Зона атаки. Входы в зону ENTRIES Score off the rush, but don’t be in a rush to score! Use the speed you’ve generated via quick transition through the neutral zone to move the puck directly into the prime scoring area. Generate the best shot possible on goal, with players going to the net for deflections and screens before the puck gets there, and following the shot in anticipation of a rebound if the initial shot attempt gets blocked en route to the net. It sounds simple. Most defenses facing a speedy or odd-man-advantage attack will instinctively protect the center of the ice, so entry is most often successful when the attackers plan to cross the blue line with the puck on the wings, near one of the side boards. A key teaching point for a puck carrier is to emphasize moving the puck north–south through that offside area within five feet of either side of the offensive blue line. Gaining entry directly allows for other attackers to support the rush without any speed restrictions due to the fear of going offside. The concept of triangulation can create space in the most opportune ice area. A wide drive by the puck carrier should be supported by a teammate on his side of the ice. If a direct path to the net is cut off, the support player becomes the primary target for a pass. The puck carrier should continue his drive to the net as one point of the offensive triangle (figure 13.1). His decision to shoot is determined by whether he can gain a satisfactory location on the scoring web. The second wave of support comes from the third point on the offensive triangle. FIGURE 13.1 Offensive triangle with the puck carrier (RW) driving to the net, the center (C) coming into the zone on the same side for support, and the left winger (LW) driving to the net for additional support. Often the preceding scenario doesn’t present itself as readily as the coach’s rink diagrams might suggest. Tarasov felt the pre-1970s game in North America was flawed, citing, “The main thing in the attack of professionals is surprise, timing, a desire to crush the opponent with a terrific rush” . Creative offensive teams are schooled to allow even more support to come in behind the offensive triangle threesome. A tight turn toward the side boards (figure 13.2) usually creates time and space for the puck carrier to locate a fourth teammate, often a defenseman who has hustled to beat his backchecking opponents into a prime scoring area vacated by the passage through the offensive triangle. The delay play—a turn-up or tight-turn maneuver by the puck carrier—most often is a pass to a trailing defenseman, often in the area just inside the blue line, as defenders focus on the more traditional scoring areas closer to the goal. FIGURE 13.2 His path to the net cut off, the puck carrier (RW) makes a tight turn to the boards. Additional support for the offensive attack frequently comes from a defenseman (LD) who enters the zone behind the three forwards. Other common methods of entry include either a chip by the defender or a dump in and recovery operation (figures 13.3 to 13.5). Hockey purists are reticent to give up possession when their team already has worked hard to attain it. Indeed, turning the puck back in the neutral zone and executing a regroup maneuver remains a viable alternative. These are more frequently seen in the European-style game, where the larger Olympic-size ice surfaces can contribute to more of a puck-control philosophy, but regrouping is slowly becoming more popular in North American-style play. FIGURE 13.3 A simple chip off the boards is followed by a race to the puck between the RW and the LD. New rules prevent the defenseman from making contact in an attempt to slow down the attacker. The chip-by or dump-and-chase plays are executed with the purpose of a quick and efficient recovery. Beginning with the 2005-2006 season, the NHL instituted a pair of changes that may have a positive effect on this playing style. The first is the limitation on where the goaltender is allowed to handle the puck outside of his crease. A cross-corner dump-and-chase (figure 13.4) and a soft dump to the corner (figure 13.5) now go to an area where, in the past, the goaltender could come out and retrieve the puck, with little chance of being forechecked effectively. Because of the adopted trapezoid area behind the goal line, which limits where the goalie is allowed to play the puck, these corner areas now become a place where races to the loose puck are contested, and battles for down-low possession result. FIGURE 13.4 In this option, the puck carrier dumps the puck into the opposite corner, where his teammate (LW) is likely to be the first on the puck in a race with the opponent’s RD. FIGURE 13.5 In this option, the puck carrier (RW) makes what is called a soft dump, intending for the puck to stay in that near corner as he chases it, as opposed to shooting hard around the net. The second NHL change is not related to the playing rules but rather to the configuration of the end zones. The goal line has been returned to its pre–1998-1999 position of 11 feet (rather than 13 feet) from the end boards. The blue lines have been pushed 2 feet closer to center, making shots from the blue line to the goal line now 64 feet. The youth hockey playing rules, governed independently in North America by USA Hockey and Hockey Canada, and U.S. college hockey, governed by the NCAA, have yet to adopt any of these changes. It may take several years to determine the positive effect, if any, of this added space in the attacking zone on creating more offense. But it seems that the chip-by entry maneuver illustrated in figure 13.3 now benefits from the added space along the side boards. The key, in addition to the underlying speed of the rush and entry, is anticipation and puck support. A mental attitude for winning the battles for puck recovery in that contested area, combined with the refined ability to steal and control the puck in tight quarters, is obviously critical for offensive success.
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