Starting in Goal as an Adult

[beedee 227]

I only retape if it is torn along the bottom of the blade.

[badger_14 601]

You can wash the Sham sweatbands too, just not put them in the dryer. They absorb way more than a regular terry band, and they are a little grippy when they get wet, so they hold your mask in place a little better as you sweat.

I did find the headband I got to be very effective and I did think it had some cooling properties. The sham ones stick inside the helmet, then, vs. being worn bandana-style?

Anyone else have photos of themselves in goal?

This would require having friends, unfortunately. (specifically: friends who aren't playing hockey and are also willing to come to the rink.)

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Won 5-3 in easily the best game I've ever played in goal. It was against the first place team, who tend to stomp everyone. We're now tied for first place with them!

I don't know what it is but this has been a really good week. Must be the VH skates? ;)

[badger_14 601]

Isn't it always fun to knock down the team that always slaughters everyone else?

Edited August 10, 2015 by Gummer12
no gifs plz

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Apparently I also scored two goals? http://icetowncarlsbad.hockeyshift.com/stats/game/42/124/league//26284

(Pretty sure those both belong to Shai Brunis, who is listed as the assist on both of them)

[IPv6Freely 2092]

First time subbing in a higher division. Ended up winning 7-6 in a shootout, breaking this teams 6 game losing streak in the process.

Also got my first ever assist in goal :)

Edited August 10, 2015 by OptimusReim

[magnets 98]

Nice work Optimus! I'm still looking forward to my first point...

[beedee 227]

We won last night too, 4-2 against the first place team! First goal I should have had, was lazy when dropping and it squeaked under my left pad. Second goal I was hung out to dry on a 2 on 0. I actually got over in time with a b-fly slide but still got beat above the right leg.

[beedee 227]

I'd like to thank OptimusReim for the killer deal on his old Bauer Reactor 2000 skates. I bought them last week to have the cowlings put on my Graf Goaler Elite skates, this is a pic of the swap in progress that my buddy from Goalie Monkey sent me. I picked them up on Friday but haven't used them yet, I can't wait to get on the ice with them!

[badger_14 601]

Have recently taken a couple of mild ringers to the head, and I'm not sure if it's the helmet or just the way I'm getting hit. Two have been to the chin/jaw area, and one to the forehead. The mask does not seem to be visibly compromised in any way, nor does the cage. A dose of extra padding, maybe?

[beedee 227]

what type of mask?

[badger_14 601]

CCM 9000. Not old, either - I got it this past September, I think?

[IPv6Freely 2092]

In that case I'd just go with "it is what it is, a puck to the head is never going to feel great".

[badger_14 601]

No, it won't, I was just curious because it didn't vibrate quite so much before. But it is probably the nature and location of the shots more than anything.

I am, however, questioning my decision to play hockey with a very-much-B-level group the day after a 16 hour shift that included a cardiac arrest. I think I might have to skip Thursday AM skate in order to skate on Saturday. Yes, my hockey is getting the way of my hockey. What a hardship.

I actually survived the Monday group (I was acting as a fill-in goalie) reasonably well, for their skill level vs. mine, and I am feeling in general like I am a lot more agile lately. Not spectacular, but more than, say, even a month or two ago. Trying different techniques leads to increased scoring, but it's helpful to try things and see what's working and what's not and how I can fix it.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Amazing game last night. Down 1-0 very early (first two minutes) thanks to a pass in front that went off my D-man's skate and right in the net. Play the entire game down and made a ton of good saves. Get a PP with 4:30 left and the other team takes a timeout. I go to the bench and say "whistle under 2 mins, take a timeout, and I'm coming out - otherwise, I'm coming out at 1 min left regardless so BE READY".

2/3 of the way through the PP (3 min penalties w/ running clock) they send it down and change. I skate out to the corner, stop the puck, fire a perfect pass up the boards while they're still changing and our guy goes in, cuts around the D-man and tucks it home. It was amazing. Especially considering I'm still not especially confident handling the puck like that yet. Tie game 1-1.

Then less than 30 secs later our D takes a slapper from the blue line and it goes top corner. Up 2-1. Ended up scoring an empty netter with 15 seconds left, 3-1.

Most awesome feeling coming from behind like that, especially after both goalies put on a clinic and the 1-0 goal being a fluke like that. Sadly, no assist on my pass though. I'm not sure why... I think because the scorekeeper didn't know how to put in a goalie as an assist in HockeyShift. Whatever, who cares.

This feels pretty good though:

[badger_14 601]

Despair. I feel like I played terribly, no matter what the pickup folks tell me. Breakaways all over the place. Three in a row from one guy. How can I possibly not stop breakaways? I am looking right at the shooter. No other distractions. Why can't I stop him?

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Despair. I feel like I played terribly, no matter what the pickup folks tell me. Breakaways all over the place. Three in a row from one guy. How can I possibly not stop breakaways? I am looking right at the shooter. No other distractions. Why can't I stop him?

How far do you come out of the crease? Do you sit still or keep moving?

[badger_14 601]

After a dozen or so breakaways (stopping perhaps two of them) I had tried multiple tactics, mostly on the edge of or out of the crease. Occasional poke checking. I'm not dumb enough to stand there like a rock, no. But short of pulling a Hasek speed bump I had tried most reasonable things. They're just faster. I'm not. I'm trying, but after three breakaways from the same guy in less than two minutes I get slightly frustrated.

[magnets 98]

It's a fine line of not being the first to bite, and not biting too late. When I started, I jumped at any indication of a shot, committing myself to the save way before I should have, and leaving a very wide open net when they hadn't.

How was he beating you? Getting a shot off before you're set, or waiting for the bite and going around?

[badger_14 601]

Mostly going around, dancing, dangling, deking, being a clever little #%^!!$(*. Mostly it was the same two guys. I think they'd just get in real close, trick me, and then try some other move, and I just wasn't fast enough to go for it.

Getting beaten on periodic breakaways is moderately acceptable (i.e. part of the game) but after a dozen or so you want to either lie in the crease like a speedbump, or full-on bodycheck the approaching annoyance shooter.

Poke-checking was actually successful once or twice, as they did seem to keep the puck on their stick a long time.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Heh I had a girl run right into me once because I came out and poke checked her in a shootout. She was clearly a beginner and had her head down the entire way down the ice (which is why I decided to go for the poke check before she even picked up the puck at center). Knocked her flat on her ass. I got a lot of boos from the benches, but it was a sound strategy knowing she wasn't going to be looking up.

Anyway, one thing I'd definitely suggest is that as soon as they hit the blue line you get AT LEAST a foot out of your crease and back up only if they don't shoot by the time they hit the top of the hash marks or so. By that point they're likely deking so you've removed the shot as an option already. Once you get to that point depending on the level expect them to deke in such a way that they're putting it in on their forehand. Obviously this only works in lower divisions where people aren't comfortable with their backhand.

Otherwise all I can really say is just don't bite on their first move. Again, by this point the shot is much less likely so you need to follow their move. Keep your feet moving. But overall just be patient.

But what do I know, I'm a beginner too ;) I'm just suggesting what's worked well for me for the most part.

Edited August 23, 2015 by OptimusReim

[psulion22 402]

Try to focus on Y-theory- the idea that you will come out of the crease as far as possible, and then retreat as they come close and driving towards just past the post when you hit the top of the crease and have forced them to make a move. Your pattern would look like a reverse Y. Here is what (current Caps) well-known goalie coach Mitch Korn says about playing breakaways. http://www.mitchkorn.com/breakaway.html

Y-theory

If you are getting beat on multiple moves on the same play, you are probably backing up too quickly. They shouldn't really have enough space to make more than one deke once you start to move. The biggest thing is getting out of the crease so that you can match their speed backing up and will have enough momentum to create a strong push.

Some NHL tendies, including MAF, have started using a hybrid, almost VH, stance on shootouts where the player doesn't come right down the middle. He will start normally, but as he backs up he will drop the inside knee lower to take away a 5 hole shot and get one pad closer to the ice. I almost forces shooters to the far side and he explodes of the upright leg to that side. If they go to the short side, he has to go a shorter distance so he is able to use the down leg to push. I can't find a pic of it, but maybe if you look at enough videos you can see it. He is just screwing around in this video, so it's not his real movement, but if you watch the first few saves, you can see him drop his knee, then push.

Edited August 24, 2015 by psulion22

[beedee 227]

Playoffs started today and we lost 2-0 today to the first place team...that we beat last week 4-2.

According to the scoresheet I saved 20 of 22 and both goals came in the first period. One was a hack rebound after I made two initial saves. The second goal came with 25 seconds left in the first, from right around the left faceoff dot. Our d got beat around the corner and I was on the edge of the crease and had the angle. It was a great shot that snuck by lower blocker/above right pad and just inside the far post.

Our team took around 25 total PIM I believe and it felt like we were always short handed. At one point we were facing 5 on 3. Luckily nothing got by me. It really is a bummer when your team cant score one goal. Their goalie was good and has more experience than I do. I heard he plays on a higher level team there, maybe lower Silver?

I am still torn on what to do for next season, my buddy pointed out that I looked bored more or less...and it was true. Not only that but he mentioned there are a lot of new rookies coming into the league next season (i am playing rookie league). Which is a great thing! But for me it means even more slow-mo shots and lack of game flow.

Gear update:

I also got to finally use my new cowlings and steel, as well as the Brians Smart Toe Straps. The new steel is longer than my Graf's were, so that took some getting used to. It also felt like there was a slight forward lean, which was fine. The other thing was that GM replaced my waxed laces with some cloth ones, I didn't like that switch though as my feet didn't feel quite as snug as normal. The smart toe straps felt fine, I wasn't used to my pads being a little bit higher though so I felt like I was getting caught up at the top of the pads, that will go away as I get used to them though. I put a little sock tape around the velcro fasteners just as insurance to make sure they wouldn't come undone. I foresee myself modding the fasteners sooner than later, as the way they come from Brians is anemic.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I was thinking of modding mine to have buckles instead of velcro. Or more likely buying a new set and modding that.

Anyway, I subbed for the same D5 team from two weeks ago. It was a pretty good game, tied 2-2 after two periods. The third was a shitshow for both goalies. They scored 5 (one in an empty net) and we scored three. We were down 6-4 and I went to the bench. We ended up scoring one to make it 6-5 before they scored an empty net to finish the game up 7-5.

One goal was directly my fault, I simply missed a short side shot with my blocker. If that had been glove side there would have been no way that was going in. Another one went high off the glass behind the net, I hear "BEHIND YOU" as I'm trying to find it coming out the other side. I couldn't see it but the D-man yelling made me get over to the far post as quickly as I could. But, there was a reason I couldn't find it.. it had hit a stanchion behind the net and popped out the same side it came from. So they had a pretty easy half open net.

The one shot I seem to routinely have trouble with are the ones that hit high on the shoulder. If its chest or belly I can hang onto it, but if its high off the shoulder it bounces out pretty far in front of the net. I've had more than a few goals scored off rebounds from those.

The good news is they invited me to play on their team the rest of this season (they've had a sub goalie every week the entire season apparently) and then join the team full-time next season. Pretty excited to be moving up. The rookie league was boring and frustrating. The soft shots that go off five different things in front of the net get to be really annoying after a while. I'm going to get a lot better playing against better players.

[beedee 227]

Congrats on the invite man! I totally feel you on the rookie league frustrations, from the knuckle-puck that gets redirected 4 times on the way in, to the lack of flow and tempo it is tough.

I plan on doing the draft skate in a couple weeks in hopes of getting on a higher level team for this next season at my local rink. My buddy did ask me to play on his Bronze team at Anaheim Ice (which is about 20 miles further than my local rink) so there is that. Its just a matter of do I want to make that drive on a Sunday night.