Positioning Question

[BackinAction 0]

I have a positioning question. I generally play on the wing and this scenario happened during my last game. The puck is being brought into my defensive zone by the opposing wing. I am skating backwards forcing him to the outside. Both of my defensemen are behind me in position. At what point do I drop off and let the d-man pick him up so I can get back to my point or do I stay with him. I dropped off just past the face off circle and he was travelling close to the boards and thought the defense would pick him up. The guy cuts sharply towards the goal after I drop him, my d-man then slides to pick him up, he then passes it to the other winger at the far post for a goal.

If I stayed with him longer all he had to do was drop it back to the d-man in the slot for a shot. Should I have waited to see the d-man pick him up and then drop off?

Thoughts?

[Razr 2]

Depends on your system... there are a few things you could do in that situation.

1) Back check him all the way down- communicate to your Defense. Push him into the the corner and play the pin-and-poke game to try and take the puck.

2) Follow him like you did- top of the circles, and again, communicate with your Defense. Cut sharp and block the passing lane to their Defense.

-Just from my experience in playing. Someone else may have some other thoughts...

[coryroth24 15]

Step up on the winger! What's the worst that can happen? He gets around you to face the two defensemen that are behind you? When you have numbers, attack the puck at all costs. Just like I hate seeing a 1-on-2 with both D-men backing off. One of those two need to step up and attack the puck carrier...

[sickwilly 37]

Run him over, if you can.

[Jarick 5]

Near as I can tell, you and the defenseman played it right, but the other defenseman left his guy open at the far post. In our extremely basic system, the wingers only go down to about the hash marks in their own zone where the D should pick him up. Where was the other defenseman and center?

[jcp2 2]

I been having similar issues as the original poster, except that I play in a "non-checking" beer league. Rubbing out the carrier along the boards generally yields two minutes, (unless it's a tiny girl doing it to a big guy) so I've been letting the guy slide by and hoping that the D can slow him down. Is a quick poke check as he passes my only realistic option?

On a related note, once a puck carrier gets the first step and starts "sitting" as he cuts around me, are there any options left for me? Again, "non-checking" league.

[in da crease 0]

I'm with cory and willy. If you're playing wing and skating backwards as the puck carrier is entering the zone, I'm wondering why you haven't attacked the puck carrier before he even hit the blue line. Checking or Non-checking , you've passed up the the chance to take the guy in nuetral ice, possibly breaking up the play before it even got into your zone. If he still beats you, you continue to back check but the transition is much more natural for your Defenseman.

If you were skating forward, chasing the puck carrier down, like in a normal back checking scenario, would you simply shadow the guy chasing him to the outside until you hit the top of the circles? Or you would attempt to break up the play sooner? It shouldn't change if your in position to skate backwards.

[chippa13 1844]

This play should never have entered the zone. You should have forced him to the boards long before your blue line and the defenseman could have finished trapping the player with the puck. It should have resulted in either a turnover or a dump in.

[chk hrd 164]

I been having similar issues as the original poster, except that I play in a "non-checking" beer league. Rubbing out the carrier along the boards generally yields two minutes, (unless it's a tiny girl doing it to a big guy) so I've been letting the guy slide by and hoping that the D can slow him down. Is a quick poke check as he passes my only realistic option?

On a related note, once a puck carrier gets the first step and starts "sitting" as he cuts around me, are there any options left for me? Again, "non-checking" league.

since most beer league refs call a penalty for rubbing someone off on the boards, just try to keep him as far outside as possible, if you can make him go east-west in the nuetral zone you can usually keep him from entering the O zone and force a pass or a dump. If you think he will beat you through the N zone don't be afraid to turn on him and skate him down the boards. make sure you keep to the inside and keep your shoulder on him.

The biggest thing is communication with the D. If you are going to drop him they need to pick him up, if you take him all of the way they need to move high and cover the open man. Where it happens doesn't really matter as long as everyone is covered. The other D man and center should be covering anyone in front of the crease. If there is only one man bck the center can decide to help you with your man or take a spot in the passing lanes to prevent a pass.

[oggy_3 0]

Unless your on the Penalty Kill most times you shouldnt be so far back in the offensive zone that you can skate backwards. You should be able to angle him towards the boards and your defensemen{2 on 3(defense)} should assist you with either taking the puck or taking the player out of the play so you can take the puck.

[Darkbyte 0]

I been having similar issues as the original poster, except that I play in a "non-checking" beer league. Rubbing out the carrier along the boards generally yields two minutes, (unless it's a tiny girl doing it to a big guy) so I've been letting the guy slide by and hoping that the D can slow him down. Is a quick poke check as he passes my only realistic option?

Would the following suggestion be legal as an alternative method to rubbing the carrier out along the boards? I was told to do this for inline, and seeing as it follows the same spirit of what you would like to do, it may help in such situations.

I was told to skate backwards with the guy forcing him to the outside, for as long as I can i.e. whilst he is about "face off distance" infront of me and I am able to maintain that distance. I dont have to do anything, just sit there and annoy him so he cant shoot/has to pass (hopefully backwards) or makes a mistake. When/if he gets next to me with me, Ill pivot and skate side by side, agressively leading him towards the boards (note not directly into the boards). Once we get to the boards I want to end up just infront of him, hitting the boards first with his stick tied up and the puck just infront of me (basically, the guy you lead to the boards will be the one hitting you, not you hitting them (if there is contact at all)).

By leading someone towards the boards, I mean skating in such a way that there are very few options, and they have to choose to either hit the brakes, shove me out the way, or go to the boards in an attempt to squeeze past me. In this position you should be able to do a bit of stick lifting, if they dont follow you lead towards the boards.

Basically, your attempting to force the exception to the "boarding" rule: "'Rolling' an opponent (if that player is the puck carrier) along the boards where the player is endevoring to go through too small an opening is not boarding" - note this is from the Australian Inline hockey rule book, so it may not apply elsewhere.

[phunky_monkey 6]

This play should never have entered the zone. You should have forced him to the boards long before your blue line and the defenseman could have finished trapping the player with the puck. It should have resulted in either a turnover or a dump in.

Agreed 100%. If the defense is behind you, attack the puck carrier or force him to play the low percentage to the boards. If you and your defense are moving back past the blueline all you're doing is creating a double screen for your goalie. The Defensman should be taking them at, or just behind, the blueline depending on the size of the rink so you're both too ar back in the scenario.

Darkbyte: That's a good method for inline. From experience most refs are pretty leniant on rubbing someone out a little along the boards, as long as it's not hard contact. Drive them to the boards so they have no options.

[BackinAction 0]

Thanks guys. This is a non-check league and the refs will let you get away with some contact behind the goal line or in front of the net, but everything else is 2 minutes. Looks like I have some work to do.

[jcp2 2]

Thanks from me as well. I'm going to give these suggestions a shot over the summer.

[shotty 7]

if i'm a winger in a position like yours, i'm putting HUGE pressure on him before he even gets across the centre line, forcing him to make a move there. if you can force a turnover, or even slow down the momentum, you'll have made an impact on the play.

[Darkbyte 0]

Darkbyte: That's a good method for inline. From experience most refs are pretty leniant on rubbing someone out a little along the boards, as long as it's not hard contact. Drive them to the boards so they have no options.

Thanks.

[Tmako 0]

I play D, so it's from my perspective. I agree with many of the posts. You should attack him WAY before he gets in the zone. Try to make him pass the puck, try to make him hesitate at the blue line and his teammates just may go offsides. I hate it when a winger backs off. If you attack and miss, I'm still there to back you up, so go get him (or her)! :)