breakaway help

[houk 0]

Hey Guys

Need some advice here. I've been having some problems with my breakaways. I'm one of the faster guys on the team so each game I get about 1 or 2 breakaways. I find that I'm getting really frazzled and over thinking my dekes on the goalie. I always end up too close to the goalie and can't finish my deke or I absolutely flub it.

What do you guys suggest to help cure the yips

[Chadd 916]

Work on your shot. You don't have to deke every time.

[metalwinger13 1]

try and make the move as you hit the hash marks to get the goalie moving. and keep it simple. dont have to get all "datsyuk" all the time

[IniNew 53]

One deke always works for me, forehand-to-backhand.

[fatwabbit 93]

try and make the move as you hit the hash marks to get the goalie moving. and keep it simple. dont have to get all "datsyuk" all the time

I second the above statement. YOu dont want to be too close in that the goalie just has to poke check or smother the puck. I started scoring a lot more when I started my move a little further out.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Work on your shot. You don't have to deke every time.

Agree with Chadd. If you're a righty work on going high glove, since most goalies glove is on their left hand. Or take a peak and see if they leave you a gaping 5-hole. I have a higher success rate going glove side than I do 5-hole, but it depends on the goalie. I normally out deke myself if I try and get fancy, so I just try and shoot it. A quick snapper over/under the glove is where I look to go. The key is to shoot in stride or as soon as your feet stop moving, so you don't telegraph it from the blue line. If it's late in a game when the ice is all chopped up, it might be better to just shoot it so you avoid a rolling puck.

[Dakotax 0]

I agree with everything written so far. I will only add what I began doing. I don't have ridiculous dangles, but given my size weight I surprise alot of people with my speed decent hands. For the most part I would usually attempt a 5-hole, or glove side shot first try, if you beat a tender on a shot odds are they are looking for that next time, make him commit and freeze him with a shot fake and do the above mentioned, forehand-to-backhand. Works most of the time for me.

[Machinehead2k5 32]

I've taken many a shootout and penalty shot as well as breakaway. I'm right handed so my stick is looking at the goalies glove. I use my forehand-backhand roof shot 90% of the time. The other 10% is determined by the goaltender's glove. If it's low I shoot glove high, if it's high anticipating the glove high shot I deke.

2 choices for me, the less I have to think the better. :)

[gxc999 7]

Practice making moves before the game. One of my favorite things to do is just hold it until the last second, make one move and boom. But fast hands are my strong suit, I don't have a great shot.

[english15x 3]

keep the puck on the ground. make the goalie move and your either gonna have 3 options. 1. his 5 hole with open when he moves. 2. you can roof it on him when he is sliding. 3. be patient and shoot the low corner.

this works for me seeing as i cant snipe for shit.

[ts.krajewski 0]

I have been on one break away, and I got to excited and wiffed on the shot. So my advice is dont get too excited and over think it.

[gxc999 7]

keep the puck on the ground. make the goalie move and your either gonna have 3 options. 1. his 5 hole with open when he moves. 2. you can roof it on him when he is sliding. 3. be patient and shoot the low corner.

this works for me seeing as i cant snipe for shit.

That's really good advice. I love abusing the 5 hole as they go from standing up to sliding into butterfly. I score very well on breaks and 95% of the time, the puck is on the ground or barely in the air.

[chippa13 1844]

It is all about taking what the goalie gives you. Don't cross the blue line with your mind made up. I prefer to come in at high speed from a little bit of an angle since this gives me options. I can either catch the goalie off his angle and beat him with a low shot to the short side, pull him across and tuck it 5 hole, take him all the way across and roof it over him.

[chk hrd 164]

keep it simple. Not everyone can do a triple deak, off the foot, backwards topshelf shot while sliding on thier stomach.

[shotty 7]

i always think deke, then end up shooting hard at the hash marks when i see a ton of options. the only time a deke really works effectively for me is when i either have a ton of time or i'm coming in faster than he's moving back.

my advice is to slow down, but not physically.

[Scotty 8]

Breakaways are a very tough subject to discuss as there are a million variables: the skill of the player and goalie, speed, placement of each player, handedness of the player and goalie, each one's strong points, what move to make, etc....

Personally, I've always done very well on breakaways, penalty shots, and shootouts using 3 methods or a combination of them:

1. The quick shot. Naturally, every goalie has holes. If you've paid attention throughout the game or warmup, you might know if they are a stand up, butterfly, or hybrid goalie. Maybe you've seen where they've gotten beat earlier in the game or any tendencies they may have such as keeping their glove low, leaving their 5-hole wide, or not using their stick well. Whatever the case may be, keep your head up and the puck in a position to shoot from any stride as you get within range. The key here is to obviously not only be able to have a quick release, but to also be able to pinpoint it wherever you go for. If you give away the shot with a big pull back of your stick or end up staring at right where you're going to shoot the whole time, expect the goalie to be prepared for it. I tend to have quite a bit of success with the quick 5-hole shot, or more often, the quick snap up over the glove top shelf. Be prepared to give a quick fake shot if the goalie is out cutting down your angle too much or keeping that glove high. A quick fake shot down low and then snap to the upstairs is simple, but can work wonders.

2. The forehand fake with shoulder dip to the backhand shot. You have to have a bit of speed built up, quick hands, an excellent forehand fake, and the ability to quickly raise your backhand shot. Why? If you're coming in slowly, the goalie will have time to react when you go from your forehand to backhand. If you make your forehand to backhand transition very slowly, he may bite the first fake but still have time to react and make it over. If you can't sell your fake, you're wasting your time even doing it. The blade quiver while quickly putting it forward, combined with the head/shoulder dip and lean to that side... put it all together. Lastly, if the goalie bites the fake, he may be able to get over or still get a pad in the way, so it's vital that you be able to rip that puck up to the roof on your backhand in a very confined space. Yet another reason why I love my PM9/Zetterberg curve.

3. The cutting-across fake and then shot to the roof. This is one that I learned and have had a ton of success with. Since I'm a righty, I'll come from the left side at a decent angle and fake a quick low shot as I cut across the front of the net. The key is to fake early on the near side, then efficiently make your transition as you cut across and pull the puck to change the angle. Even as the goalie reacts, he'll have to do so very quickly to cover that much ground and will often dive, sprawl, or attempt to stack his pads in some manner. As you cut wide, simply see what holes he leaves. As stated, I often find much of the now near side open up top and simply try to snap it under the bar. Hard to explain, so I've included a video of Mike Modano doing so at about the 1:50 mark. He goes very wide and does it at an extreme angle in this video, but I couldn't find better examples of the other times he's done it.

[The Mafia Line 0]

always keep it simple. look at the goalie. note 2 things. 1) If he's deep in the net, shoot. 2) If he's out, make him make a first move.

Work on shot fakes. Either a drop of the shoulder or faking the shot and pulling it back. If the goalie bites and makes the slightest move, you got him, just move to the side and change the angle, go back hand, whatever.

Key is, look at the goalie and not the puck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2sfpVPg598 - Most of these have one thing in common. The goalie bit on a shot fake. But watch the pavol demitra goals (1:13), the getzlaf goal (2:07) and the gagner goals (2:48). Watch the whole thing though, they're all sick.

[houk 0]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. I will try and work on these for next week

[thejackal 46]

On the Dalla video someone posted earlier (

)

the one thing that really sticks out for me is how Jussi Jokinen only has 2 moves on the breakaway, but he executes both of them to perfection (practice) and they complement each other really well (if the goalie guesses one he'll do the other move and make him look stupid - note the poke check attempts on the video)

Im not great a breakaways, because I dont have amazing dekes, so I usually go with a quick shot either high glove side or 5-hole. I sometimes do this

move and have scored a few times, if the goalie's leaning glove side.

[Snooder 0]

There is some great advice in this thread and I will definitely have to incorporate some of it into my game.

I seem to have a decent shot but always love going in for the deke. Probably 80% of the time I will go backhand then forehand. That always seems to open up the 5 hole and I put the puck in the back of the net through there. I usually add in some little tweaks to get the goalie moving across the crease the other 20% of the time. As other posters have said, I usually keep the puck on the ice. I guess with my deke, it doesn't require you to roof it.

[Jarick 5]

I don't think I've ever scored on a deke, usually I try and back the goalie into the net and hit a corner. Every time I try and deke the puck rolls off my blade

[Speedz98 15]

I feel like when I try to deak, the puck just starts to bounce and I can't control the shot. How do you guys keep that sucker flat on the ice?

[english15x 3]

I feel like when I try to deak, the puck just starts to bounce and I can't control the shot. How do you guys keep that sucker flat on the ice?

maybe you need to practice on your stickhandling a little bit. make sure your knees are bent and your in a good skating posture as well. i find if im lazy skating i cant stickhandle as well. and you dont need to use lightning fast dekes just suddle movements cant make the goalie bite. a lot has to do with your body language(shoulder dips, angle of coming in, lifting the skate) not the way your moving the puck.

[Warriorsdman 1]

The shot here works 90 percent of the time, and the other move isn't to tough to pull if you can make it look like you will shoot. All you need to know: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNNScnPVlLQ

[gxc999 7]

The shot here works 90 percent of the time, and the other move isn't to tough to pull if you can make it look like you will shoot. All you need to know: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNNScnPVlLQ

Sorry my friend, but that's bad analysis. The reason that worked is because the goalie bit, he poke checked. I was bad at breakaways for some time, but the trick to improving is 1) stick handling at full speed and 2) experience/practice from every channel. What are channels? Each shooter has 4 options for coming from left across, coming from right across, come straight in and the S pattern. Each channel has 2-3 best options for each shooter depending on handedness, natural traits etc. Stick n puck is the ideal time for practicing this, helped me tons. I'm now told I'm "intimidating" to goalies on the break.