This breakout happens when we have lost control of the puck in our defensive zone, or when our
typical breakouts fail. The basic idea of this defensive structure is to keep the puck and opposing
players away from Doherty. Too often we find ourselves scrambling to get a puck out, and we seem
to lose composure and hockey sense when this happens. By piling players inside the house, we cut
off all possible threats of cross-crease passes which could easily be tapped in for goals. In diagram
A, it's clear that the crease and slot are covered by Ignatius players, and the only potential threats
would be coming from outside shots. In diagram B, which we tend to resort to while playing panic
hockey, when our players are spread out it opens up multiple passing options which could lead to
scoring opportunities. The result of this "Protect Home Plate" breakout isn't necessarily to carry the
puck through the neutral zone and set up offensive zone pressure, but rather it is to clear the puck
out of our zone so that the players on the ice can change. Because this is a last resort play, it could
result in icing the puck, but a better result would be dumping the puck into the neutral zone, or
having one player skate it to the red line and dump it in before changing.
I put together a couple quotes from the book "Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Success"
by Gary Mack and David Casstevens that I pretty much live by. The book is about how to deal
with the mental side of sports rather than the physical side. This book really helped me become
the athlete I am today and I believe every athlete should read this book. My sophomore year with
baseball, I was a mental mess. I always carried my bad at bats to the next at bat and it ruined
me. I let my mind ruin my play. This continued into my junior hockey season. Whenever I would
mess up or have a bad shift, I would go nuts. I would become chippy and get very bad penalties
that hurt the team. About half way through the season, my summer league baseball coach
recommended for me to read this book. This helped me change my whole game. I now study
the game just as much as I practice the game. The important lessons that this book has taught
me is too always keep my head up and never get rattled, or else bad things will continue to
happen. Also I learned to truly play 100% is to know your strengthens and weakness. Know
where to improve but also know what you can contribute to help the team. I picked to do this
more on a mental aspect, rather than the physical aspect of the game because I believe our team
lacks some of this knowledge. With such a young team, we need to know that the mind is an
important factor to success.
Gilbert
Quotes
"You have to train your mind like you train your body."
"The mind works most effectively when you’re telling it what to do rather than what not to do."
"Confidence comes from knowing you are mentally and physically prepared."
"Learn to view pressure as a challenge to meet rather than a threat of defeat."
"Successful athletes are able to control their emotions and behavior."
"Mentally tough athletes possess an inner strength. They often play their best when they’re feeling their worst. They don’t make excuses."
"You can’t control your performance until you are in control of yourself. What you’re thinking.How you’re feeling. Most importantly, your physiology. Know your numbers and your early warning signs."
"You can’t perform well if you’re afraid of embarrassing yourself."
"It’s important to look at yourself and identify your gremlins. In sports, as in life, the first step to success is getting out of your own way."
"Goals are dreams with time lines. Turn your vision into action with goal setting. Seek progress rather than perfection."
"Learn how to fail successfully. Hate to fail but never fear it. Learn to view failure as feedback."
"While a positive attitude doesn’t always work, a negative attitude almost always does."
"It doesn’t take talent to hustle and work hard. Invest in yourself with a positive attitude and “can-do” thinking."
"At times we all get nervous and anxious. Learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
"Use your breathing to focus your energy. Let your breath center your mind and body in the present."
"If your mind starts to wander so will your performance. Keep your eyes centered on the target and your mind set on the task at hand. Focus on the process and let go of the outcome."
In this San Jose Detroit game, the Wings fail to break the puck out of the zone because the sharks are tenacious on the puck and extremely physical. By not allowing a clean breakout, the Sharks are able to sustain an offensive possession that eventually leads to a quality scoring chance. I think this is the type of aggressiveness we need in the offensive zone without the puck. Always need numerous bodies on the puck with the third guy high waiting to capitalize. A tenacious attitude in the o-zone is what leads to scrappy goals (the best kind).
This video is worthwhile because
it outlines the basics of hockey 1 on 1 defense. In our last game we had
countless 1 on 1 breakaways. This video gives examples of gap control
and positioning in a 1 on 1 situation.
Since the beginning of the season
our team has been excellent at cycling the puck and maintaining control once we
get it in their zone. However, we simply don’t get enough shots on net. I think
this goes for just about everyone on the team. Edler shows in this clip that
all you have to do is throw the puck to the net. We have heard this all year
from coach Smith, but we have never had a better example. I think as a team, it
is important that we learn to be less focused on getting the perfect shot on
net and more focused on getting the puck off as quickly as we can. It is also
important to mention that Edler lacks space in this situation. He has a player
coming from his right, and a player directly in front of him. Edler does have a
teammate in front of him ready to put on the jets if Edler decides to dump it,
but it is still a disadvantageous situation to be in. Regardless, Edler
recognizes what he sees and makes the best possible play. This brings me to yet
another crucial lesson to learn from this play. As important as it is to make a
play as quickly as you possible can, it is also important to take the time that
is given to you to make the best possible play. This just means keeping a level
head when you have the puck. If you’re able to keep calm when you’re in
possession of the puck, you will be able to make the best play possible in a
timely fashion.
Even though the scenario is a
bit different, this is another example of this type of play
I selected this video because I believe that this is a video
we need to see this week with our state game coming up. At Ignatius we take
great pride in our academics and our athletics is overlooked. For some reason,
there is a nature at Ignatius where it is ok to be in second on the field as
long as you are first in the classroom. I am sick of this environment. I am a
two sport athlete and in my four years at Ignatius I have two playoff wins to
show for. Two. One of them was CCHL too, yet everyone within the Ignatius
environment still pats you on the back for putting forth a good effort. That is
bullish*t (excuse my language). I am sick and tired of settling for second. I
have seen the hockey program go through one heck of a roller coaster in my four
years, but never have I been apart of a team with as much opportunity as we
have and we have earned it all by working our tails off every day. This team has
more hunger than any other team I have been on. If you had told me that we
would regularly be starting practices at 3:35 four years ago when it was ok to
get on the ice at 3:52, I would have laughed, but that shows the character and
hunger this team has. I don't want to be remembered as the team who had
potential. I want to be remembered as the team who took Ignatius hockey to the
next level. This year has been an amazing year, but its not even close to over.
At the beginning of the season we joked about playing at the UC on March 17,
but now it is out there for the taking and I am hungry for it and I know my
brothers are too. Five. Five games until we do something that no one would have
ever imagined. No one believes in us except ourselves. Now lets go out and
prove everyone wrong. I want to be remembered as the team who won state as a
team, not individuals. As my good friends Lilo and Stitch once said,
"Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind." We
win State together as a brotherhood, as a family.
So
for my assignment I choose to read an article on the hockey news website. It's
about the Minnesota Wild and how their biggest key to success is their depth.
The article talks about how Minnesota's success is because of their ability to
get offense from all of their players. Sure, they have one of the best coaches
in the league and Dubynk has been on his game for the majority of the season, but they have been playing as a team and they've been getting offense from
everyone. What our team can take away from this is that we all need to make
sure we find a way to contribute during our state run. Everyone has to be
making plays to contribute to our success. Get the puck to the net or grind it
in the corners whatever we gotta do to win. By getting offense from all our
guys we are gonna be tough to stop. No one predicted the Wild to be one of the
top teams, but they've found themselves in a good position to make a run for
the cup, because of their depth. We must do the same, we need to rest up and
focus on practice this week so that we are all ready to make an impact on the
game this Friday.
One part of our team's game that I think we are lacking in
is the accuracy of our passes along with our ability to catch passes that are
inaccurate or put in hard places to catch. Throughout the whole game Friday
against Benet, they would make long cross ice passes right on the tape, which
were the cause of the numerous odd man rushes they had. That is why they played
so much better in the neutral zone than we did. It is also why we struggle
sometimes breaking out and keeping control of the puck. Our goal right now is
to get the puck in the vicinity of the man we are passing too when in actuality
we should be aiming for their stick. Although we have worked on it briefly in
practice, I believe that we should work on stopping pucks with are skates or
being more flexible with our stick. Attached is a video Sydney Crosby showing off
his ability to catch passes that are inaccurate.
In the video, right off the face-off the winger comes off the boards hard to the puck while the
center ties up the other center. The winger goes right off the face-off to win the puck
meanwhile Zuccarello moves in front of the net and gets open enough to open up a pass
from the other winger. When the winger with the puck centers the puck to in front of the net
Zuccarello uses his foot to kick the puck to his stick to quickly release the puck on net for a
game winning goal. We have been stressing the whole year about applying pressure on the
other team right off the face off. Now that I'm a winger I have been more focused on being more
aggressive on the puck, taking quicker shots, and using any means necessary (using feet to
kick puck to stick) to get shots or passes off just like the clip shows all three. Not only me but all
the offense can use this video to help guide them to what to do in offensive zone face-offs.
The reason why I like this move is because it is a perfect way to
create space in a tight area. In all of these scenarios Datsyuk has a defender
putting close pressure on, so a quick change in direction gives him more time
to make a play. We work on this in practice all the time but the key is that
his head is always up so that he can anticipate the situation and execute the
move when the defender comes too close. He also keeps the puck close to his
body to avoid the poke check and have the opportunity to make multiple cuts.
This move is extremely efficient in the offensive zone because it can be used
with relatively little space and almost always achieves its goal by giving the
player more options.
In the Hawk’s game against the Sabres, for the Sabres only
goal, Toews got a bad breakout pass and then couldn’t get the puck past the
defender pinching. I feel like this happens a lot in our games and whenever we
can’t get the puck out of the zone the other team will get a lot more chances.
For Hossa’s goal, it’s a great example of just getting shots on net. He takes
the one timer and then the hawks recover the rebound and Hossa gets it back and
finds a lane and just gets it low and on net. I feel like we don’t get enough
low hard shots on net. The hawks next goal is similar in that Panik just fires
it on net hard off the one timer and toews buries the rebound.
The hawks next
goal was a really pretty tic tac toe. Kane knows exactly what he was going to
do with the puck before it even got there. This is similar to the glory road
drill that we do in practice.
In regards to the Benet game, I feel that we struggled a lot
with putting rebounds in the back of their net and also keeping rebounds out of
our own net. I think a majority of their goals were rebounds in front of the
net and also we could have put at least two or three of our own rebounds in
their net.
In this video from the NTDP it talks about how if you want to be successful, all of these other things must be at full strength. First is preparedness, I believe that as a team, if we show up to think rink prepared to either practice, or play a game, that we will have a strong effort. When we show up to the rink ready to play, there is no one in the state that we can’t beat. On the other hand, if we aren’t prepared on that day, we can get our asses handed to us by just about anyone. The second thing is focus. If we put everything in our lives that isn’t absolutely necessary, then we will be prepared and focused. Especially at this time of year, we must put stuff such as parties, girl, and other social distractions out of our thoughts and give our entire focus to getting what we need to get done at school, so that we can be ready to go at the rink. The last thing is our team work ethic. This work ethic is mainly at practice. At this time of year we can’t afford to have any blow off days at practice and sure as hell have to have our best foot forward on game day. These are all mental things that if we work on and put all together, we will be unstoppable during state.
Patrick
Editors Note - This speech in its entirety is awesome. I listen to it when i need a reminder.
The video I selected was from the Redwings vs. Penguins
on Sunday. Watching the highlights, I see pucks being moved to the net, which
was a reason for 5 goals throughout the game for the Wings. Something we need
to do better as a team is move pucks to the net for better scoring
opportunities. We also need to work on getting the puck deep. This will make
the defense work harder every time we dump the puck in, leading them to be more
tired. Another point that I saw in the video was the turnovers in all three
zones, the Redwings capitalized on two turnovers, one in the neutral zone and
one in the defensive zone. As a team, puck possession is key, we must hold the
puck and make good passes to open ice for more goals in the post season. We
must also not be afraid to go to the dirty areas on the ice and win puck
battles. This all leads to teach success.
I have chosen the final play in this countdown for this
assignment. Even though it's a really basic maneuver it shows how we should
always have an idea for what we should do with the puck before we even receive
it. This player recognized that the back door was completely open and caused
the defenseman to over commit to him. This leaves his teammate wide open on
the back side of the net giving him a chance to get an easy goal. This isn't
the only spot were we need to be one step ahead of the game, but rather for
wingers on breakouts, battles on the boards, passes in the neutral zone, etc.
it shows how you have to be mentally there in the game not just physically. By
having an idea with that you want to do with the puck before you even have it,
you set up plans for what you should do. This a strategy that's defensive and
offensive since you have a plan in your back pocket. I can't stress on how
important it is to wait to pass until you force your opponent to over commit to
you. That's when their defensive structure break down and your team can create
a play. We need to get use to drawing players out more on power plays to create
a defensive breakdown that can lead to us scoring a power play goal.
I
thought this goal was a great example of good puck movement, and knowing where
you are going to put the puck before you get it. This is something that I think
I need to work on defensively and offensively especially at the point and
coming around the net in the D zone. Also for the team I think this is a good
example of our power play unit two because the Avalanche really used the
umbrella to it's full potential here, by moving the puck quickly and getting it
to the net for a scoring opportunity.
In
this video, the Islanders are on the power play and need to score in order to
secure a two goal lead. The puck starts in the islander's defensive zone. They
seem to effortlessly break the puck out by simply looking for an open man and
keeping the pace fast in the defensive zone. As soon as they enter the
offensive zone, they are able to score. Tavares is left wide open just to the
right of the slot and releases a quick shot on the goalie. We can learn from
this because it shows how it is important to break the puck out quickly on the
power play to catch the pk on their heels and to release a quick shot to try
and catch the goalie off guard. - Skinny
The flames breakout the puck with one wing posted
at the hash and two forwards swinging near the middle to support him. The wing
at the hash with the puck was stagnant, although, he was able to break it out
because the strong side defenseman pinched and had poor positioning on him. If
the D were to be conservative and hold back, he could easily close off the
passing lanes to middle at an angle and trap the wing because he has no
momentum. I think it is imperative that our team understands that having a
motionless strong side wing at the hash will only be successful in certain
situations. There has to be a clear, moving outlet. This is less common at our
skill level than at a professional level. This is why I am very supportive of
the breakout that Coach Nick showed us last practice: the wing on the hash and
the center switch almost like a scissor play so that the center is swinging up
the boards along the hash and the strong side wing is swinging up ice towards
the middle. This ensures that all pieces are moving and can also catch the
defenseman off guard.
For those that don't know, the Beanpot is an awesome tournament to decide who is the best team in Boston each year. It's played at the T.D. Garden between Northeastern, BU, BC, and Harvard and has been taking place since the 50's.
1. 1-0 Harvard - This first goal has a few lessons. First of all, its a 5v3 so there is a ton of space out there. This makes it crucial to get the puck over "glory road". I like how the D are moving their feet and making crisp passes to create that opportunity. Then there is the play through the whistle persistence by their forward. We are going to need a goal like that in the state tournament.. Never quit on a puck until you here that whistle.
2. 1-1 Tie - Great puck movement here by BU. They use the Umbrella Power Play formation which looks like this:
The idea is to have outside shots fired while player 5 and 4 converge on the net for rebounds. Nice job by player 2 to get a hard low shot pass onto the stick of player 5. This is a good example of just getting the puck on net by that player. He redirects the puck towards the net and they capitalize on the scramble. One of the takeaways here is the urgency to get the puck on net.
3. 2-1 BU - Can't stress this enough: D who get pucks to the net quickly stack up points. Clearly this was an elite deflection but it is created from the D-mans urgency to get he puck off his stick. I also liked Greenway's entry into the zone. He gets a pass with very little space and puts the puck to an area where he can recover it.
4. 2-2 Tie - Theme has been consistent in this game. The D are very active in scoring at the high levels of hockey. Really like the D's shot placement here. He has his head up and finds the lane where the puck will not be blocked. Often, the puck doesn't have a direct path to the net. D should be looking to shoot through lanes that insure the shot doesn't get blocked and the play can continue in the offensive zone.
5. 3-2 Harvard - Awesome job here gaining the zone off of a neutral zone by the Crimson D. No delay in pushing the pace up the ice. We see a lot of this from J.C. Turnovers converted into sustained offensive pressure. Chaos goal but the turnover and quick zone entry were key.
6. 4-2 Harvard - Harvard uses the box and 1 powerplay here:
Honestly, this is classic glory road. Moving the puck quickly to create opportunities. Forward "2" lured the defense out of position which set up the point blank opportunity. Like the persistence by player 3 at the net as well.
7. 5-2 Harvard - Beauty goal which started again with a neutral zone turnover. Love the wide drive with speed and the cut back but this goal is really on the Terriers defensman #8. He completely quits on the play after he is beaten to the outside.
8. 5-3 Harvard - Keller was ready to pounce on this goal. I really like the mentality and game awareness he shows here. BU is down 3 goals with 7 minutes left. In a situation like that, you have to take chances that you would not normally take. He pinches immediatley and gets a nice low hard shot off to bring the game within 2.
Best in the NHL at shooting the puck quickly and through screens:
Talk about the little things winning a series. I was looking for a clip to torture my buddy who works for the Capitals. Then bingo:
Look at the help from the winger to win that puck to the side wall. I love how ready the Rags were to pounce on this opportunity. Girardi shifted to the top of the key and crushed a low hard shot on goal. Next thing you know series was over. We need to be deliberate and ruthless with our opportunities. It's the only way we will beat the top talent.
Glory Road!!! No Delay! Series over!
Jumping into the play, tracking, and the pad pass. All in one. Little things done right...
Times Article I wanted to share
the article on Russell Westbrook that appeared in this Sunday's New York Times
Magazine. The quote I read from Coach Billy Donovan is below. Ask yourself the
same questions: How hard are you competing? Are you bringing the energy, the
passion, the fire to win loose pucks? Make a decision not to live with any
regret about this season. The Catholic League playoffs are behind us. Can't go
back in time. Need to bring all experiences (Loyola tournament at Thanksgiving,
win against Providence, Jesuit Cup, CCHL playoffs, etc.) to bear during
the state tournament. - Coach Smith
"The No. 1 thing for him is how hard he competes. It starts
there. That doesn’t mean he plays a perfect game, doesn’t mean that he never
turns the ball over, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t miss a defensive assignment.
But when the ball is loose on the glass or on the floor, when it requires
energy and passion and fire — Russell is bringing that. So many players live
with regret: They could have done a little bit more, been more committed,
worked harder. I think he’s going to have a great level of peace when his time
is done. He’s going to be able to move on with his life. He’s going to have
peace in his heart.”
Textbook stretch pass from Burns leading to Patrick Marleau's 500th NHL goal. SJ takes advantage of the powerplay by having a winger sneak to the weak side to create the odd-man. We need to perfect this.
