Хоккей. Оборона: вход противника в зону защиты : вход противника в зону защиты

Defensive Zone Entries

The most critical aspect of defensive zone entries is that the defensive players accepting the attack must correctly read the play. For the purposes of this book, defensive zone entries are defined as the moment the attacking team hits the offensive blue line with the puck. Once this happens, the defensive players, which are usually the defensemen and possibly one forward, must scan the rush quickly and identify how many attackers and how many defenders. Because of the dynamic nature of hockey, this read must be done in seconds, and rarely is any situation exactly like another. Once the defenders see the rush clearly, they should exactly like another. Once the defenders see the rush clearly, they should call out whether it is a two on one, two on two, or three on two and also communicate to any forwards coming back which player to pick up. The forwards coming back must read the rush quickly from the back side and pick up the right players.

If reads are so important, how do coaches improve the players’ ability to identify the rush? Well, there are a couple of ways. First, do read-the-rush drills in practice, where players are faced with different situations; once they play it out, they get feedback from a coach who is off to the side. A simple read-the-rush drill may include a neutral zone regroup where the defenseman must step up, read the rush, close the gap, and make it difficult for the offensive team to gain entry with possession. Another drill starts as a two on two with a backchecker and turns into a three on three, with the coach sending the backchecking and offensive forwards at different intervals.

The second way to help players identify the rush is to review the video and ask what they see and how they would play each situation. Many times while watching video, players will comment that during the game they read that they have less time and space when in fact on the video they see it differently. It is helpful to hear their perspective. Also, during games have one coach on the bench who provides feedback and discusses reads with the players while the game is going on. The best approach is to ask the players, “What did you see on that rush?” and then tell them what you saw. Finally, to clear up any confusion about reads, set a rule for what players should do if they are unsure. The rule should be: hold mid-ice position, take a few more seconds to sort it out, and then when you are sure, move to outside areas to challenge the puck carrier.

Handling Defensive Zone Entries

Once the puck carrier crosses the line there are a number of options available to the offensive team as outlined in Chapter 3. To develop your team in the area of handling defensive zone entries you need to review each of these with them and how they are to execute, if facing that situation. Whether your team is faced with an attacker who delays, a two on one, two on two, or any variation of a three on two, three on three . . . they will know how to play it.

It is important to note here that for all entries described we focus primarily on the two defense and the first backchecking forward (figure 8.1). As mentioned in the backchecking chapter, the last two forwards coming back in the zone come back hard through mid-ice (inside the dots) and stop at the top of the circles in the defensive zone. Keep sticks on the ice to discourage passing options.

Delays

If the opposing forward delays when entering the offensive zone, first read whether the rush is even. If the offensive team outnumbers the defensive team, then the defense should hold inside position and wait for help. There are two ways to play an even rush where the puck carrier delays. D1 steps up and plays the puck carrier while F1 locks mid-ice and protects the space behind D1 (figure 8.2a). F1 looks for late players coming into the zone and D2 plays the middle to wide side area. D2 will automatically take any mid lane net drives. The second way to play an even-rush delay is to have the backchecking forward go after the puck carrier while both defenseman drop back inside with their sticks on the ice, ready to take away any plays inside and cover players going to the net (figure 8.2b). Either way is effective, but teams should pick one of these strategies and stick to it so that both the defense and forwards always know who is going to take the delay player and who is going to stay inside.

Two on One

Coaches have several different theories about how to play a two on one, but there is no factual evidence to say which is better. First, the defenseman should stay in mid-ice regardless of whether the two on one is down the middle or wide. Early, try to push the puck carrier wide. Once the attack moves into the circles, the defenseman has two options:

1. Be responsible for the player without the puck, and leave the player with the puck to the goaltender. To execute this tactic the defense must turn to take the wide player at the last moment in order to minimize the risk of the opposition puck carrier cutting to a better shooting position. When the defense turns to take his check, he should still keep an eye on the puck carrier so he knows what is happening. The primary responsibility of the defenseman in this tactic is to make sure no pass can be made to the back door for an empty-net tap-in (figure 8.3a).

2. The second way to play a two on one is for the defense, to slide flat on the ice with feet facing the net to take away the passing option and force the puck carrier to shoot (figure 8.3b). This slide must be executed with proper timing. The problem with the slide is that until they perfect it many defensemen slide too far or leave their feet to early— allowing the puck carrier to cut in. Also once the defenseman sides he is in no position to defend a rebound.

Two on Two

In all two-on-two situations, the defensemen should make sure they have a tight gap. Without a tight gap, it is difficult to play the two on two properly. In order to maintain a tight gap defense should be constantly be reminded to “gap up” which means to move up with the play and tighten up on the rush. Keep two stick lengths as a reference point - any further back and the defense will lose the ability to move back at the same speed as the rush. There are two ways to play a two on two, and both have their strengths and weaknesses.

The first is for D1 to stay with the puck carrier regardless of what he does. If the puck carrier drives, delays, or cuts to the middle, then D1 stays with him and D2 keeps position on the other player. The strength in playing it this way is that there is no confusion as to who has whom, while the weakness is that sometimes the offensive team can lose coverage, especially when the puck carrier crosses with the second offensive player (figure 8.4a).

The other way to play a two on two is for D1 to take the puck carrier on the drive or delay but when the puck carrier crosses the ice, D1 leaves him for D2 to play. Now D1 picks up the other player (figure 8.4b). The disadvantage here is that D2 might not be in a strong position to pick up F1, and D2 might miss coverage on F2 in the exchange. The advantage is that both Ds always stay in good mid-ice position and know that they have their own side of the ice to cover.

Three on Two

When reading a three on two, both defensemen stay in mid-ice and try to delay the attack. Don’t confuse what looks like a three on three for what really is a three on two. What I mean here is that at times the defense will say that “I thought the backchecker had the third player” but in reality the backchecker is a step away and couldn’t catch the player. If the offensive team sends a back-side drive, the strong-side D1 now plays the two on one, and the back-side D2 goes with the drive (figure 8.5). If it is a midlane drive, the back-side D2 plays the two on one, trying to shade (commit to one player while ready to take the other player) the drive player but ready to come out on the wide pass. D1 plays the puck carrier.

Three on Two With a Close Backchecker

In this situation the backchecker is close to catching the rush but doesn’t have position on any of the offensive players (figure 8.6). D1 and D2 should play it as a three on two until the backchecker has caught the opposition’s highest player. With the new obstruction rules not allowing the backchecker to hook the offensive player, do not play it like a three on three until the offensive player is clearly caught by the backchecker. Make sure the backchecker has body position on his player before the Ds adjust and play it as a three on three. It is better to play it safe until you are sure because as soon as one of the defense overplay the outside it could open up a two on one inside if the backchecker is not in position.

Three on Three

The backchecker must identify the player he is covering. As outlined in the backchecking chapter (pages 118-120), some teams like their backchecker in the wide lane and some like him in the mid-ice lane, so the defensemen adjust according to the team’s system. Usually the backchecker will take the highest player unless he is already in position to take the wide player. Keep your stick off the body of the free player so you don’t take a penalty and get good body position. Good body position is where you are close enough to the player to take his stick and at the same time keep an eye on where the puck is (figure 8.7).

If the backchecker is coming back through mid-ice, he should leave any drive players to the defense and pick up the higher areas. Therefore if the middle offensive player drives the net looking for a pass or deflection then this player would be covered by D2. F1 must look around for the third forward and move to check him. Sometimes F1 will have to overplay the outside area if this forward is wider. As the play gets below the circles, he should lock onto his check (figure 8.8).

If the team’s neutral zone system has the first forward back locking the wide lane (figure 8.9), then on three-on-three rushes the forward should stay with the player in this lane, and the defensemen will adjust to cover the middle and strong side. This becomes more of a man on man coverage when the play enters the defensive zone.

Finally, if the backcheckers are instructed to hound the puck, then with all three-on-three rushes the backchecking forward will usually have the strong side while D1 will shift to the middle and D2 will take the wide or backside lane.