Pushing the pace to create time and space on offence

In this article, I will analyze pushing the pace with your forwards to create time and space with the puck. I will share some basic fundamentals with the assistance of video and on-ice drills that can aid in the process of player and team development.

• See also:
  • The link between Royal Road opportunities and time on ice
  • 4 subtleties of Victor Hedman’s MVP defensive game
  • Why angling is the most underrated skill in hockey

Ultimately we can then transfer these strategies from the classroom, to practice, and into your games.

Defensive zone face-off

It starts with face-off fundamentals:

• #17 blue gets inside body position and bumps #85 white to allow his D retrieving the puck time to make a play
• #17 has now shoulder checked to scan possession of his defenceman
• #17 blue can push the pace into the neutral zone and retrieve the area pass by #90
• #90 blue shows tape and faces the puck for his defenceman
• Staying off the boards allows #90 to protect the puck from the pinching defenceman and chip the puck to an area for his winger (#17)

The centreman (#10) makes a read: all three Jets forwards forecheck below the hashmarks leaving no F3 to cover for a pinching D. This results in the C supporting the wide ice for #17 blue.