Coach JeremyThis article will deal with one on ones, this means you are the last man back and the best chance to stop a goal.
In this scenario your defensive partner pinched and was beaten you are the last man back and are one on one with the breaking forward. first thing to do is to get in proper position to do this you must bridge the gap between you and the forward as quickly as possible, look at the ANGLING article and position yourself to properly angle the player away from the net. Your job as last man back is to ensure that this player does not get a shot, and if they attempt one it should be from a terrible angle with little to no success. do not focus on the puck your eyes should be squarely planted between the forwards shoulders. use your peripherals to watch the puck but the minute you become mesmerized by it you loose. Now your job is to stop this player or make it as difficult as possible for him to shoot . Playing the angles and watching the body gives you the ability to control his movement on the ice, now use your stick to pressure the forward. you can attempt a poke check, or simply use your stick as another tool to corall him towards the boards. if you have been slowly closing the gap and angling the forwards you should be in perfect postion to stop the play. This will greatly help you improve your one on one skills.
THe PInch.
One of the scariest moments in a defensemnes life is the pinch, this means you are at the blue line and you move in to try and stop and advancing player, or try to stop a puck from leaving the offensive zone. when a offensive layer is rushing and you are thinking about pinching you must ask yourself. Can I get the puck? or Can i stop this forward?.
if you answer No to those questions do not even think about pinching. However if you answered yes then you have to commit 100 percent to the pinch. a common mistake is to immediantely hug the boards with your skates (picture) this actually gives the forward more options ans you have significanlty reduced the area you cover. Your goal is to get the forward to attempt to boucne th puck off the boards, if you are standing against them it will work against your goal.
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