During the Prowlers team meeting, it was motioned and passed that our pre-game warm-up be changed. The members in attendance agreed on the following two warm-up drills. It was also discussed that we should have at least a "default" breakout play to get out of our own end. We're not trying to get into super competitive mode with set plays for every situation or an entire system, but everyone agreed that with the ever changing line combinations, it would be nice to have a standard breakout.

Warm-Up Drill #1 - 3 Line Shootout
This replaces our "Semi-circle" shooting drill. It's simple; when Howie is ready everyone forms 3 lines out on the blue line, 2 on the boards and 1 in the center. A player from line 1 shoots, then line 2, then line 3. The rotation then starts from line 3 and goes to 2 etc. The order is essentially 1,2,3,3,2,1,1,2,3,3 etc. After you shoot from a line you should move to another. Players can shoot from the blue line or skate in a shoot if they like.














Warm-Up Drill #2 - 2 on 1

This replaces our "Horseshoe" drill. Very similar, but the defencemen line up at center. One forward then passes a puck to the D-Man, he stops the puck, turns and starts skating backwards. The forward and his partner from the opposite corner skate out , cross paths (with one picking up the puck) and come in on our net in a 2 on 1 situation. Try to make 1 or 2 passes before taking a shot. The defenceman doesn't play too aggressive and this should help the forwards warm up their passing and gets the goaltender moving laterally. The trailing forward should also go in for the rebound.













Default Breakout Play
One area where we can get caught in games is our breakout. Our wingers then to stay on the boards and skate along them waiting for the pass. Most of the time they are too high as well. Any decent team recognizes this and is able to read the play from a mile away and picks off the pass or stops the winger from advancing the puck. We can combat this by introducing some lateral movement or crossover in positions.

Here the winger stays on the boards near the hash marks as the centerman starts cutting towards him. The Winger receives the pass from the D-man and relays the puck to the moving centerman. The winger then crosses over to the center of the ice taking the centerman's lane. The far winger skates towards the center of the ice for support and a pass option. If this winger stays on his boards then a pass has too much ice to cover and is easier to pick off by the opposition.

A good rule of thumb is if someone crosses over into your lane, then you should cross back and take theirs. You'll find yourself in open ice a LOT more often doing this as defenders will need to scramble and adjust. But the Centerman needs to initiate the breakout, by cutting towards the winger.

Another option, as seen below, is the winger and centerman crossover before the D-man passes the puck, essentially give him 2 options. This is effective if a defender is down low covering the man on the boards. If the pass goes to the winger cutting towards the center, he can quickly headman the puck to the other winger skating down the boards or cutting towards the middle.

Tags: drills