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I was fortunate to play with some pretty awesome goalies during my career, and learned a lot from not only watching them, but also hearing their battle stories and types of shots that were the most difficult to face. Many of those stories may have been intended as boasting (after all, goalies tend to be a special breed of player and filled with confidence), but whether they realized it or not, what they were really doing was just telling me how to become a more effective scorer!
Here are the top-four secrets to scoring that goalies don’t want you to know:
- Hard shots are intimidating. Reaction time is condensed and more likely to slip through holes. Some players just have a natural ability to shoot the puck hard. For most, however, it takes not only lots of practice, but also selecting the right stick and flex to maximize your shot speed and strength. But if you take the time to develop a hard shot, then goalies will start to tighten up a bit when they see the puck on your stick.
- Having a variety of shots in your arsenal is important. Mastering a great wrist shot, slap shot and snap shot will keep goalies guessing about what shot you are going to take. If you are strong at one but weak on the others, goalies will recognize that and will be ready for your strong shot. But if you can keep goalies guessing by delivering a variety of shots, then goalie remains uneasy and advantage tilts back into the shooter's favor.
- Straight on shots are easy. Reacting to a player who moves lateral, changes direction and/or gives “a different look’ than just a straight on shot makes it far more difficult. Goalies like to see the puck coming off the stick, so anything you can do with puck movement prior to shooting will help keep the goalie guessing what type of shot is coming, or will you be deking first. Even a simple toe drag of the puck towards your body prior to ripping a snap shot can be the difference between the goalie expecting the shot and being fooled by the change of movement.
- When you’re in close, shoot high. When the goalie drops into the butterfly position during a scrum in front, there isn’t a whole lot of space down low. So if you get the puck on your stick down in or around the crease, the best place to bury the puck is up high just under the cross bar. This is something that you can work on in at home with your shooting tarp or net, and once you master this skill you will see your goal count rise dramatically!
Practice each one of the shooting strategies above at home on your shooting tarp or net, and you’ll be armed with a plan the next time you’re in the zone with a scoring chance.
Edited in May 2024 from original article written by Lance Pitlick in May 2015. Based in the Minneapolis area, Lance is a former NHL player with Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, played collegiate hockey with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, is a foremost training professional with stickhandling and shooting both in-person and through onlinehockeytraining.com, and is the founder and former owner of Snipers Edge Hockey.
