2 v 1 Net Play Drills for Defenseman

By: Marty Wilford

2 v 1 Net Play Drills for Defenseman from Marty Wilford gives coaches 3 different setups that allows defenders to practice their net front skills and forwards to practice attacking from down low.

Setup

• Setup 1 - Behind the Net:
  • Pucks start behind the net. One forward behind the net, one in front of the net, with a defender out in front.
  • On the whistle, F1 takes a puck and drives the front of the net. F1 and F2 both try to score on the defender. After the coach blows the whistle, F2 skates behind the net to get a puck and F1 is the forward in front. They try to score while the defender tries to stop the play.
• Setup 2 - Corners:
  • Same idea as the first setup, but the game is starting out of the corners.
• Setup 3 - Opposite Corner:
  • Same idea as setup 1 and 2, but the game starts out of the opposite corner.

Coaching Points

• Defenders should keep sticks on the ice to block passing lanes and also keep their head on a swivel to know where both forwards are at all times.
• Defenders should keep a good strong hockey position to protect the front of the net
• Forwards without the puck should work to find open ice in front of the net.
• Forwards with the puck should try to get the puck to the front of the net and also use their teammate when they are open.

Variations

• Can set this up in the 3 locations discussed above, and can also make this a 2 v 1 game or 2 v 2 game.