The Little Things for Goalies
by Darren Hersh A lot is said about “the little things” in hockey. When spoken about, the little things usually refer to the defensemen and forwards being strong and getting the puck out of the zone, finishing checks, etc. Well, there are also little things to which goalies need to pay attention in order to be effective and to be sure they don’t allow a soft goal. Keep your eye on the puck! The goalie doesn’t need to put blinders on and watch only the puck while not being aware of anything else going on in front of him/her. However, when the opponent has the puck and can shoot at anytime or when a shot is taken, the goalie must watch the puck all the way into the equipment for the save. Do not rely on split or peripheral vision. Get into this good habit in warm up and practice! Be aggressive with bloopers. Go out toward a high, end-over-end dump in and get as close as possible to the point of the bounce to cut down the angle. Also get as much equipment behind the puck as possible in case it takes an unexpected bounce.