Coach JeremyDo you freeze up on breakaways? Do you want to score more goals in Hockey? Read this article to learn what to do to score more goals in hockey!
If you have read my article on how to deke, you are now ready to learn how to beat the goalie. This may be easier said than done, but there are some tips that will be helpful.
First you must know the golden rule. If you are on a breakaway or a one on one with the goalie, you shouldn’t stick handle with the puck directly in front of you. If you stick handle with the puck directly in front of you the goalie knows that you are not going to shoot because there are only 2 things you can do; deke left, or deke right. In order for you to shoot you must move the puck to your side.
When on a breakaway the proper place to have the puck is on your stick side. If you are right handed then you should be stick handling the puck on your right side. If you have the puck on your stick side than you can shoot, pass, make a drop pass or deke. This will keep the goalie thinking about what you are going to do next.
Where to shoot?
You are alone with the goalie and don’t know what to do. Well the first thing you should do is look for an opening. The best places to look are the corners, and the five-hole (between the legs). Most goalies are expecting you to deke, or shoot for the top corners when you are on a breakaway. Many times you can trick the goalie by just sliding the puck by the goalie with a quick low shot to the bottom left or right corners.
A good goalie will usually know his angles and will not give you a lot of places to shoot at. If you are facing a good goalie then you will not have a lot of openings, so you will have to make your own.
You can make a place to shoot at by making the goalie move. If you want to make the goalie move then you must deke, or move the puck. The goalie is trained to line up with the puck, so when you move the puck the goalie also moves. When the goalie moves it creates openings, usually between the legs, under the arms and around the insides of the posts. With a little practice you will learn where to shoot when you deke left, and where to shoot when you deke right.
Watch the goalie. One of the best moves to do on any goalie is a fake shot. When you fake a shot most goalies will be tricked and either go down, or at the least move a little bit. This gives you a chance to look for new openings and shoot for them. A move that works most of the time is to stick handle on your shooting side. If you shoot right than you will be stick handling on your right side. When you are within 15 to 20 feet from the net fake a shot to the right side of the net (push the puck towards the goalie as if you are going to shoot it). You then stop the puck with the back hand side of the blade, move the puck to your forehand and pull it to the left side of the net. In most cases when you fake the shot the goalie will go down, then all you have to do is pull the puck over to the opposite side of the net and raise it up over the goalies pad with a quick backhand shot.
There are many other moves that can be done on a goalie, if I get good reviews on this article then I will write about some more moves that can be done.
