Complete Ice Hockey Goalie Equipment Tags

Players must learn to protect themselves especially along the boards. When going into the corner use some fakes with your body stick or skates to avoid being a stationary target. Keep your skates parallel to the boards rather than pointing toward the boards. As soon as you pick up the...

To carry out the proper checks along the boards you must learn to force the puck carrier towards the boards. The key is to steer the puck carrier in the direction you want by angling him or her into the boards under a controlled speed : Keep yourself stick-to-stick and...

USA Hockey strongly discourages checking from behind but if it should happen while you′re facing the boards get your stick and gloves up to spread out the area of impact. Use your arms as shock absorbers....

SKATING SKILLS The foundation of goaltending is based on balance and edges. The better skater you are the better goaltender you will be. Before every practice and every game your warmup should consist of simple skating drills: T-pushes shuffles and slides. You use a T-push for long crease movements. Push...

When it comes to effectively passing the puck accuracy is the key. You want to look at your intended target and take your time to make a good hard accurate pass. It′s all in the follow through. It′s important to work on passing in practice. Take your time and work...

When I′m on a breakaway I always look at where the goalie is. Is he out of the crease or back in the net? Both the shooter and the goalie are trying to do the same thing: make the other make the first move. When you′re the shooter you′re at...

Leg Pads. The following is a four-step guide to determine the size of a goaltender′s pads : Step 1 – Goaltender's skate size Step 2 – Measure from the floor to the middle of the kneecap Step 3 – Measure from the middle of the kneecap to desired height on...

Don't forget the parents. Most coaches kick off the season with a parents' meeting to lay down a few ground rules discuss philosophies and map out a course for the season. That's all well and good when the season is young and everyone is refreshed and ready to go. Keep...

Repetitions without being repetitive. We are all guilty of relying on our favorite tried-and-true drills to work on specific skills. A coach should not lose sight of the importance of continuing to promote skill development but mixing in different drills and small area games with new objectives can go a...

HAND SKILLS With the advancement of the butterfly save in the early to mid-1990s goaltenders started perfecting their on-ice coverage and the use of their hands was a bit forgotten. Catching a puck means possession for your team and rebounds off your blocker are steered to the corner. In warmup...