Notes on playing defense in hockey

• Defensive coverage in the attacking zone: When your team playing offense in the attacking zone, you should work with your partner to balance offensive pinching and defensive coverage. The strong side defenseman should play deeper in the zone to participate in the attack and to keep the puck in. The weak side defenseman should play back to cover, in case the play goes the other way.
• When you're playing the point in the offensive zone, periodically count the number of opposing players in front of you. It should always be 5. If it's not 5, there's a cherrypicker behind you and the potential for a breakaway.

Off-ice hockey shooting practice tips

On the backhand, you really need to push down hard with your bottom hand. Don't lift the blade too quickly. The puck should roll down the entire length of the blade.

For the slap shot, alignment of the puck is critical. Unlike the other types of shots (wrist shot, snap shot, backhand), you don't start with the puck on your blade. So you must precisely position the puck beforehand. I find that a good position can be determined by this method. Hold your stick at your side, near your hip. About a skate length behind the heel touches the ice is a good distance from your body. Then position the puck somewhere in the middle of your feet. When you're still a novice at the slap shot, look down at the puck while you shoot. That makes it easier.

Regarding the wrist shot and snap shot, the violent, fast push-pull and snap is critical. If you don't do it fast enough, you won't be able to lift the puck very much.

For all shots, practice shooting both from the side and facing the net.

As you get better, try stickhandling a bit before you shoot, like in a game situation. For a backhand, push the puck forward and pull it back for the shot. You need to pull the puck in pretty close to get off a decent backhand. For snap shots, try a toe drag. Or try loading and shooting many pucks in a row -- to get the feel of a quick release.

Extra stuff to work on:

• one-timers (requires a band or bungee cord)
• forehand and backhand passes (requires a band or bungee cord)
• toe drags (requires a band or bungee cord)
• saucer passes

More on breakouts

These are my notes from the video "Break Out Techniques and Tips" by hockeyus.com

General tips

Open up to the teammate giving you the pass. Do this by doing a forward to backwards transition.

When you catch the pass, keep your feet moving. If you can't catch the pass moving, you need to get rid of the puck fast and make sure you step away from the wall. You need to be away from the wall so you have room to do things. You could chip the puck high off the glass, pass to the center, make a bounce pass, or make a move around a defender.

Don't pass to the center if he/she isn't open. If you are under heavy pressure, catch the puck and protect the puck against the wall. Keep the puck between your feet and put your stick between you and the defenseman.

If the passer isn't ready and you get to the hash marks, you need to stop and wait for the pass.

Breakout on the weak side

1. Skate down the middle of the ice from the point.
2. Do forwards to backwards transition and skate diagonally up towards the hash marks.
3. Catch puck on your backhand.

Or if the pass comes earlier:

1. Skate down the middle of the ice from the point.
2. Do forwards to backwards transition and open up to the passer with your forehand.
3. Catch puck on your forehand.

If you catch the puck on your forehand, you can make a quick bounce pass off the boards.

Breakout on the strong side

1. Skate down the middle of the ice from the point.
2. Do forwards to backwards transition and open up to the passer with your forehand, while skating backwards.
3. Catch puck on your forehand.

In this situation, it's easy to 1) make a touch pass back to the passer, 2) make a bounce pass off your backhand, or 3) make a backhand chip off the glass and out.

If you don't have any pressure on you and you see that defenseman is going to wrap the puck around the glass,

1. Skate down the middle of the ice from the point.
2. Do a hockey turn near the goal line and keep skating forward (no transition).
3. Catch puck on your backhand while moving.

Thought of the day: Becoming an autodidact

I've found that the most useful skill to develop is the ability to teach myself. Recently, I found out that the term for this is "autodidact." I wonder if teaching oneself has general principles itself. Here are some of the methods I use to teach myself:

1. What is universal? What are the most important concepts?
   This is a typical physicist perspective. For example, for photography, I might say the important ideas are light and shadow, the quality of light (diffuse or harsh), warm vs cool colors.
2. How is this field different from similar fields?
   In physics, we tend to be concerned with finding clean, beautiful, logically consistent mathematical rules for explaining nature. In biology, people are trying to model complicated, messy, real systems.
3. What is the progression?
   You want to identify where to start, where to end, and how to progress in between. If you don't have a progression, you have no idea how far you have to go or what you've accomplished and it's easy to become frustrated. To learn hockey, you start with skating, then progress to stickhandling and shooting, and finally tactics and teamwork.
4. Read interviews with important people in the field.
   They'll identify what's important. I learned a lot about narrative and character by reading interviews with distinguished actors.
5. Listen to what people in the field say or read forums.
   This is a bit trickier because you have to find the right people -- hopefully intelligent, articulate types. This might not be easy. I read theater forums sometimes. I found one forum where people frequently trash shows (though there were some insightful comments if you sifted the wheat from the chaff). The Sondheim specific forum was better because people were more interested in analyzing the shows than shoving their opinions down people's throats.
6. Find a partner.
   I've never done this, but if you can find someone at a similar level and you get along well, this could be dynamite. You can hang out together, support each other, inspire ideas, etc. I guess this is not being an autodidact, but who cares.

If you try to learn several unrelated fields, you'll start to see patterns and that will make it easier to pickup more subjects.

Thought of the day: What is the progression?

When you're learning or teaching, a good question to ask yourself is: "what is the progression?"

I'm not sure where the term "progression" came from, but I've heard it used in reference to strength training and conditioning. One day, at the gym, I saw a new piece of equipment, a back extension bench. I asked the supervisor how to use the bench and I tried it. It was pretty damn hard and I realized that the exercise was too difficult/advanced for me. So I went back to the supervisor and asked him if there was an easier exercise that would help me build up to the back extension bench. He gave me another exercise and said, "That's the progression."

Recently, I having discussions on how to coach beginning adult hockey players. It's very tricky to teach adults hockey because there is just so much to learn and because hockey is one of the most difficult sports to become proficient in (let's not talk about being a master, it's hard enough just be decent). Through the course of the discussion, I realized that you need to design practices where the different drills reinforce each other, skills are applied in different contexts, and teach how skills are used in game situations -- all without making people frustrated or bored. There needs to be a progression to take people from not knowing how to skate to being able to play in a game with decent skating, stickhandling, shooting, and tactical skills.

The progression for learning hockey would be something like:

1. Learn how to use your edges
2. Skating in a straight line, stopping
3. Crossovers, tight turns, transitions
4. Skating with the puck
5. Simple dekes
6. Shooting
7. Tactics

The learner is often frustrated about making progress or overwhelmed by how much work there is to do. So it's important to give them just enough to chew on, but not get stuck or become intimidated. The teacher is often frustrated that the learner isn't improving quickly enough. The key to solving these problems is to identify what skills need to be mastered and to come up with a progression to tie everything together.

Backwards skating

I'm a terrible backwards skater and I finally decided to think about how to improve. Here are some things I've learned.

Backward stride

Windup

1. Glide backward on the flats of both skates.
2. Prepare to push with your leg. Place your weight above the pushing skate.
3. Pivot the pushing skate outward with the heel facing out to the side. You want the pushing foot to be nearly at a right angle with respect to your gliding foot.
4. Dig the inside edge of the pushing skate into the ice by rolling your ankle and bending the knee so that the skate and lower leg form a 45 degree angle to the ice. Make sure your full body weight is concentrated over the pushing skate.

Release

1. Start the c-cut. Use the front half of the blade to push.
2. Start the push from the middle of the inside edge and finish at the toe. Drive the pushing leg against the edge, using a forceful snapping action of the leg.
3. The push must executed with full extension of the leg, finishing with a toe flick of the inside edge. Your knee should lock out.
4. At the midpoint of the c-cut, transfer your weight from your pushing skate onto the gliding skate. When you skate backwards, your body weight should be over the back half of the gliding blade. However, the entire blade of the gliding skate stays in contact with the ice.

Follow-through

1. Keep the entire blade length of the pushing skate on the ice after the thrust is completed.
2. Keep the knee of the gliding leg well bent, even when the thrusting leg is extended.
3. Keep the gliding skate pointing straight backward all through the c-cut, with the entire blade length in contact with the ice.

Return

1. It's imperative that you do a proper recovery, so that your pushing foot is in the right position for the next c-cut.
2. After the thrusting leg reaches full extension, re-pivot the foot to face inward.
3. Pull the returning skate under your center of gravity and re-pivot your foot again when your foot gets under your body. You foot will make a larger arc as it returns and a small arc as you re-pivot under your body. Keep the entire skate blade on the ice as you complete the return.
4. After the return, your skates should be side by side and under your body. You should not have one skate in front of the other. If that happens, you might end up zig-zagging down the ice.
5. Now you are ready to do the next c-cut.

Key points and discussion

The most important thing to do is to get low. You want to bend your knees so much that they extend two inches forward of your toes. Imagine trying to bend your knees so much that your knees nearly touch your chest. Or imagine getting so low that you sit on the floor. Yes, get that low. And yes, it's exhausting. It takes much more effort and energy to skate backwards than forwards.

The second key point is to pivot your foot 90 degrees before you start the c-cut. It's hard to get power if your foot is at a shallow angle when you begin the c-cut. You want your foot to start perpendicular if possible. This requires some flexibility.

The reason you need to pivot your foot perpendicular is so that you can made a wide c-cut with a large radius. What you don't want is a c-cut with a small radius. The wider you can make your c-cut the more push you get.

The third key point is to get as close to 100% body weight on the pushing (cutting) skate as possible. To practice this, you can do c-cuts down the ice on one leg at a time. This will help you learn how to balance on your inside edge going backwards. It's similar to the power skating exercise where you glide on your inside edges, making half circles up the ice. The difference is that now you do it backwards.

You might have trouble getting full extension of your leg on the c-cut. This is a matter of balance. Make sure you do the things already discussed -- a) get as low as possible and b) get full body weight on the pushing skate.

A former Division I and Olympic player gave me the following advice. Don't skate pretty. Don't make beautiful c-cuts. Your goal is to skate with power and efficiency. You want to concentrate on pushing as hard as you can (explosively) on the first 1/3 of the push. As you push, thrust your leg out hard to full extension. As soon as you get to full extension, shift your weight to your gliding foot. I found that if I didn't shift my weight fast enough, I would lose my edge to the pushing foot.

When you start getting good at your c-cuts, you'll find yourself zig-zagging down the ice. Keep the gliding foot pointing straight backwards. You want to go backwards in a straight line, not a zig-zag. According to Laura Stamm, it's not possible to go backwards in an exact straight line, there will be a slight curve.

Remember to keep your skate blades on the ice. They should not lift up at any point during the backward stride.

The proper posture is to bend your knees as much as possible, keep your shoulders back, your back straight, and your head up. If you don't have a stick (for example, if you're practice at public skating where sticks aren't allowed), imagine holding a stick.

Keep the upper body and head still, except for the arms.

As you skate, move your arms in sync with your legs. As one leg makes a c-cut, move the arm, on the same side, forward while the opposite arm drives back. For example, if you make a c-cut with your left leg, move your left arm forward and drive your right arm back. The arms should move parallel to your body and not be swinging side to side.

Robby Glantz suggests that you practice the return, you should click your feet together. Of course, this is only when you practice, not in a real game situation.

A friend of mine who played Division I hockey had the following suggestion. When you first learn the backward stride, exaggerate the twisting hip motion.

Another thing you can try is to do forward c-cuts for practice.

Backward starts

There are two types of backwards starts: the straight backward start and the backward crossover start.

The straight backward start is pretty much like the normal backward stride. The difference is that you move your legs as rapidly as possible, while still making proper c-cuts at full extension and recovering. You do everything faster (push, recovery, etc), at a quicker tempo.

For the backward crossover start, you do a backward crossover followed by fast backward strides. It's debatable how many crossovers you should do. Some people suggest doing just one crossover, while I've seen other people recommend doing two crossovers in one direction and one more crossover in the opposite direction to straighten out.

Be very careful about using the crossover backward start. When you do a backward crossover before the forward has picked a direction, you have made the first move and the forward might blow past you. Several Division I players tell me that you actually start slower if you do a crossover. If you need to get back quickly, do a straight backward start. If you need to move laterally and have time, do the crossover start.

Drills

There are a couple things you can do to help people one-on-one. You can hold your stick above their head to force them to stay low. You can also have them hold their stick on one end with both hands while you hold the other end of the stick. They skate backwards while you provide resistance to help them keep their balance.

As mentioned before, to practice balancing on one leg and getting full body weight on the c-cut, practice making backward c-cuts down the ice and alternating legs, balancing on the cutting leg.

If you have a lot of players and not too much space, you can have the players lay their sticks on the ice and practicing doing c-cuts with their gliding foot gliding parallel to the stick. This helps teach people to keep their gliding foot pointing straight backward. You can have them do forward c-cuts, backward c-cuts, or both.

Finally, when the players are more advanced, you can have them play defense in one-on-one situations.

References

Laura Stamm, Laura Stamm's Power Skating (3rd ed), 2001.
Robby Glantz Secrets of Hockey Speed, Vol 1 - "Backward stride"
Laura Stamm - "Smooth powerful stride", 7:45

Some thoughts on playing defensive hockey

I haven't played much defense, but I played D the last few games and frankly was terrible. I realized that I just don't know how to play defense. So I watched a college Division I game and some videos and here's what I've noticed.

1. The keys to defense are:
   • Reading the play
   • Positioning
   • Angling
   • Gap control
   • Limit time and space
2. When to pressure:
   • The puck carrier has his/her back to you
   • The puck carrier has poor puck control
   • Support is available
   • The puck carrier is isolated
   • The puck carrier is a scoring threat
3. When to contain:
   • There's no immediate goal-scoring threat
   • The puck carrier is approaching
   • The puck carrier has good puck control
   • You have no support
   • You need to buy time in outnumbered situations
4. When you play 1-on-1 defense against a forward, you keep a two stick length gap and watch their chest (not the puck). You want to angle them towards the boards by putting your outside shoulder on their inside shoulder and directing their movement with your stick. Generally you place your stick in the middle of the ice to force the attacker towards the boards.
   • If you get beat, you can try to "turn and burn". Turn from backward to forward, sprint after the forward, and force them into the boards, taking the body and the stick.
   • If you're close to the boards, take their body into the boards and put your leg inside their legs to tie them up. You can "step out" 90 degrees (sort of a backward to forward transition) and cut them off.
5. At some point, you want to close the gap and challenge the forward. When to do this is subjective. The guideline is that you make a move between the blue line and the top of the faceoff circle. If you make a move at the blue line, try to force them offside. Don't let them go beneath the top of the faceoff circle without challenging them. At that point, they have a good scoring opportunity, so you must challenge them. You might want to "step up" and take their body/stick. Or try a poke check.
6. If you're under pressure when going back to pick up the puck, you can execute an escape. Or if you're close to the net, use the net as a shield, skating around it with the puck close to the net.
7. When in doubt, dump the puck along the boards, or if you're skilled enough, hold on to the puck, do some escapes/dekes, and skate it up until you can pass to the forward.
8. If you're forced to ice the puck, you want to lift the puck, bouncing it high off the boards or alley-oop it.
9. Playing the forward near the net. You can lift his/her stick or push them away (but not too aggressively). There are other techniques but I'm not sure which ones are legal. You always want to keep your chest facing the forward and swivel your head to keep an eye on the puck. Never turn your back on the net-attacking forward.

For points 1-3, the information is quoted from USA Hockey Magazine, February 2007.

Some things I learned from M2 Hockey videos

I learned a lot from watching Hockeyshare's YouTube video channel.  They have a lot of great drills which are actually demonstrated on the ice.  I also really liked their tips on general tactics like breakouts and defense.  Here are some things I learned:

Skating

Backwards quick starts

You do two quick crossovers.  Do one crossover, followed by another crossover in the opposite direction.  This evens out your direction.

Forward stride

Make sure you flick your toe at the end of the stride.  If you don't do this, you'll lose a lot of power.

Passing

Forehand passing & receiving 101

Pass with the puck in the middle of the blade. You don't want the puck on the heel, because it will be prone to elevation (like in a saucer pass). With the puck on your blade, push your arms forward in a straight line, roll your wrists, and point the toe of the stick towards your target. While you catch the pass, you should be looking for the next target where you'll be passing.

When receiving the pass, don't bring the puck too far back. You want to finish receiving the pass so you are in a good position to make your next move. After you receive the puck, avoid stickhandling. Each "stickhandle" costs you a half second.

Shooting

One timers

Typically, you want to receive puck somewhere between middle of stance to back foot. Drop your body and get low. Pro players often "sit" down or even go down on one knee for the one timer. For a "slap" type one timer, you are relying on the flex of the stick to generate power. In game situations, you don't usually get the puck in your favorite place. The puck may come slightly in front of you or slightly behind you. You need to learn how to adjust your position on the ice.

Shooting from a D to D pass

Don't take the shot if you don't have a lane. Nothing is worse than our shot hitting a shin pad and causing an odd man rush the other way.

Catch the pass in front of you by stopping the puck right off your outside foot. Then turn your body, open up your body, and immediately step into the shot. Don't stickhandle. Try to do this sequence of motions as quickly as possible so you get the shot off quickly and avoid hitting any traffic.

Breakouts

Strong-side breakout fundamentals 

There are three options for strong-side wings breaking out:

1. Post up at the hash marks and jam your skate against the wall. Position your outer skate so that when the puck bounces off your skate, it will be directed to a good position. Open up your body a bit so that you can accelerate when you catch the pass. Your skates should be in an upside down V position. You don't want to face the defensive zone straight on, because that is a difficult position to accelerate out of.
2. Skate forwards towards the net, then transition to backwards, and curl towards the boards.  As you transition, sneak a look back at the ice to see where everyone is.  You are facing the defensive zone, looking for a pass. Open up your body for a pass near the hash marks.
3. Skate forwards towards the net, make a hockey turn towards the boards, and accelerate up the ice, looking for the pass. Only do this when you are confident there is no pressure or when you're on the powerplay.

Receiving a breakout pass

You have four options when receiving a breakout pass:

1. Pass back to defensemen or pass up to another forward.
2. Skate the puck after receiving the pass. Preferably you'd like to catch the pass with speed. You can do this by skating down towards the defensive zone and transitioning. Make two hard steps and look to make a play.
3. Chip the puck off the boards out of the defensive zone.  Don't chip the puck towards the defenseman.  Bank the puck off the boards at an angle so it goes around the defenseman.  If you're playing on your strong side, shovel the puck up with your backhand.  Otherwise, you can lift the puck with your forehand.
4. Eat the puck. If you get the puck and can't make a play, jam the puck up against the boards with your stick and protect the puck with your body.

Always sneak a look to see where everyone is before you catch the pass.

Some tips on receiving a hard pass wrapping around the boards.  Jam your skates up against the boards.  Don't put your heels perpendicular to the boards.  Stand with your skates making an upside down V.  The skate closer to the net will be positioned to allow the skate to bounce out towards your stick.  Your body will be slightly opened up so that you can get a good quick start.

Forwards

Offensive escape move

If you're a forward skating down the ice with the puck into the offensive zone and you don't see a play, you can curl around towards the boards. This slows down the play and gives you time to look for more options.

Attacking the point

This is about how to pressure the point when you're a defensive forward.  You'll either be on the boards as the strong side winger or in the high slot as the weak side winger.  If you're coming from the high slot, angle  the point towards the boards, away from the middle.  If you're coming from the boards, you want to curl around to push the point towards the boards.  This isn't always possible.  In that case, put direct pressure on the point by skating straight at them.  Don't follow the path of the defenseman.  Take the straight line path.

To block the shot, you need to put your body between the puck and the net.  Don't skate up with your body to the side and stick in the shooting lane.

Attacking the low seam

The low seam is the goal line in the attacking zone.

In this situation, you are at the hash marks.  (You might be catching the puck off a cycle.)  You skate down the wall over the goal line, then do a hockey turn back toward the goal line, then a second hockey turn toward the net and shoot.  Always protect the puck from the defense, with good body positioning and by keeping the stick and puck wide.  Make sure you accelerate out of each turn, either with a heel drive or a crossover.

(update 7 Oct 2012)

Defensemen

Defensive positioning

Stay between the forward and the net at all times.  If you see a good opportunity, you can try to pin the attacker along the boards.  As the attacker moves, move laterally with them.

Defensive zone pickup

While you are skating back as a defenseman to pickup the puck in the defensive zone, you want to do two things before you even pickup the puck.  First, sneak a look back to see where your forecheck pressure is and where your pass options are.  Decide whether you are going strong side or weak side.  Second, angle your path depending on whether you chose the strong side or the weak side.  Make sure you pick up the puck facing the sides, not the end boards.  If you face the end boards, you won't be able to see incoming players.  When you actually pickup the puck, minimize stickhandling.

If you go strong side, either pass immediately or use a two-touch movement to bring the puck to your forehand and then pass.  Avoid wrapping the puck around the boards.  It's too difficult to control for the wingers.  The amount of time the winger needs to control the puck can be the difference between breaking out and being stuck in the defensive zone.

If you go weak side, your defensive partner should be dropped behind the net for a D-D pass.  Check what hand your partner has.  If his/her blade is next to the boards, you can try a direct pass.  If he/she is the other hand and the net is in the way, you can bounce the puck off the wall.

A last option is an escape move.  You angle your path as if you are going weak side.  Skate all the way to the net, using the net to block forecheckers.  Then hockey turn towards the wall, go up the strong side, and pass a pass quickly.  Try to make the pass right out of the turn. Don't stand flat footed after making the turn.

Defense neutral zone transition options

This discussion covers what to do if there is a loose puck in the neutral zone and you are a defenseman skating back to pick it up.

The first option is a quick D-to-D pass. Your defenseman partner should be positioned 1-2 stick lengths behind the puck. This gives you a good passing line and makes it harder for your opponents to forecheck. After you make the pass, get open as support, in case your defensive partner wants to pass back to you.

A second option, if you have more time, is to skate towards the puck and do a 180 transition, so you face up-ice. This option gives you great vision of the ice, but the puck is in a slightly awkward position. You'll need to pull the puck back towards your body to put it in a good position for passing.

A third option, if you don't have time, is to skate towards the puck, pick it up (protecting the puck with your body), and immediately pass it while you are still facing the defensive zone. If you pick up the puck on your forehand, it's straightforward to make a pass up off your forehand. If you pick up the puck on your backhand, you want to do a hockey turn and lean in, as you do the backhand pass. This will give your backhand pass some strength. You don't want to be in the situation where you are standing stationary and doing a shoveling style, weak backhand pass.

It is essential to make quick passes. The opposing team won't have time to setup their defense. And you'll generate lots of scoring opportunities for your team.

Defense recovery

Suppose you are skating backwards playing defense on a forward. You know you are beat when the forward's shoulder comes in line with your own shoulder. To recover, turn your body and skate towards the net, to cut off the forward's angle. Don't make the mistake of skating towards the forward or following the path of the forward.

Net protection for hockey defensemen

When you take the puck around the net, hug the posts so there is no room for a forward to pressure you on that side. You use the net as a protective barrier.

Defensive Lateral Movement Tips & Drill

This discussion concerns defenseman playing point when their team is in the attacking zone.

If you are trapped on the boards, you want to move laterally towards the center of the ice. As you move towards the middle of the ice, you get a much better shooting angle on the net. You also create space for your forwards. Another option is to move laterally towards the center of the ice, drawing a defender off the boards. You can bait this defender towards you and then bounce the puck off the boards around them to one of your forwards. As you moving laterally, you can keep your feet outside of the blue line as long as the puck stays in the offensive zone. This will give you another 5-6 feet of room to make a play.

Notes on transitions/pivots in hockey

Forward to backward

1. Glide forward on both skates.
2. Shift your weight to the front of your skates.
3. Turn your upper body and hips approximately 90 degrees.
4. Shift your weight to the back of your skates.
5. (advanced) Do a backwards crossover.
6. Skate backwards. 

Can be done on a curve or on a straight line.

Keep your body low and your feet wide. Keep your head up! That will ensure that your body is square.

The key is the part where you turn your upper body and hips. This does most of the work. Don't try to turn your feet. Turn your upper body and hips first, and your feet will follow. As your turn your body, keep your body square -- your shoulders should be level, your body weight centered over your skates. You shouldn't be leaning backwards or forwards or dropping one shoulder.

Concentrate on shifting/transfering your momentum from forward to backward without losing speed. The pivot is similar to the pivot in the hockey stop, but you don't want to do the stopping part! Ideally, you want to accelerate out of the transition.

Backward to forward

1. Glide backwards on the back inside edge of one skate, on an arc. Keep gliding until your body faces 90 degrees to your original direction of travel.
2. Open up your hips and hold the other skate in front of you and off the ice.
3. Now turn your upper body and hips towards the skate that is off the ice. Your body should be an open, V-shaped position.
4. Shift your weight to the other skate. Put that skate down on its back inside edge.
5. Skate forward. 

Can be done on a curve or on a straight line.

Keep your body low and your feet wide. When you are gliding on the back inside edge, keep your feet close together so you can really put your weight on the back inside edge.

Remember to keep your head up!

Imagine that your feet are skating on an arc. When you do the backward to forward transition, your skates need to be on a deep inside edge.

Don't change feet too early. Keep gliding (for what seems like a long time) until your body faces 90 degrees to the original direction of travel. Then rotate your upper body and hips, not before.

Applications

In game situations, transitions are used so that you always face the puck and never turn your back on the play.

Forwards might use transitions when going down low on the breakout. This way they don't turn their back on the puck when making themselves available for the defenseman to pass to.

Defensemen probably use transitions the most.

1. They might be skating forward with the puck. They can't see a good play to make, so they buy some time by transitioning to backwards.
2. Your team is attacking and you skate forward into the offensive zone to help out. But then your team loses possession of the puck and you need to switch back to defense. So then you do a transition and skate backwards to cover the defensive zone.
3. You are skating backwards playing defense against a forward. Then you use the backward to forward transition to cut off the attack and push the forward towards the boards.

Drills

1. Do transitions around a pair of cones.
2. Do transitions around your own stick.
3. Do transitions on a slalom style course. 
4. Have the defenseman skate forward towards an attacker, then transition from forward to backward and play defense against the attacker.
5. Have the defenseman skate backwards while an attacker skates forwards. When the attacker gets close, the defenseman cuts off the attacker using the backward to forward transition and pushes the attacker towards the boards

References

Robby Glantz Secrets of Hockey Speed, Vol 1 - "Change of direction", 0:00
Laura Stamm - "Quick turns and transitions", 1:26

Quick notes on the hockey slap shot

I got most of the following information from Total Female Hockey.

The further back you place the puck, the lower the shot. Put the puck near your front foot for a high shot. Put the puck near your back foot for a low hot.

Place the puck as close to your body as you can without impeding arm movement. Don't make the mistake of putting the puck too far away from your body.

Use proper grip. Slap shot grip is different than stickhandling grip. Turn your wrists away from you, such that the blade closes a little. The bottom hand should rotate so that your elbow goes from slightly bent to being locked straight. Similarly, the top hand should rotate so that your elbow is locked straight.

Keep your bottom arm straight and locked down

Get low and stay low through the shot and follow through. Lead with the bottom hand.

You must turn the blade over and closed during the follow-through to have power and accuracy in your shot.

I've heard recommendations that you should hit the ice 6-10" behind the puck, rather than the common refrain of 1-2". Supposedly the pros use the 6-10" distance whereas beginners start with 1-2". The reason for using a longer distance is that it gives the stick more time to flex and makes your shot more powerful.

There are lots more slapshot tips at Wild About Hockey. When I start to really practice my slapshot, I'll write up something more complete.

Hockey wrist shot

My wrist shot has always sucked. Like everything else in hockey, you need incredible technique to do it well. I thought I'd write down the important ideas behind the wrist shot, to remind myself.

Main ideas

The wrist shot consists of two major motions:

1. Sweeping the puck forward while transferring your body weight.
2. Pushing and pulling the stick hard and fast and snapping your wrists towards the end of the push-pull.

You need to be able to do all the different motions well, on their own. Then you need to put everything together and time everything properly. Timing is crucial. I suggest breaking down the wrist shot into small motions and making sure you can do each separate motion before you try the entire wrist shot.

Going on to more specifics...

Stick grip

You want to grip the stick properly to make your wrist shot as easy and efficient as possible. The top hand should be in either one of two grips.

1. Hold the end so that knob is inside the palm of the hand with the thumb wrapped around the stick and next two fingers gripping the end and with the pinky closed into the palm and resting on top of the butt end. With this grip, the two fingers after my thumb are behind the butt end and the fourth finger is resting on the side of the butt end.
2. If you have a weak forearm/grip, hold the end with the thumb wrapped around the stick and the next three fingers

For more details and photos, see the middle of this webpage by Madknuk Enterprises. No one ever told me this -- I've been holding my stick wrong for years.

As for the bottom hand, place it on the stick so that you arms are about shoulder width apart.

Weight transfer

New note: Dip the leading shoulder before skating into the shot. (from Jarick)

You start with your weight on your back foot, slide the front foot forward, and twist your torso. This provides a lot of the power behind your shot.

You want to time your motions so that you smoothly transition from transferring your weight forward to twisting your torso. Think of your body as a spring.

To exaggerate the weight transfer, you can step forward with your foot, actually lifting your foot off the ice.

I usually don't have too much trouble with the weight transfer action, because it's a natural instinct from playing other sports.

Cupping the puck and sweeping motion

The proper starting position is to cup the puck with your blade closed near your back foot. Then sweep the puck forward, keeping the puck on the heel of your blade. The sweeping motion should be straight and smooth. As you sweep the puck forward, put down with your bottom hand to put some pressure on the blade so it flexes, but not too much. You just want to use enough force to flex the stick, while the majority of your weight transfer focuses on moving the puck forward.

Make sure the puck isn't too far away from your body. I find it easier to shoot wrist shots with a short stick because the puck starts closer to my body. However, you don't want the puck so close that torso gets in the way of your elbows.

I have a lot of trouble with my wrist shots because I always open the blade of my stick too early. The blade starts closed, then when the puck gets near your front foot, you quickly open up the blade, and snap your wrists to close the blade. If you do this right, the puck should stay at the heel of your blade throughout the entire sweeping motion. You don't open up the blade until near the very end.

All the work of putting your weight behind the puck and sweeping the puck through does no good if the puck falls off your blade. This happens to a lot of beginners. They can't lift the puck, their shot is weak, and the reason is that the puck is falling off the blade because either 1) they're opening up the blade too soon and/or 2) the puck isn't staying on the heel of the blade during the sweep.

Kevin Muller mentions the importance of keeping the puck on your heel in this instructional video.

You can do the following exercise on or off the ice. Without the puck, practice transferring your body weight and sweeping the puck. Work on this motion until it becomes natural. A good way to remind yourself about weight transfer is to start with all your weight balanced on your back foot and your front foot in the air, then step forward with your front foot. Obviously you wouldn't do this in a game, but it reinforces the idea behind the weight transfer.

Push-pull motion

When the puck gets near your front foot, open up the blade and then push-pull the stick. You push with your bottom hand and pull with your top hand. You want to do this as fast and hard as possible. Again, do this as fast and hard as possible. The proper technique is wonderfully explained in this Total Female Hockey video.

The speed of the push-pull determines the timing of when you start the motion, i.e. where the puck is in relation to your feet when you start the push-pull. Also, you should be twisting your torso while you do the push-pull.

As Coach Kim explains in the above Total Female Hockey video, you can practice the push-pull motion off the ice without a puck.

Wrist snap and follow-through

As you push-pull the stick, when the puck gets to the end of your blade, you want to snap your wrists really fast and hard so that the blade opens, then flips over and closes. Point the stick blade towards the target and follow-through. The stick should point straight out in front of your body if you follow-through properly.

If you get the push-pull, open-close motion of the blade, wrist snap, and follow-through sequence right, the puck should spin off your blade and not wobble in the flight.

When you are on the ice with pucks, you can practice the push-pull and snap motion separately from the weight transfer/sweeping motion. Put the puck near the front foot and just do the push-pull and snap without any weight transfer or snapping motion. Kevin Muller explains this exercise in the same video from previous section. If you do this exercise, you'll realize how much velocity you get from just the push-pull and wrist snap alone.

Checklist

1. Make sure you are holding the stick properly. Hands shoulder width apart with the top hand holding the stick with the pinky off the end. Start with the puck close to your body.
2. Weight transfer from back foot to front foot. Slide the front foot forward
3. Sweep the puck forward in a smooth straight line, while pushing down with the bottom hand to flex the stick.
4. Make sure the blade stays closed during the sweep.
5. As the puck gets near your front foot, twist the torso and push-pull the stick really hard and fast.
6. As the puck leaves the end of the blade, snap your wrists hard and follow-through.
7. Concentrate on power, spin, accuracy, and quick release.

Final notes

If you practice off-ice, make sure you wear your gloves while you're shooting. You need to get used to how the stick feels with your gloves on.

Practice shooting facing perpendicular to the target and also facing the target. The position where you face the goalie is called the triple threat position because you can either pass, shoot, or make a move.  When you get good at stationary wrist shots, start practicing wrist shots while skating forward.

If you master the wrist shot, try learning the hybrid wrist shot/snap shot. This is what the pros use because it has a quicker release. NHL player Mike Cammileri demonstrates the more modern version of the wrist shot in this video. To see a more in-depth instruction video, check out HowToHockey's explanation of the traditional and modern wrist shot. The modern wrist shot focuses on quick release and relies mainly on the forearms and flex of the stick for power. There is very little weight transfer and the puck starts pretty close to the front foot, compared to the traditional wrist shot.

Many thanks to Wild About Hockey and its great article on improving wrist shots. I incorporated some of the tips from that article into my post here.

It's the finish that matters

This year's NHL playoffs were remarkable in that two teams went up 3-0 in a seven game series, lost the next 3 games, and then came back to win the last game and the series. The Vancouver Canucks narrowly escaped with victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Round 1 and the San Jose Sharks finally managed to close out the Detroit Red Wings in Round 2.

Here's what the Canucks had to say before Game 7 against the Blackhawks:

We've got to win one game, and if you do that, everything else is forgotten. Everyone else is going to forget about losing three games in a row. They're going to forget about taking this to Game 7. They're going to forget everything. We see it as a one-game series.
- Henrik Sedin, captain of the Vancouver Canucks

Here's what the Sharks coaching staff and players had to say after losing Game 6 against the Red Wings:

Doesn't matter how we got here, it really doesn't. What matters is how it ends, and that's how we'll approach it.
- Todd McLellan, head coach of the San Jose Sharks

Everybody was counting Vancouver out. I kinda predicted Vancouver would beat them in seven. It was a close one, but they found a way to win – and that’s all we’re looking for.
- Dan Boyle, alternate captain for San Jose Sharks

I was following these stories in the news and it seemed like after the Sharks and Canucks dropped Game 6, some of the media talked as if it was all over for those teams, as if the world was going to end (particularly for the Canucks). But now no one really cares; everyone has moved on to discussing the Canucks-Sharks Western Conference final.

In the end, it's the finish that people remember. Regardless of other people, it's the finish that you will remember.

The power of positive thinking

It is well known in psychology that visualizing your success is a very good way to improve your performance. This is especially true in sports, which is why professional athletes sometimes hire a sports psychologist.

Take hockey, for example. A goaltender can visualize how to stop a player on a breakaway. A forward can think about how to win a faceoff or where to go when attempting a one-timer. According to an article in USA Hockey Magazine, a big part of the mental game is "focus and elimination of negativity, no matter what happens."

The article emphasizes over and over again the importance of being even-keeled and mentally tough. Larry Lauer is a coach who works with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) on the mental aspects of the game. He says:

I try to eliminate the triggers that create negativity. If you missed an open net, or if you're a goalie and you let in a weak shot, focusing on those things can lead to negative thinking. When you get caught thinking in the past or in the future, you're unable to do your best in the present.

You like players that don't ride the emotional rollercoaster.

Many coaches agree that the many of the best hockey players are "mentally strong." Don Lucia, the head coach of the University of Minnesota men's hockey team, says:

They have short memories. They don't allow what happened yesterday or a previous play or the previous period inhibit what they're going to do in the future. You can't get caught up in what happened, you've got to always be looking ahead.

But what about the successful people we know, who are emotional? It seems like they can get away with this.

The top players are better able to play a more emotional game because they come with a reservoir of confidence that few people have.

Sports photography tips

1. You need to know the sport you're shooting. That means you want to be standing in the right location. For example, hockey is very different from baseball. In baseball, the athletes are mostly in fixed positions. So you point your camera at the pitcher/batter/baseman. In hockey, the players are constantly moving so you point the camera at either the attacking zone (stand at the end boards) or the defending zone (stand at the blue line). It helps to do research on the sport (reading the rules, watching footage), or even better: play the sport yourself.
   
2. Put autofocus and shutter release on separate buttons, if your camera has this function. For Canon users, this is known as AF-on back button focusing. The idea is that you spend most of your time following a particular player or action and trying to maintain focus. So you should have a separate button for AF and only release the shutter when you have a good shot.
   
3. People frequently recommend that you use the center AF point because it's usually the most sensitive. But sports are too fast. You'll have to keep the subject on the center AF point all the time, because you don't have time to focus and recompose. If the subject is always in the center, the composition will be off and you'll have to crop the photos. A friend of mine, who did professional sports photography, says that he recommends uses the AF-on back button focusing to establish a focus on the right ballpark (for instance, focus on a faceoff dot on the hockey rink). Then as the play happens, make minor adjustments in focus with the manual focus ring on the lens. If your lens has this option, you can manually focus while the AF is on.
   
4. Practice right before the game starts. I learned this from listening to a pro sports photographer (Ron Wyatt) speak at B&H Eventspace. He said that he practices shooting before the event. Doing sports photography is a sport in itself. You should warmup first.
   
5. Like any kind of event photography, you should have a shot list. When I shoot hockey, my list is something like this: wide angle shot of rink, skater shooting puck, goalie making save, closeup of puck on faceoff, players pushing each other in front of the net, referee escorting player to penalty box, closeup of player's face, players celebrating after a goal, crowd shots, players lining up for post-game handshake, etc. You would like to have a variety of shots planned. This is also helpful if you're having trouble getting a particular kind of shot, then you can move on to the next item on your list and come back to it later. In sports, people tend to take the same kind of shot over and over again. To avoid this problem, you want to think ahead of time and think creatively.
   
6. Try to get the white balance right while you're shooting. It will be a nightmare to fix afterwards. For indoor sports, the lighting is usually fixed, so you can do a rough white balance (I like the Expodisc) and then set that as your custom white balance for the rest of the game.
   
7. Use photo-processing software. After you come back from the sporting event, you will have hundreds of photos. Your life will be much easier if you use something like Lightroom to process them. The software will allow you to batch operations like adjusting white balance and quickly sort the good photos from the bad.
   
8. Use a camera with a fast frame rate (at least 5 fps or higher) and a good auto-focusing system. That means don't try to take sports photos with a point-and-shoot camera. These types of cameras use contrast detection AF which is very slow. You need something like an SLR, which uses phase detection AF. Semi-pro and pro-level SLR cameras will have much better AF systems than entry-level ones.
   
9. Use fast (large aperture) telephoto lenses. You want as fast a shutter speed as possible. It is pretty much impossible to shoot dark indoor sports without such a lens.
   
10. Bring lots of memory cards and storage space (photo viewer or laptop). I recommend bringing an Epson P-3000/P-5000/P-7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer. It's possible to open the P-3000 case and upgrade the hard drive yourself. Between cards, you put a filled card into a slot on the viewer and dump all photos from the card into the viewer's hard drive. This is a good way to backup photos and also view them on a small screen. The Epson device is much smaller and easier to use than a laptop.
    
11. Try using a monopod. Sometimes it can be useful if you know exactly where the shot is going to be. For example, photographing an Olympic archer from a fixed position. Other times, it can get in the way. I don't use a monopod for shooting hockey.

Sports photography

I had the opportunity to photograph my hockey team at a tournament this past April. I haven't had time to really look through my thousands of photos or edit them, but here are a few I liked. My teammates are in the white jerseys.

To me, this photo shows the rough and tumble nature of hockey. It's kind of funny that the girl in pink gloves looks so nonchalant.



This is a pretty classic action photo. My teammate is skating up the ice with the puck in a commanding stride.



A nice defensive shot. I'm happy I got the puck in the photo. The capture really shows how quick your reflexes neat to be, when playing hockey.



A decent photo, but probably not my best.



This is a great shot because you can see my teammate's face so clearly. Too bad I didn't get the puck in the photo.



I really like this shot because I didn't expect to get it. I was shooting with a 135 mm fixed focal length lens. The action was too close for me to take any photos involving the puck. So I fooled around and looked around the defensive zone. I caught my teammate having a "friendly chat" with an opponent.



Again, this photo is the result of having the long focal length lens. I was limited in terms of what I could shoot, which turned out to be a blessing. Since I couldn't really shoot whole players with the puck, I focused on faces.



I really love this photo. Some people might say that it's not perfect because the player's face is partially obscured by the referee's arm. However, I think it's okay because it isolates the eyes, which you can still see!



I so so wanted a photo of a player shooting the puck. This is my best shot. The blur on the bottom part of the stick is great because it conveys a sense of motion. Unfortunately, the puck is hard to see because it's black and the stick tape is also black. I can't really go to my teammates and tell them, "please tape all your sticks white for me, so I can see the puck on my shooting action photos."

Quote of the day: Anders on the "perfect throw"

In a flashback before the nuclear bombing of the Twelve Colonies, Anders, a star professional athlete, is interviewed by a news reporter. She congratulates him on his Hall-of-Fame worthy career. Then she asks him about how he feels about the fact that he hasn't won a championship yet.

If you want to know the truth... I don't really care about the stats. Or the cup, or the trophy, or anything like that. Um, in fact, even the games aren't that important to me, not really. What matters to me is the perfect throw... making the perfect catch... the perfect stepping block. Perfection is what it's about. It's about those moments when... you can feel the perfection of creation. The beauty of physics, the wonder of mathematics. And all the relation of action and reaction. And that is the kind of perfection I want to be connected to.
- Samuel T. Anders, "Daybreak, Part I," Battlestar Galactica

I love this quote. It's beautiful. It encapsulates how I feel about life. The moments matter more to me than the end result.

I play hockey for that magical moment when I see the puck, I know I'm going to get it, I know what I'm going to do, and everything happens the way I planned without conscious thought.

I do physics for that moment when I'm working with a colleague and I'm overwhelmed by the spiritual experience of sharing such intellectual passion.

This is a tangent, but I thought I'd mention a special moment for me. Many of my undergraduate physics classes were taught by these brilliant particle theorists. I remember one day, sitting in class, tuning out the lecture and just marveling at the professor's genius, passion, and gifts of communication. But it wasn't just that one guy, there were four of them!

15 Feb game recap vs Shelton Lady Tigers

Score: 2-2 tie
Opposition: We played the Shelton Lady Tigers. Sandy plays both with our team and the Lady Tigers, but I guess she must like them better than us because she played with them for this game! (Our coach kept yelling during the game "Hit Number 40! Hit Number 40!") Shelton wasn't as good as us. They had probably three really good players, but we had just as many and we were more skilled overall. The tie was really due to some unlucky goals and stellar goaltending by our opponent. The first goal was due to the fact that our goaltender was late and we had to play a sixth skater in the net. The second goal was scored when we were hanging onto a 2-1 lead with 9 seconds left. I have no idea how they scored, but I'm told that it was a lucky bounce.
Team performance: Our coach was very happy with our play and I agree. We had a ton of shots on net and some good passes.

My performance: I felt kind of off before the game. I wasn't really in the mood to play and it showed. I still did pretty well, but not as well as I could have. I played with Melissa and Liz S. for a period before I was switched to playing with Allison and Anne. I had some good chemistry with Allison. I crossed the red line on the attack and noticed Allison crossing my path. I drop passed to her, she picked it up and we went into the zone together. It was a nice play. I think I had two breakaways. Unfortunately, my shots were pathetic. I need to have a strategy on the breakaway. I try to shoot from too close. If I get in that close, I should go for the deke. On a breakout, I also drew a checking penalty. I have no idea why the girl decided to hit me.

I had a great scoring opportunity on the forecheck. The puck was dumped at the goalie and I skated after it with a defenseman trailing me. The goalie came out to handle the puck and dropped it behind the net (probably because I was so close, she couldn't throw it forward without risking bouncing it off me). I grabbed the puck and realized that I had the perfect wrap-around opportunity since I was a lefty. The goalie and defenseman scrambled to cover and we all ended up colliding and knocking the net off its post. I sprained my knee on the play and I wasn't really the same after that. I was pretty tired by that point and the fact that I couldn't push off my right leg quite right didn't help.

The coach had lots of criticism for me. I don't know why, but she seems to pay a lot of attention to me (mostly a good thing). She was unhappy about me gliding to the bench on a line change. I got distracted somehow and spaced out. She also told me that on one play, I was wasting time lifting an opponent's stick instead of going for the puck. I'm still confused about that play because I don't know what she was referring to. Then towards the end of the game, she got mad at me for changing when the puck was in our defensive zone. I feel like it was a borderline decision. I was playing wing on the bench side and our team had possession, so it didn't seem that bad. Hmm, well, at least the coach was happy about the checking penalty I drew.

8 February game recap vs Simsbury Mother Ducks

Score: 7-1
Opposition: The Mother Ducks were much slower and less skilled than us. We could have easily run up the score against them. I'm guessing they were a team of mothers?? They didn't lack for effort though. When we slacked off, they got into our zone a few times.
Team performance: We were really sluggish in the first period probably due to our last two practices being cancelled. We played better in the later periods. We had a few good breakouts, but not as many as the coach would have liked.

My performance: The coach played in our game, due to lack of a full roster. That meant that I could actually hear her comments during the game. She enjoys yelling a lot. The first comment was that I was too high on the breakout. I was near the point instead of the hash marks. I suppose she was right. Our opponents weren't pinching in, so there was no need to be high. The second comment was that not to leave my feet so much. I sometimes engage in dramatic behavior -- diving to knock pucks away, etc. I don't think I do it too often, but it does get me pumped up a bit and I think that helps my game.

In general, I was pretty conservative because I hadn't skated much in the last week and I wasn't used to the hard ice. The rink was "outdoors" (not completely enclosed), but I didn't have any problems because the ice was good and the temperature was fairly warm. I played with Melissa and Mary. After the second period ended in our favor 6-1, the coach switched Melissa with Fran. I had a nice assist on Melissa's goal. We actually had a 3-0 attack on that play, so the goaltender really had no chance. I was pretty good around the net. I took a swipe at a rebound on one knee (unfortunately, missing the puck). I think I also screened a shot from the point by our coach, which scored. I was decent at picking up breakouts off the boards but my passing was non-existent or crappy. At the end of the game, I was winded, which was surprising to me, considering how much we were dominating the game. I forgot to take my inhaler, so maybe that was it.

My aunt and uncle were able to attend the game and I was happy that they got to see us win.

23 January game recap vs Ice Pirates

Score: 6-0
Opposition: Boy were we way over-matched. The opposing team skated way faster than us, had some great puck-handlers, and even cycled against us. It was hard enough to get the puck out of our own zone, much less get shots on net.
Team performance: We played pretty well. It seems like that when we play teams that are better than us, there's less pressure, so we play better. Not a good habit. We need to play at the same level, no matter how good or bad our opponents are. Melissa's line has some good breakouts. And for the first time, our coach played in a game with us! She was a bit rusty at first, but got better as time went on.

My performance: I played pretty well. My linemates were Denise and Mary. Like my previous game, I drank a lot of water in the three days preceding. Everyone keeps telling me how important it is to be hydrated and maybe it helped me. I'll try to keep it up. In a game like this where we had no hope of winning, I played defense most of the time and try to make the most of the limited offensive opportunities. Generally, I felt pretty energetic and kept my shifts short, getting off the ice whenever possible... because chances to get off weren't going to come often during a game like this.

I found myself diving several times to knock the puck away (including one spectacular crash feet first into the boards). I tried my best to do good stick work (lifting sticks, poke-checking). Stickwork is one of the strengths of my game (in my humble opinion, I think I'm one of the best on the team), but even I had trouble which tells you how good the Ice Pirates were at stickhandling. I had a nice, brief charge up the middle of the ice where I took the puck near the defensive blue line and fended off 1-2 people, but somehow lost the puck after that. Also, I executed a nice line change. In one of our rare offensive attacks, I got the puck on my stick, dumped the puck hard around the net, and got off. Overall, I did a good job of staying on my point. It was a little tricky since the Ice Pirates cycled but I think I manged to keep track of them. Once I even picked off a pass between the points. That defenseman must have been overconfident. She didn't even check that I was there! My only gaffe was in the last few minutes of the game. I had burned up gas driving to the net on an attack and just couldn't keep up with my point. She pinched in and one-timed a pass to score. I was a little pissed and threw my stick. Oh well.

18 January game recap vs Northern CT Edge

My memory is weak on this game, so bear with me.

Score: 4-1
Opposition: They were definitely better than us, but not completely out of our league.
Team performance: We did better than our previous (horrific) game. Our coach had the game videotaped, so we could discuss it later in a team meeting.

My performance: I played well. I seem to get better with every game and the asthma is completely gone. A new thing I tried, on the recommendation of the coach, was to drink a lot of water the three days before the game. I played on a line with Denise and Allison for most of the game. In my first shift, on the attack, I took the puck clockwise around the net and sent a Wayne Gretzy-type pass through two defenders onto Denise's stick. She got a shot on net and Allison was even there for the rebound, though she didn't get her stick on it. Amazing! Probably pure luck, though. I remember getting a nice pass to Denise, though maybe I should have skated it up. I didn't really think about. I just saw Denise and passed to her. Next time, I should check the positions of the opposing players. I also had a nice shift where I was trying to break out on the left board. The puck came around the boards and I lost the puck to the defenseman. But I stayed with her and even though I was a step behind, I lifted her stick and got the puck away. The coach was pleased. She's been trying to get our team to lift sticks for ages. I drew two penalties (though one I'm not completely sure about). In one instance, I was charging into the offensive zone with the puck and somehow got an arm in the head. I thought the penalty was for roughing or interference, but Trudy thought it was tripping. No concussion, though my neck was sore for two days from the whiplash.