adequate skating, and often young players are placed in net due to their poor skating. In fact, the goaltender must be one of the best technical skaters on the team, and must be able to keep up with the moves of every skater on opposing teams. In particular, goaltenders must be adept at lateral skating and quick pivoting.
Stacking the pads: When a goaltender is on the angle, often a sudden pass close to the net will leave the net relatively unguarded. Stacking the pads is a desperation move in which the goaltender slides feet-first, with legs together (and consequently, "stacked"), towards the potential shooter, attempting to cover as much space as possible.
Stance: In a proper stance, the goaltender has the weight on the balls of his feet, the trapper and blocker just above knee-height and slightly out in front so they can be seen in the goalies peripheral vision, and the stick flat on the ice. Stance should also be conformed to the goaltenders style and comfort.
Stick: The stick, held by the goaltender in their blocker hand, the blade of the stick should remain flat on the ice. Keep notice of the lie on a new stick. A high lie will force a goaltender to play on their heels, offsetting balance, while a low lie places a goaltender lower to the ice, and may affect high saves.
Stick save: A save made with the goaltender's stick. On stick saves, the goaltender should not keep a tight grip on the stick, instead allowing the shot's momentum to push the stick back into the skates/pads, cushioning the blow.
Stood on his head: This is a term to describe an outstanding performance by an ice hockey goaltender in a short period of time. Often when a goalie lets out a rebound, the opposition returns the shot quickly, and the goalie has to make a quick save. A goalie often falls on his side and "stacks the pads" and appears to nearly stand on their head. The term is derived after Frank Calder, President of the NHL, remarked in 1918 that "they could stand on their head, if they wanted to." This was alluding to the rules change that permitted goalies to fall down to make a save.
T-push: A technique used by goaltenders to move in a lateral direction. To perform a t-push, a goaltender directs his outside skate in the desired direction, pushing with both legs, covering the five hole. This method of lateral movement is most effective when the puck is far from the net. Use of this move when the puck is in close will result in a goal through the "5 Hole"
Telescoping: Telescoping is a method of moving inward and outward from the goal crease. Most often used in setting up prior to the puck entering their zone, this move is accomplished by simply allowing your skates to separate, resulting in forward motion, then pulling your skates back together and stopping. At no time during a telescope do your skates leave the ice.
Trapper: This piece of equipment is often referred to simply as the "glove", and it was originally shaped in the same fashion as a baseball glove, it has evolved into a highly specific piece of equipment that is designed specifically for catching the puck. Some of the more significant changes are the use of a "string mesh" in the pocket of the trapper, and the substantial palm and wrist protection. The pocket is the area between the thumb and first finger of the glove, and is where most goaltender's try to catch the puck, as it reduces the discomfort of the goaltender and the chance of a rebound falling out of the glove. The trapper can be held in a variety of positions depending upon the individual goaltender, but the trend among younger goaltenders is to hold the glove with the palm facing towards the shooter, instead of the "shake hands" position that was popular for so long.
Pro-fly: This style of play is derived from the butterfly style of play, although most will argue that this is nothing more than a marketing term. Current leg pad design allows for the full face of the pad to be perpendicular to the ice, maximizing blocking area. This is also called "flaring the pad", almost all modern goaltenders play this style. The stance is very wide and low to maximize the amount of body blocking the net. One of the best goaltenders at this position is Marc-Andre Fleury currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins.[citation needed] This is still considered a butterfly motion, as the mechanics of making the save are the same, however it is the design of the leg pad that achieves this rotation more than anything.
Stand-up style
There are many ways to stop the puck. The oldest one is the "Stand-up" style. In this style you stop the puck from a standing position, not going down. The Goalies may bend over to stop the puck with their upper body or may kick the puck. Those saves made by kicking are known as kick saves or skate saves. They may also simply use their stick to stop it. This was the style seen in the early NHL and was most commonly used up until the early 90's. One of the more notable goalies who was last seen using stand up was Kirk McLean, but most of the goalies from earlier decades such as Jacques Plante were goalies who were considered pure stand up goalies.
Toes up style
The style that came after "Stand-up" was "Toes Up". In this style a goalie will go down to stop the puck and will kick their pads outwards with their toes pointed towards the ceiling. In this position, goalies found more success stopping pucks down low than they had in stand up position. This was seen most often from the 70's through mid 90's. Grant Fuhr was the most notable goalie of this style and made a living off amazing and difficult looking saves from this style. (It should be noted that Grant Fuhr was actually a Hybrid Style goaltender (see below), and this style is not really a recognized one. Kick saves are a selection of the hybrid or traditional butterfly goaltender, but do not form the basis of a single style.)
Butterfly style
Main article: Butterfly style
Another style is the "Butterfly", where goalies go down with both pads with their toes pointing outwards and the tops of their pads meeting in the middle. This results in a "wall" of padding without any holes, lowering the chances of low angle shots getting in. These goalies rely mainly on timing and position. Early innovators of this style were goaltending greats Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito, who played during the 50's-60's and 70's-80's, respectively. Hall is generally credited to be among the very first to use this style, and both he and Esposito had tremendous success with it. This is the most widely used style in the NHL today. "Butterfly" goalies have developed methods of sliding in the "Butterfly" position in order to move around fast in one timer situations. As pad size increased, it became a more notable style of goaltending and is still evolving. One of the best butterfly goalies of all time is the Canadian top goalie Patrick Roy who is now retired.
Hybrid style
This style of goaltending is a blend of all styles, where the goaltender primarily relies on reaction and positioning to make saves. Hybrid goaltenders will make kick saves, will utilize the butterfly, and are generally not as predictable as goaltenders who rely heavily on the butterfly as a save selection. While this style is generally not as utilized in the NHL, three goaltenders who have had great success in recent years using it are Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, and Ryan Miller.
Out of all these styles, butterfly is the most efficient. It is used by most of the goalies in the NHL.
Penalties and substitutions
A goalie can get a penalty like any other player, but the goalie tends to have less bodily contact with players from the opposing team and therefore rarely gets a penalty. When he or she does get a penalty, the coach is allowed to select another player, who was on the ice at the time of the infraction, to sit in the penalty box for him or her, unless the goalie has been penalized for fighting. Goalies skate around the ice rink much less during play than other players and are substituted far less frequently in a game; typically, unless he or she performs poorly, a goalie plays out the entire game. As of the 2005-2006 NHL season, if a goalie touches the puck while in the restricted area behind the goal line, the goalie is penalized for delay of game.
Empty net situations
Normally, the goalie plays in or near the goal crease the entire game. However, teams may legally pull the goalie by substituting a normal skater for a goalie. A team temporarily playing with no goalie is said to be playing with an empty net. This gives the team an extra attacker, but at significant risk—if the opposing team captures the puck, they may easily score a goal.
In practice, there are only two situations in which a team would likely pull its goalie. The first is during the last minute or so of a game in which a team is down by a single goal and has control of the puck; the chance of getting a tying goal is worth the risk, since the team is already losing. The second is when a delayed penalty is pending against the other team for a long period; since the penalty is assessed as soon as the penalized team gains control of the puck, a goalie is unlikely to be needed. (However, accidentally scoring on one's own goal is not unknown.)
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