Goalie – 3 Shot Drill

Drill:

1. Player skates down from wing and shoots
2. Player on opposite side gives the goalie a chance to recover then skates in and shoots
3. Coach lets the goalie recover then tries to stuff a puck in the net

Focus:
1. Players should focus on skating hard to the net and shooting. Shots should wrist or slapshots
2. Focus on Goalie movement from side to side, playing angles and recovering
3. Players should not try to make dekes or trick shots

Notes:
You can sub a player for the coach so they can work on their close range shots
You want a quick pace for the goalies. Give them enough time to recover but not a lot. This drill helps with their quickness and stamina.

Related Drills:
3 Shot Drill Variation
Goalie Warm Up

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2 on 1 Breakout

Drill:

1. On whistle, the Forwards in the each corner skate for the opposite dot, turn and cut back in the middle. Defense starts to skate backward out of the zone.
2. Goalie (or a Coach) looks to make an outlet pass to one of the players after they turn the dot
3. 2 Forwards now work out of the zone and Defense works to control their movement

Focus:
1. Lateral movement by the Forwards to get open
2. Puck movement by the Goalie. Goalie should focus on passes out toward the circles and not in the middle

Notes:
This drill is move for skating and lateral movement and is not recommended as a breakout option. Skating back and forth is wasted movement and moving the puck in front of the net is never a good thing.  What I'm trying to teach them is the side to side movement to get open.  Most young players want to head straight up the rink.

Related Drills:
3 on 2 breakout
Behind net breakout

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Behind the net - Positioning

Drill:

1. Offense 1 starts behind the new with the puck.
2. Offense 2 gets positioning in front of the net
3. Offense 3 looks for position in the high slot/circle
4. Offense 1 works to wrap the puck from behind, or get a pass to the O 2 or 3

Focus:
1. Good position by O 2/3
2. Puck movement by O 1
3. Goalie must be aware of player behind the net and react quickly
4. Once D is added, they should focus on keeping O 2 away from net

Notes:
Position is important for all players involved in this drill.

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Goalie Warm-up

Drill:

1. Line players in front of goalie in semi-circle
2. Alternate shots on goal
3. After everyone shoots, rotate players down the line

Focus:
1. Shooter – Pick a spot and shoot
2. Goalie – Work angles
3. Goalie – Quick recovery for next shot

Notes:
This is intense for the Goalies as they should be up and down, sliding left to right.
You can fire down the line or skip every other one or any variation.

Related Drills:
3 Shot Drill Variation
3 Shot Drill

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3 Shot Drill

Drill:

1. Have coaches with pucks on either side of the net
2. Player starts in the middle and skates in and shoots (wrist or slapshot) from between circles
3. They they take a pass from one side of the net and then the other

Focus:
1. These are quick shots to make the goalie work on movement up and down and left and right
2. Goalie also needs to focus on pucks coming from behind the net
3. O player should focus on quick release. If the puck comes on his forehand side, shot it quickly. Same with the backhand side. Get it on the backhand and shot

Notes:
Great drill to focus on quick shots from both forehand and backhand. Make sure on their backhand side they are shooting backhand shots.

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Breakaway to 2-1 Drill

Drill:

1. Start off as a simple breakaway drill with one Offensive player
2. Next, add a Defensive player about 4-5 steps behind the shooter
3. Last, add in a trailing Offensive player crashing the net looking for rebounds
4. If no goal scored or save made, play 2-1 until a goal, puck is frozen or cleared by D

Focus:
1. Player with the puck should focus on good stick work to beat the goalie and protect the puck from the D
2. Adding the D will focus on their backchecking skills
3. The D will also force the O to skate faster
4. Adding the trailing O player will force the D to clear the puck if there is a rebound. Trailing O should look for rebounds

Notes:
Good for focusing on Fast play on breakaways and good backchecking

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Side of the Net Tip-ins

Drill:

1. Position 1 player to each side of the net
2. Coach stands between the circles with a pile of pucks and passes to either side of the net
3. Players work on redirecting the puck into the goal
4. Goalie must react to the puck

Focus:
1. Good position beside the net
2. Players must be leaning hard on stick and ‘pushing’ it toward the net
3. Reinforce this is not a shot but a redirect/push of the puck
4. Goalie must work on side to side movement
5. If goalie starts to cheat one way, shoot for open net, reminding them their first responsibility is the shooter

Notes:
You can have a player making passes in front of the net to help with making decisions of what to do with the puck.

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1 Timer-Slapshot drill

Drill:

1. Position 2 players at a comfortable distance, each with a pile of pucks
2. Player 1 passes to Player 2 who takes a 1 timer
3. Player 2 now passes to Player 1 who takes a 1 timer
4. This is a fast paced drill. Pass-shoot, pass-shoot, etc.

Focus:
1. Good solid passes to the players shot area
2. Focus by the shooter to take the 1 timer
3. Quick puck movement
4. Goalie movement side to side as this should be a fast paced drill.

Notes:
This drill is great for Defensive players as you are working on another area of the rink with the Offense.
Variation 1: Add in a forward in front of the net for deflections and rebounds.
Variation 2: Make the players  make 3 passes before shooting to encourage puck movement.

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3-0 Pass, Shoot and Crash Game

Drill:

1. This is a battle between the 2 teams
2. Players 1-3 will be skaters, Player 4 is the passer
3. Player 1 will skate past closest cone and look for pass. Shoot and then crash net
4. Player 2 will then skate past middle cone and look for pass. Shoot and then crash net
5. Player 3 will follow-up by skating past furthest cone and shoot.

Game Rules:
1. Any shot that goes in is a point for the team
2. Players in front may tip/deflect the shot
3. Players in front may NOT shoot in rebounds
4. Game goes 4 rounds
5. Variation: Add Goalie Saves in as a point for the Goalie and let him compete.

Focus:
1. Good passes by the last player in the group
2. Head up while shooting to find an opening or pass to open player
3. Work on deflections/tips for the players in front

Notes:
This is a fun game for the kids and it focuses on many good skills

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Defending passes from behind the net

Drill:

1. Players line up in a semi-circle
2. Coaches are on either side of the net below the goal line
3. Coaches make passes to any of the players in front
4. Player settles puck and shoots or takes one-timers
5. Goalie needs to make save and react quickly for next shot

Focus:
1. Goalie: Make good save and even better recovery to be in place for rebound or for next pass
2. Players learn to shoot quickly.

Notes:
You can also set players up behind the net to make passes. This focuses them on making good passes.

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