Starting in Goal as an Adult

[IPv6Freely 2083]

9 minutes ago, rusty_black said:

Congrats on the win! How's that for a confidence boost after all your doubts?

Jagr wanted that puck bad on the 2 v 0.  Did he throw a tantrum at his own player after you made the save?

Yes. He screams at his teammates if they miss passes, etc. 

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Figured I'd update with career stats. This does not include the first two games which were in a different league at a different rink (1-1-0 record).

[rusty_black 17]

40 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

Figured I'd update with career stats. This does not include the first two games which were in a different league at a different rink (1-1-0 record).

Mr Clutch!   Look at that playoff record.

[rusty_black 17]

I posted some of the footage taken onto our teams FB page and they all couldn't believe how bad they looked, I walked int oteh room last night and they were all rarked up and ready to go.  They were talking amongst themselves about how they're slow to pucks, not moving their feet and not looking where they're passing etc.  They also said they noticed that most goals I let in were because they've let guys in the slot with a free shot.   I got them to do 1 minute of warmup with long shots on me then 1 minutes of 1v1's  It definitley helped to get my eye dialed in on seeing the puck into me.  The game started and it was like a new team, I saved the my first shot and had a litlte flurry of shots that I stopped and my confidence was very high and the guys seemed to feed off that. In the room after everyone was stoked about their effort. We even killed a 5 on 3!

I'm soooo gutted that my gopro managed to get about 2 seconds of footage before shutting down due to no battery as it would have been nice to watch. Onwards and upwards.   

I did it.  1st win and a SO to boot!   Thanks for the little pointers, they all add up.    I've got a little stockpile of Westvleteren 12's from my trip to Belgium this year that I'm gonna have to dip into tonight to celly.

[/URL]

 

[badger_14 601]

Did not play well today.  :(  My brain is still lagging from the Germany trip (aside from the time shift, got used to a routine of food/tourism/rehearsal/food/perform/tourism/sleep) and I couldn't track for beans.  There was a little lack of defence but a lot of the goals were just plainly me being slow or out of sorts.

However, I bit the bullet and went out and got a new chest protector.  It took some discussion and perusal, because I have a senior-size torso and intermediate-size arms.  Tried a warrior ritual classic and liked the fit, but the arms were too long.  Tried a Bauer, same problem.  Another CCM and a warrior, both felt too bulky.  Vaughn, not quite sufficient in the torso and arms too long.  Finally, finally we arrived at a Brian's SubZero 3.  Pretty mobile even off the rack, confident it'll loosen up nicely, and stunningly, the arms fit.  As an added bonus, within my price range, although on the high side.  The very top of the arm is soft, it velcros into the body, if I really wanted I could have it tailored up permanently, but it works well as-is.  Looking forward to giving it a go soon, although the first skate I might need some help struggling into it. 

[rusty_black 17]

That Chesty looks like a bit of a beast, at least you get to try stuff on for size before you buy it.  I'm sure it'll add a few % on the old stats.

[badger_14 601]

12 hours ago, rusty_black said:

That Chesty looks like a bit of a beast, at least you get to try stuff on for size before you buy it.  I'm sure it'll add a few % on the old stats.

It's not quite as bulky as it looks, but definitely more solid than the last one.  

No so sure about stat improvement, but I'll accept fewer stings.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

Lost tonight 7-3. We had 6 skaters, 5 of them came up from rookie league last year. Three of whom had to sober up because they were at a family event and had all said they couldn’t make it, until they saw that nobody else could either. 

3-3 after two periods. Faced 42 shots. First time ever over 40. Honestly I have no complaints. I was seeing the puck well and rebound control was good. We just ran out of gas. If you’d told me it’d be tied going into the 3rd I’d have taken that all day long. 

Oddly enough it was actually the first time I’ve ever played on this team without a single original member. I brought all five of them to play with us initially, too. 

Guy wound up for a slap shot almost from the goal line while in RVH and put it right off my face. Not sure what he was going for in a 7-3 game ar the time late in the 3rd from that angle... but time for a new cage. It did its job. 

[Hills 710]

On 2017-6-12 at 1:14 AM, IPv6Freely said:

Lost tonight 7-3. We had 6 skaters, 5 of them came up from rookie league last year. Three of whom had to sober up because they were at a family event and had all said they couldn’t make it, until they saw that nobody else could either. 

3-3 after two periods. Faced 42 shots. First time ever over 40. Honestly I have no complaints. I was seeing the puck well and rebound control was good. We just ran out of gas. If you’d told me it’d be tied going into the 3rd I’d have taken that all day long. 

Oddly enough it was actually the first time I’ve ever played on this team without a single original member. I brought all five of them to play with us initially, too. 

Guy wound up for a slap shot almost from the goal line while in RVH and put it right off my face. Not sure what he was going for in a 7-3 game ar the time late in the 3rd from that angle... but time for a new cage. It did its job. 

If I changed a cage every time that happened I'd need a cage a game... Don't think that needs to be replaced instantly but if you want to do it by all means go ahead.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

11 minutes ago, Hills said:

If I changed a cage every time that happened I'd need a cage a game... Don't think that needs to be replaced instantly but if you want to do it by all means go ahead.

You really have your cage dented that often?

[Hills 710]

4 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

You really have your cage dented that often?

I get hit in the head almost once a game... So yes haha. After the 1st dent per section they usually don't move much more than that. Always bend in the same spot you posted.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

27 minutes ago, Hills said:

I get hit in the head almost once a game... So yes haha. After the 1st dent per section they usually don't move much more than that. Always bend in the same spot you posted.

I just figure “it’s still fine”, until it isn’t. First cage dented in 3 years, so I’m okay replacing it.

[Axxion89 32]

1 hour ago, IPv6Freely said:

I just figure “it’s still fine”, until it isn’t. First cage dented in 3 years, so I’m okay replacing it.

To add, same thing for me, I always get a dent in the same spot within a few months either by luck or design. I never change cage for just that but if it got worse I would. Nothing wrong with changing the cage, keep it for a spare & don't try & bend it back, it will actually make the metal weaker

[IPv6Freely 2083]

1 minute ago, Axxion89 said:

To add, same thing for me, I always get a dent in the same spot within a few months either by luck or design. I never change cage for just that but if it got worse I would. Nothing wrong with changing the cage, keep it for a spare & don't try & bend it back, it will actually make the metal weaker

I don’t know if this is true or not, but my belief is that they’re meant to bend like this, rather than break. That’s why I use steel cages and not the titanium. Even post-recall I don’t trust them. 

My thought is that it’s done its job correctly.

[psulion22 402]

On 6/4/2017 at 11:52 PM, rusty_black said:

Another game update.

Lost 6-1 off 20 shots to 13 even though we had 7 PP's.

Brutal 1st 5 mins with 2 goals including the 1st shot of the night being tipped in by my own player.

Also the last goal just topped off the night, a dipping "clapper" from the blue line. The perils of playing lower division hockey I guess.

Current stats for the season are 0 wins 1 tie and 3 losses,  4.5GAA and .804% ... also with me in net my team have scored 3 goals in the 4 games, so it's a really stressful time knowing that if I let in 1 or 2 goals, we're probably gonna lose. How would I shake that mindset?  I normally don't think about it until i've let in the 1st goal.

 

If you guys see anything I can try to prioritize in working on i'm all ears.  I don't have a lot of ice/rink time available to me, but don't mind getting kitted up in the garage etc.  I've included the warmups in the video aswell.

 

 

Do you find yourself more confortable playing on the right side of the net than the left?  From watching the video, I feel you are a completely different goalie when the puck is to your right.  Your stance is better, it's deeper, wider, and more stable.  You can post load on that side and also push off the post in a butterfly to the new angle.  You also seem more reactive and active.  On the other side of the net, you're standing up more, so you aren't getting your feet out and body forward.  There's no post load, or down movements.  And you seem to just be dropping and praying on any indication of a shot.

What I see with your play starts with your ready stance.  You're playing a very stand-up style, and I don't know if you mean to.  I feel like I'm watching Darren Puppa! lol  Get your feet wider apart, maybe even twice as far as they are now. Then bend your knees, bring them together a little, and get your chest up and forward.  In other words, don't bend from your back.  This will put you in a much more reactive and efficient position.  Dropping to the ice will be faster, and it should help you close your 5 hole.  You'll also be bigger in the net and have a better "aerial angle" to the puck.  There's a lot to work on, but I feel that starting with widening and deepening your stance is the key to the other things.

To get square to the puck, you can use reference points on the rink to divide the ice into zones.  As the puck moves from one zone to the next, you just move reference points.  Here is a good breakdown of how this works.

 

 

 

One other thing, and maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine, but don't lean on the crossbar.  It's terrible body language and i feel it causes a lack of focus and concentration.  If you're concerned about the mental aspect of working with no goal support, leaning on the crossbar (especially as quickly and often as you do) is only going to hurt with that.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

14 minutes ago, psulion22 said:

Do you find yourself more confortable playing on the right side of the net than the left?  From watching the video, I feel you are a completely different goalie when the puck is to your right.  Your stance is better, it's deeper, wider, and more stable.  You can post load on that side and also push off the post in a butterfly to the new angle.  You also seem more reactive and active.  On the other side of the net, you're standing up more, so you aren't getting your feet out and body forward.  There's no post load, or down movements.  And you seem to just be dropping and praying on any indication of a shot.

What I see with your play starts with your ready stance.  You're playing a very stand-up style, and I don't know if you mean to.  I feel like I'm watching Darren Puppa! lol  Get your feet wider apart, maybe even twice as far as they are now. Then bend your knees, bring them together a little, and get your chest up and forward.  In other words, don't bend from your back.  This will put you in a much more reactive and efficient position.  Dropping to the ice will be faster, and it should help you close your 5 hole.  You'll also be bigger in the net and have a better "aerial angle" to the puck.  There's a lot to work on, but I feel that starting with widening and deepening your stance is the key to the other things.

To get square to the puck, you can use reference points on the rink to divide the ice into zones.  As the puck moves from one zone to the next, you just move reference points.  Here is a good breakdown of how this works.

 

 

 

One other thing, and maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine, but don't lean on the crossbar.  It's terrible body language and i feel it causes a lack of focus and concentration.  If you're concerned about the mental aspect of working with no goal support, leaning on the crossbar (especially as quickly and often as you do) is only going to hurt with that.

Man that's some great feedback. I've actually never really thought about comfort level on each side, though on the right side I suppose I definitely am more comfortable for a couple reasons. First, I can go down against the post on that side. I can't on the left, period, so I end up just playing standup when I need to cover sharp angles on the post. I don't know WTF is wrong with me where I can go down on one knee on my right but just can't seem to be able to on my left.

Second, my glove is literally the only thing I'm good at with this whole thing. So I guess there's a bit of confidence that I can catch anything that goes far side as long as I seal the post on the short side. If I'm on my left post then my glove hand isn't doing a whole lot besides trying to seal as best as I can. 

That said, I'm completely unable to slide to my left, whether thats in a butterfly push with my right skate, or even when (and ESPECIALLY when) I try to go down and slide at the same time towards my left. I just cant do it. When I actually try to do it slowly, I almost roll my left ankle trying to do it. Something in my head is messing me up, like I'm trying to write my name with my left hand kind of thing. 

As for the ready stance, I completely agree that I need more knees and hips and much MUCH less back bend. If you think getting wider might help with that then I'm game. I honestly thought I was pretty wide already but I guess not! ;) I just feel like I'm not able to get the knees even close together if my feet are any wider. I think all this comes down to (and I've mentioned this before), If I'm sitting in a chair I'm sitting knees apart, feet together, often with the soles of my feet touching. Sitting with my legs straight so my feet and knees are in line actually hurts my hips and I end up going back to the feet together thing quickly. Decades of sitting like that has added up, so trying to get my legs to do the opposite (knees together, feet apart) seems like an impossible task. I know this is just flexibility training, though...

As for angles, I get pretty angry with myself when I let in a goal because I'm not square because GENERALLY my angles aren't too bad. I just have to remind myself sometimes to stay square to the puck and not the puck carrier. However, I know I cheat a bit to my blocker side though knowing I can (potentially) make up for it with the glove. 

As for the crossbar lean, what are you referring to? The only time I lean on the crossbar is during the later stages of pickup when my back starts to get a bit tight. You say I do it early and often but I genuinely don't know what you're referring to. Can you point out some examples? I definitely don't want THAT to be a habit I get into. 

[psulion22 402]

1 minute ago, IPv6Freely said:

Man that's some great feedback. I've actually never really thought about comfort level on each side, though on the right side I suppose I definitely am more comfortable for a couple reasons. First, I can go down against the post on that side. I can't on the left, period, so I end up just playing standup when I need to cover sharp angles on the post. I don't know WTF is wrong with me where I can go down on one knee on my right but just can't seem to be able to on my left.

Second, my glove is literally the only thing I'm good at with this whole thing. So I guess there's a bit of confidence that I can catch anything that goes far side as long as I seal the post on the short side. If I'm on my left post then my glove hand isn't doing a whole lot besides trying to seal as best as I can. 

That said, I'm completely unable to slide to my left, whether thats in a butterfly push with my right skate, or even when (and ESPECIALLY when) I try to go down and slide at the same time towards my left. I just cant do it. When I actually try to do it slowly, I almost roll my left ankle trying to do it. Something in my head is messing me up, like I'm trying to write my name with my left hand kind of thing. 

As for the ready stance, I completely agree that I need more knees and hips and much MUCH less back bend. If you think getting wider might help with that then I'm game. I honestly thought I was pretty wide already but I guess not! ;) I just feel like I'm not able to get the knees even close together if my feet are any wider. I think all this comes down to (and I've mentioned this before), If I'm sitting in a chair I'm sitting knees apart, feet together, often with the soles of my feet touching. Sitting with my legs straight so my feet and knees are in line actually hurts my hips and I end up going back to the feet together thing quickly. Decades of sitting like that has added up, so trying to get my legs to do the opposite (knees together, feet apart) seems like an impossible task. I know this is just flexibility training, though...

As for angles, I get pretty angry with myself when I let in a goal because I'm not square because GENERALLY my angles aren't too bad. I just have to remind myself sometimes to stay square to the puck and not the puck carrier. However, I know I cheat a bit to my blocker side though knowing I can (potentially) make up for it with the glove. 

As for the crossbar lean, what are you referring to? The only time I lean on the crossbar is during the later stages of pickup when my back starts to get a bit tight. You say I do it early and often but I genuinely don't know what you're referring to. Can you point out some examples? I definitely don't want THAT to be a habit I get into. 

I'm confused, lol.  My post was to rusty_black.  Did it come as quoting you on your end (it's him on my end)?

 

[IPv6Freely 2083]

1 minute ago, psulion22 said:

I'm confused, lol.  My post was to rusty_black.  Did it come as quoting you on your end (it's him on my end)?

 

HAHAHA nope, its definitely quoting him. NEVERMIND :) 

(My self-criticism still applies though...)

[psulion22 402]

1 minute ago, IPv6Freely said:

HAHAHA nope, its definitely quoting him. NEVERMIND :) 

(My self-criticism still applies though...)

LOL!!!

As for your evaluation.  I definitely think that getting your feet wider apart, and getting your knees bent/back straighter will help.  Plus, they are all related in a way.  You can't really bend your knees and keep your chest up if your feet are too close together.  That would bring your center of gravity way too far backwards and make dropping to the ice just about the most awkward thing ever.  The thing about the wider stance is that it naturally brings your torso forward.  So when you drop, it's more over your knees and less over your feet.  You want that wide feet but close knees kind of thing going on.  That will give you a stable base that is in the best position to seal the ice and make down movements.  Obviously there are body limitations that you have and can try to work on, even if it means small stretching with your feet apart and knees together while just sitting at your desk.

[IPv6Freely 2083]

One thing I noticed when I was practicing dropping my knees and keeping my butt up... it feels really awkward to not actually be able to see my thigh rise area or knees because my head is so much further forward. It was also quite hard on my knees since, like I mentioned, they don't exactly like to bend that way :P

[psulion22 402]

14 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

One thing I noticed when I was practicing dropping my knees and keeping my butt up... it feels really awkward to not actually be able to see my thigh rise area or knees because my head is so much further forward. It was also quite hard on my knees since, like I mentioned, they don't exactly like to bend that way :P

I can see that.  It takes getting used to looking down and kind of backward into your thighs.  The thing is the "aerial angle" that I have mentioned.  If for none of the mobility and stability components, being further forward over your knees actually has a geometric advantage to making saves.  Because the puck almost always originates its travel from on the ice, you gain more coverage, and therefore a bigger advantage by being forward.  You're actually taller and cover more net from the "eyes" of the puck.  If you can get up and actually over the vertical angle the puck is taking, you become gigantic and make a lot more saves with much less movement.  This is part of the new theory in goaltending called "head trajectory" that has helped Dubnyk become the goalie he is now.  The idea is that you want to get your head behind and above the angle of the puck.  By doing that, your body follows into the shot and you use your biggest part to make saves, and can track the puck in a straight line.  In contrast, reaching out away from your body and turning your head to make a glove save, for example, greatly reduces your surface area and causes you to track the puck from your straight vision, to your peripheral, and back to your straight as you turn your head, which can cause blind spots or tracking issues.

Edited June 13, 2017 by psulion22

[rusty_black 17]

9 hours ago, psulion22 said:

Do you find yourself more confortable playing on the right side of the net than the left?  From watching the video, I feel you are a completely different goalie when the puck is to your right.  Your stance is better, it's deeper, wider, and more stable.  You can post load on that side and also push off the post in a butterfly to the new angle.  You also seem more reactive and active.  On the other side of the net, you're standing up more, so you aren't getting your feet out and body forward.  There's no post load, or down movements.  And you seem to just be dropping and praying on any indication of a shot.

What I see with your play starts with your ready stance.  You're playing a very stand-up style, and I don't know if you mean to.  I feel like I'm watching Darren Puppa! lol  Get your feet wider apart, maybe even twice as far as they are now. Then bend your knees, bring them together a little, and get your chest up and forward.  In other words, don't bend from your back.  This will put you in a much more reactive and efficient position.  Dropping to the ice will be faster, and it should help you close your 5 hole.  You'll also be bigger in the net and have a better "aerial angle" to the puck.  There's a lot to work on, but I feel that starting with widening and deepening your stance is the key to the other things.

To get square to the puck, you can use reference points on the rink to divide the ice into zones.  As the puck moves from one zone to the next, you just move reference points.  Here is a good breakdown of how this works.

One other thing, and maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine, but don't lean on the crossbar.  It's terrible body language and i feel it causes a lack of focus and concentration.  If you're concerned about the mental aspect of working with no goal support, leaning on the crossbar (especially as quickly and often as you do) is only going to hurt with that.

thanks for the reply mate.....I'm gonna watch the shit out of those videos later!

Very interesting that you noticed that, basically my right side is my dominant side. My right leg is my strongest, (right footed playing soccer) so I guess I feel naturally more comfortable loading up on my right leg and pushing off that leg and as for the arm, my right arm is the strongest/most coordinated one  eg if someone throws me something i'll catch it with my right 100% of the time or if I lift something i'll pick it up with my right first. Also the only thing I do with my left hand is write/anything that required precision. That's why I play Full Right as I feel very comfortable catching a puck and also if I need to play the puck with my stick my right hand is on the bottom giving the "push" while the left hand is basically holding the stick steady.   Looking back, I'm getting beat blocker/left side as its pretty much just dangling there holding the stick, while my right arm is very active and doesn't get beat as much. I think i'm yet to be beaten by a shot from that side as opposed to the blocker side.  Any idea on how to work on this, it seems like a bit of a major or is it just getting stronger legs on the left?

As for the stance, I'm 6'5" and I have quite long arms (probably long enough for someone 6'9 so they hang quite low. At this point i'd also admit that I've got a weak core/no six pack so maybe that's where the bending at the waist comes from as its easier to bend from there there and my long arms still cover a fair bit of the net than it is to go go wide and bend the knees while keeping the core engaged.  I can definitely work on that without ice time, so thanks for bringing that to my attention.

The post lean... that's tough, the bar is at the PERFECT height for it and I obviously can't help myself.   I just lean back and bam, i'm comfy as.  That's just a mental thing, half the time I probably don't even know i'm doing it. maybe I just need to take a stride out and and watch/wait around the crease.

I think if I can get the reference points down I shouldn't be so off angle, so like I said earlier I'll watch those and keep working on it. from what I see I'm actively looking to get on angle while they are skating in so one day i'll get burned by a quick release but most of the time I look where they are, then look at the post and get on angle to where they were, so I'm always playing catch up. 

Thanks again for taking the time to view and offer your opinion, I started playing goalie this year because I vowed to never be as suck as when I filled in when we had our keeper pull a no show in summer hockey and let in 12 from 48 shots. Despite the score I had a ton of fun, and figured I can only improve on those numbers!

 

[badger_14 601]

While I didn't play as badly this Saturday as I did the week before, I still played badly.  I am annoyed that I was off for three weeks, returned home, and now everything has gone all pear-shaped.  Luckily it's that time of year that there's plenty of open spots for lessons with the folks down the street, so I plan on scheduling a couple over the coming weeks.  It's high time to work on some fundamentals.

The Brian's c/a is lighter than it appears at first glance.  It was still quite stiff the first time out, but more mobile than expected.  Good coverage over the belly.  Nearly got stuck trying to get it on, and get the jersey on over it.  Protective, fits well, just needs to break in a bit so I can wriggle into it more easily (and without flailing for help from my teammates).

This morning I played street hockey - technically roller hockey, but the goalies were in sneakers.  This was actually a super nice change - 3v3 on a smaller surface, with a ball, on court, presented an unusual challenge.  We played games til 5 - that is, until one or the other goalie let in five - and managed to get in six of those, which meant about 2.5 hours, and I had the better record.  Lost the first two, but won the next four.  In fairness, the other guy hadn't played goal at all in a while, and it was also quite hot.  We took a lot of breaks, and I think eventually it broke down to three teams: light, dark, and goalies.  (Because you can't help rooting for the other guy who is suffering under the same ridiculous quantity of equipment as you are).  I had to take off my jersey and just go with a chest protector, and ended up sunburned on top of being overheated (and then went and played softball, because I don't make good life choices).  I am 90% certain I lost about 6lbs of sweat, and I am still trying to cool off as best I can.  However, it was a lot of fun and a good confidence builder, a good change of pace. 

Next up to schedule a couple of lessons and get my brain in order for ice.

[rusty_black 17]

On 6/19/2017 at 0:20 PM, badger_14 said:

While I didn't play as badly this Saturday as I did the week before, I still played badly.  I am annoyed that I was off for three weeks, returned home, and now everything has gone all pear-shaped.  Luckily it's that time of year that there's plenty of open spots for lessons with the folks down the street, so I plan on scheduling a couple over the coming weeks.  It's high time to work on some fundamentals.

 

This morning I played street hockey......

 

3 weeks off is quite a long time though. Just this season I've gone 3 weeks between games twice and it's hard to get in a rhythm, I'm sure you'll get the groove back then you get a few ice times and the fundies will come back!     

Do you find the Ball hockey helps you in Ice?   I could possibly have access to ball hockey with some high level inline players who book the rink and thinking I should go along.

I had a game over the weekend, I'd been working on my angles and trying to bend my knees for a wider stance (and not lean on the bar) , all game long . I was feeling really good with everything...   then this bullshit happened in the end of the 3rd.....    So frustrating.  I managed to shake it off and forget about it and make a few more saves.  We lost 3-0  but I had a few of my guys come up afterwards and give me the wack on the pads and say that I played a really good game, so that was nice to see that they saw the effort I had put in.

 

[IPv6Freely 2083]

12 hours ago, rusty_black said:

I was feeling really good with everything...   then this bullshit happened in the end of the 3rd.....    So frustrating.  I managed to shake it off and forget about it and make a few more saves. 

I'm trying to figure out if you tripped or if you just thought you had a lot less time than you did to get into position. Was the initial shot off the mask? 

Either way a better option would have been to push off and slide across OR get up and get square again (depending on how well or how quickly you're capable of doing either option).