Scoring Part II 
Written by Todd Drevitch

Hopefully, since you read the last article of Scoring Part I, you have tried and had success with some of the techniques that were covered.  In this article we will discuss 6 more tips for you to try.  

As basic as this sounds, this is one of the most important aspects of shooting and scoring.  Most players are taught to turn their hip and shoot.  This means that they stop moving their feet.  As soon as they stop moving their feet, it sends a signal to the goalie that the player is about to shoot or pass the puck.  The goalie then gets set and cuts down the angle.  The second problem is that after the player shoots, he/she has to start skating again to get the rebound.  In addition to this, most players glide towards the corners after they shoot,  because they are facing the corner and not the net.  

Now understand that when you first start to shoot the puck while keeping the feet moving, you will probably have a weak shot.  However, it will be more effective for two main reasons.  First, you will be catching the goalie off guard and by surprise.  It is better if he/she does not know when the puck will be shot at the net.  The second reason would be the benefit of driving to the net for the rebound.  Most defensemen freeze like a deer when players shoot, because they are afraid of being hit with the puck.  This gives you a distinct advantage when skating full speed to the net for the rebound and they can not stop you.

Using this technique will again give you a weak shot.  However, it is again very effective for scoring goals.  Most players and teams try to make the perfect play or pass to get a shot on goal.  The result in most cases is no shot at all.  If you do not shoot, you do not score.  When the puck is thrown towards the net, there is a chance for a tip, a deflection, a screen, a rebound, or almost any off the wall scenario you can think of.  The puck is in a danger area for the opposing team and they may throw the puck in their own net, you never know.  The other main reason is to catch the goalie off guard.  As I explained earlier, most players look for the perfect shot, thus the goalies are looking for the same thing.  When you throw the puck on net, you may catch them off guard.  A good example of this would be a player facing away from the net gets the puck.  He then tries to turn around and get himself set for a shot.  By the time this happens, he has been attacked by two defenders and the goalie has come out of the net to cut down the angle.  He gets the shot off, and it is deflected by the defender.  The goalie covers it for a whistle.  Take the same scenario, but this time the player gets the puck and immediately takes an off balance backhand.  The shot goes on net.  It is saved.  However, because the goalie was not ready for it, there is a rebound with a second shot.  It does not matter whether that second shot goes in or not, the fact is that there was a second opportunity to score.

This tip deals with positioning on the ice.  Most players like to glide or skate towards the puck.  It is as if the puck were a magnet.  The problem is that when you glide towards the puck, you tend to be right next to a defender.  This usually will pull you out of a good shooting angle as well.  By staying on the far side of the ice in the offensive zone, you do two positive things.  First, you give your teammate who is in the opposite corner another option for passing the puck to you behind the net.  The second advantage is that there will usually be no defenders with you.  You will be by yourself on the ice staring at an empty net.  This is because the goalie is on the other post playing the puck on the far side of the ice.  If the pass can get across the slot to you, you will have an empty net to shoot at.

This is very similar to Find the Net.  Most players will receive a pass, stickhandle the puck once or twice, then shoot the puck.  Again, by this time the goalie has come out of the net and cut down the angle.  The opposing defenders have also reacted and started to attack you.  If you grip the stick tighter and put more pressure on the stick, you can take a quick one timer shot.  That means that when you receive the pass you do not stick handle the puck.  You simply get a shot off as fast as you possibly can.  

This tip deals with a situation where the you drive to the net for the rebound and the puck is right in front of the goalie.  What you will usually see from most players is them jabbing at the puck and tryng to push it through the goalie.  At the higher levels, while doing this, you will be hit by the defensemen and knocked on you tail.  The goalie will just cover the puck.  If you are going to get hit anyway, then try this tip.  If you get good at it, I can almost guarantee that you will score a goal at least once.  When the puck is on the ice in front of the goalie who is on his belly sprawling around for it.  Stop in front of the goalie and without skating backwards, pull the puck back away from the goalie.  Then with the tip of your stick pull the puck towards you feet and scoop the puck up.  follow through with your stick and point the stick at the top of the net.  The puck will go over the goalie if done properly.  Then get ready, especially if you do this too slowly, because you will get hit as you are shooting the puck.

The final tip I will give you deals with an offensive rush.  As you and your teammates enter the offensive zone on a line rush.  Keep you eye open for defensemen that like to back up into their own goalie.  They are prime targets for using this tip.  As you approach the defensemen shoot the puck either between his legs or just off of his outside foot.  You will be using him as a screen on his own goalie.

Summation

Just remember that it always takes time and practice to master a new skill or to use a new concept in a game environment.  Good luck using t hem and remember, have fun!

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