These principles can be incorporated in any hockey practice plan through drills & small area games.
Hockey is played in four primary phases: offence, defence, transition to offence & transition to defence. Due to the nature of the game and the high volume of possession changes & transitions, teams find themselves with lots of opportunity to create offence through line rush attacks. This includes odd man rushes, but just as frequent are situations where numbers are even for both teams as well as a numerical disadvantage for the offensive team, such as 1v2’s and 2v3’s. Combine that with evolving defensive strategies & teams emphasizing strong backchecking tactics, and it has become increasingly hard to generate quality offence off of the rush.
Below we will take a look at three principles to help swing the competitive advantage back to the offence & increase your team’s ability to generate quality scoring chances off of the rush. These principles can be incorporated in any practice plan through drills & small area games. We will examine the how and the why behind each principle, and provide video examples of their execution. Although simple in theory, these areas of focus are often overlooked when it comes to generating offence through line rush attack.
1. Get Off The Wall
A puck that stays on the wall will likely die on the wall. When attacking through the neutral zone looking to set up a line rush attack, the goal should be to get the puck inside the dots and attack the middle of the ice. This allows the opportunity for the puck to be moved to either side when entering the offensive zone. It also negates the opportunity for an easy angle by a tracking player or a defensemen playing the rush. Having the puck inside the dots forces the defenders to squeeze into the middle of the ice, creating wider lanes on the outside to attack or kick the puck out. Getting the puck off the wall & inside the dots also allows the puck carrier the opportunity to attack on angles as well. This tactic can be used to manipulate the feet and the movement of the defensemen creating space for the puck carrier or a supporting teammate. There is also potential to create confusion in the oppositions rush coverage & draw in additional players.
2. Change Sides Of The Ice
Similar to the need for getting the puck off of the wall, a puck that stays on the same side of the ice in transition & into a line rush attack is defended much easier by the tracking forwards and opposition defence. This is especially true if the transition begins in your defensive zone. Offensively, if a team can spread the ice it forces the defenders to adjust and shift in their coverage. This often creates gaps & spacing for the offensive team to exploit. It is important to note that simply stretching a puck to the weak side of the ice to a player with no support can have a counter effect; no support, limited options & easily negated by the opposition, especially if they have players above the puck and tracking back through the middle of the ice. When the puck changes sides of the ice the offensive team should have players off of the puck working hard to support the new puck carrier in order to take advantage of the new spacing and potential man advantage situations.
3. Scan The Ice
In order to make smart plays under pressure a player has to have the right information regarding the current environment; what type of pressure they have on the puck & on their teammates, what support do they have, speed of pressure, speed of support & where everyone is located and/or moving to. Communication is key amongst a team to effectively work together and solve problems on the ice, but even more important is the action of scanning the ice. It is the responsibility of both the puck carrier and players off of the puck in order to take in as much information as possible in order to make the correct read and play. Often we see puck carrier focused on a fixed location for their attack, the net or the net driving player for example & they fail to see the space or options on the weak side of the ice or coming late. Much the same for the players off of the puck. Too often they become focused on the puck carrier and what they are doing. While the action with the puck is important, players must be able to also scan the ice to find the open space to move into to become available or where to move to influence the decisions by the defensive players. Hockey is so dynamic and the picture is always changing so players should make it a habit to scanning the ice to read pressure, support & space. Applicable and important all over the ice, especially of the rush is teams want to take advantage of potential scoring chance situations.
