Reply To: What Happens in a Hockey Shift

[Paulie]

Tom,

Yeah, I see what you're talking about re: 1-3-1 Fore check. It's something I'll keep in mind for next year. For now, we've already invested time in developing and practicing the Weak side lock, so we'll go with it when necessary. Mostly we'll be going 2-1-2.

Basically it's the same as the LW Lock except that the Weak side Winger maintains position in his lane, on the initial set up. It's like Half-A-Trap.

F1 flushes puck carrier across ice, behind net; provides back pressure; becomes outlet on turnover.
F2 mirrors puck carrier through middle hash marks; denies middle pass; reads D to D or reverse, and pressures; supports F3 on pass to wall.
F3 traps ( top of ring position) pressures pass to wall.

Should the opposition reverse/counter, and thereby defeat the fore check, then F3 back checks within his lane, effectively forcing the opposition to attack in only two lanes, covered by the Defencemen.

My thinking is that forcing the opponent to go over–instead of up–gives us time to set up defensively. Yet it's still a very aggressive fore check. Most teams now go D to D whenever they can, and I believe this fore check will be effective against that.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Thanks again for the support,

Paulie