No Goalies? No Problem!

You’re on your way to the rink with a great practice plan in hand when you get a text that your goaltender is sick and won’t make it to practice...

For teams with only one goalie, it's almost inevitable that this will happen at some point during the season so it's important to be prepared and have a plan ready that will still provide a great practice.

The good news is there are a number of drills and games that can be used to elevate your team’s intensity and compete level even when your goalie can’t make it. Here are a handful of them to have on standby this season.

Keep Away Games

Bring “pond hockey” indoors with variations of keep away. Whether it’s 1 vs 1, 1 vs All, 2 vs 2 or any other variation, these types of games are a great way to emphasize puck possession, creativity and competition. Then, adjust the size of the playing area to influence the level of difficulty and number of turnovers.

1 vs 1 Gate Game

Hockey is an invasion sport, which means teams must advance the puck toward the opponent’s goal to score, so a simple way to make any type of keep away concept a little more game-like is to add a set of gates. Place a set of tires or cones at each end of the playing area to create a goal and make the players or teams skate the puck through the opposing team’s goal to score.

To add an increased emphasis on angling skills, try out the 3-Gate Deception drill.

3 vs 3 Gates Game

Another common game that uses gates to serves as the goals is the 3 vs 3 Gates game. In this game, there are three sets of gates and two teams of three players. The teams must successfully pass the puck through one of the gates to a teammate in order to score a point. The game places an emphasis on learning how to support the puck carrier when your team is on offense.

3 vs 3 Gates Game

Tag Games

Tag for high level players? Yes!

It may seem like tag is only a game for younger players, but it’s a sneaky good way to get players of all ages and abilities engaged in practice. Pair players up with teammates of similar skating ability and have them play 1 vs 1 tag against each other. You will likely be surprised by how quickly players get into it, how short the “shifts” need to be and how far they test their limits on their edges.

To add a skating element, force players to use only their inside edges or skate backwards the entire time.

Cross Fire Passing

One of the keys to most successful offense teams and power plays is using quick and deceptive puck movement to pull defending players out of position and then attacking the space your team opened up. USA Hockey’s Cross Fire Passing LAX provide a great game to teach those concepts without needing a goalie. Click here to read the full drill description.

Cross Fire Passing LAX

Goal Line Stand

Our latest Drill of the Week offers another small area game that can be played without goalies and teaches important offensive and defensive concepts. It’s a 2v2 game in which teams must take the puck below the goal line after gaining possession to go on offense. To score, they have to go above the goal line and carry the puck into the crease before shooting. Watch the video below for a preview or click here for the full description.