Pass the Puck

Eight Seconds is all you have!:  Now, let say the attacking team bets up to the blue line but can't penetrate the defensive zone.  So, the take the puck and throw the puck deep into the zone and down the corner and behind the net.

This is known as a "Dump and Chase".  A lot of coaches use this tactic to get the puck deep into the zone and then he send the forward unit in to regain control of the puck.  However, I'm not a big fan of this type of tactic.  It's used too much and it takes away from the finesse of the game.  I would rather the wingers regroup in the neutral zone, pass the Puck back to their defense, weave in the neutral zone, get the pass back, and re-start the attack.

However, for this lesson, we are having the attacking wingers dump and chase the puck.
So lets look at this cart below...



This bell curve chart shows the time sequence for a goal being scored within your zone.

• At the 1 second mark, the attacking forward dumps the puck into the zone.
• At the 3 second mark, the defensemen reacts to this dump in and pivots or turns towards the puck.
• At the 5 second mark, the defensemen is getting into the corner to pick up the puck.
• At the 6 second mark, the defensemen has the puck and is move from the strong side, towards the weak side behind the net.
• At the 7 second mark, the defensemen has the puck behind the net and is looking for puck support on the far side.  At this point, he makes the pass to his winger set up along the boards for the break out.
• At the 8 second mark, the pass goes in the wingers feet and not on the stick and the winger has to gig the puck out and he gets slammed up against the boards by the attacking winger.  Puck stays in the zone!
• At the 9 second mark, the other team is able to control the puck and it's in your net!

So, how do you keep this from happening?   You see, coaches know that this transitional pass from defense to offense is where teams fail!  This is why the dump and chase works.  But, if you pass tape to tape, from defense to offense, then the puck will be out of the defensive zone in under 8 seconds.  No, this dosen't mean grabbing the puck and sending it down the ice.

This means a controlled breakout where the defense passes tape to tape with the winger set up on the boards and the pass is made tape to tape to the centermen or the far side winger.