Transition Practice (Full Ice)

The Griffs 2 V 2 Game from Coach TJ Manastersky was shared with the IHS Community while he was an Assistant Coach at Union College. TJ is the Current Head Coach at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. Griffs 2 V 2 can be used to emphasize neutral zone transition and fundamentals of rush attack.

Setup

• Move nets to the top of the circles as shown in the diagram & videos.
• Setup a 2 on 2 in the neutral zone.
• Each team has 2 defenseman behind their net, just above the face-off dots.
• The forwards in the neutral zone do not need to use their defenseman. However, if they do, it creates an automatic D to D pass, and the defenseman who first received the puck will join the 2 forwards in the neutral zone to create a 3 on 2 rush. The defenseman with the puck tries to hit one of the 3 players to begin the rush.
• The activated defenseman is allowed to stay for the rush but must go back to their original position after the rush is completed.
• After the coach blows the whistle to change the lines, the forwards leave the ice, the defenders become forwards in the neutral zone, and two new players for each team become defenders.

Coaching Points

• Players with the puck need to communicate with each other to get open and provide support. 
• On the rush attempt, it is beneficial to have a middle lane drive, wide lane support and the puck wide so there are multiple options off of the rush.
• Defenders need to make sure to keep their sticks on the ice to block passing lanes and angle the opposition.

The Ferrari 3 on 2 shared by Steve Wiedler is a high tempo 3 on 2 rush zone entry drill that allows players to really practice pushing the pace, hence the name Ferrari.

Setup

• Forwards on all 4 blue lines with pucks.
• Defenders just inside the blue lines.
• 1 forward leaves without a puck and works hard to curl at the far blueline.
• The forward on the far blueline gets ready and hits the forward that us curling around the blueline with a pass.
• From there, the two active forwards explode up ice, while a third forward (on the same blueline as the first forward that started the drill) jumps into the rush for a 3 on 2.
• The 2 defenders jump into the middle of the ice and pivot around the face-off circles while aiming to gap up properly and match the oncoming speed of the rush.

Coaching Points

• Forwards: communicate and keep sticks on the ice to let your teammates know where you want the puck. Get off the wall and fill in lanes while attacking.
• Defenders: work to match the speed of the oncoming rush. Keep sticks on the ice to angle and block passing lanes. Work to keep players to the outside.

Strip Transitions V1 & V 2 from NewEdge Hockey helps players practice stripping the puck, transitioning, and passing to an open teammate that times their jump to the slot.

Setup

• Split up pucks & players into corners
• The drill starts with Blue P1 skating up the boards with a puck.
• Red P2 skates up the boards and strips P1 by lifting their stick, and stealing the puck. After P1 gets their puck stripped, they stay up around the point.
• Red P2 quickly transitions, by performing a tight turn, getting their head up, and looking for their teammate, Red P3 that is streaking in from the point.
• Red P3 gets a pass from Red P2, and takes a shot on net.
• After the shot, Red P3 curls up the boards, and strips the puck from Red P4.
• Red P3 passes to Blue P1 (who was at the blueline) and the drill is continuous.

Transition Options (Progression 1 & Progression 2)

1. The first part of the progression, players practice stripping the puck by lifting the players stick, and taking the puck.
2. In the second progression, the players practice stripping the puck by knocking the puck against the boards, and taking the puck.
3. Make up your own variations!

Coaching Points

• Keep stick on the ice, and angle the player along the boards. When you are ready, go stick on puck.
• Quickly get puck, and pick head up to move the puck to your teammate.
• Player streaking from the point looking for a pass to take a shot needs to time their jump into the zone by being aware of their teammate, while communicating verbally, and non-verbally (giving a passing target with stick on the ice).

Variations

• Coaches can force players to pick their head up and make decisions by applying light pressure throughout the drill. This will force the player to pick their head up to decide when and where they can pass the puck. To learn more about creating decisions at practice, view here. 

Former NHLer, Jared Boll, demonstrates the Defensive Transition Passing Progression with the Battery Hockey Academy. This progression is a great warm-up drill and allows defenceman (and forwards) to dial in muscle memory for skating backward with the puck, performing escapes and transitioning with the puck. This series can be set up in very tight areas (the size of a circle, 1/6 ice, 1/4 ice, etc) or can be set up in larger half-ice setups.

Setup:

• Progression # 1: Backward skating passing transition. A great warm-up to get the hands and feet going while skating backward.
• Progression # 2: Escape passing transition. A series that helps players work on escaping while they are skating backward. 
• Progression # 3: Head up ice transition. Helps players practice transitioning up ice while facing the puck.

Coaching Points:

• Practice keeping your head up.
• Provide the passer a good target. Let them know where you want the puck.
• Face the puck.

Variations:

• Can be set up in very tight areas (the size of a circle, 1/6 ice, 1/4 ice, etc) or can be set up in larger half-ice setups.
• The static passing player can be moving around so the defenseman has to hit a moving target. 
• You can add various obstacles or practice different escapes / fakes.

The Renegade Line Rush from TJ Manastersky, the Head Coach of Brock University, practices an in tight 3 v 2, and transitions to a 5 v 5 line rush.

Setup

• On the 1st whistle, coach passes to the 3 v 2 down low group, which starts a quick attack against turned around net.
• On 2nd whistle, coach passes to any forward outside of the 3 v 2 down low group, and it starts 3 v 2 out of the corner toward the far end.
• The forwards and defense involved in the 3 v 2 down low group join to make it a 5 v 5 line rush.
• The 5 v 5 plays out until coach blows the whistle.

Coaching Points

• Defense: Communication and sort out coverage.
• Offense: Puck moves forward at blue line, puck enters inside the dots, net drive.

The Ricky from Tyler Bielby is a fun competitive & drill that focuses on quick breakouts, efficient zone exits, and quality passes. Two teams race to break the puck out and whichever team breaks the puck out first is awarded the first puck in a 3 on 3 on the other side of the ice.

Setup

• This is a full ice drill. Put two nets and two goalies on the far end of the ice, along with 2 sets of 2 forwards and 1 defenseman in side the d-zone. Coaches are in the neutral zone. Reference the whiteboard video & diagram for exact setup.
• On the whistle, each team is racing to see who can break out the fastest and get the puck to the coach on their side. 
• The two defenseman race back to get the puck that is on the goal line, the winger gets low and the center comes in low and slow. 
• The defenders pass the puck to the forward along the boards, and that forward looks to hit their center who is curling up ice. The center then passes the puck to their nearest coach.
• Whichever team passes the puck to their coach first is awarded a puck in the neutral zone. They bring the puck into the far zone to play 3 on 3. The team that lost the race still needs to complete the pass to the coach before they can skate down to the other end of the ice. Once they do so they join the 3 on 3 game.

Coaching Points

• Teams should focus on efficient breakout routes, and crisp tape to tape passes. Players without the puck should keep their sticks on the ice to let their teammates know where they want the puck. 
• All players should communicate and shoulder check to practice good habits that will translate to the game.

A bracket turn is a transition turn where you go forwards, backwards briefly, and then forwards going the opposite direction. Let's break it down into 3 steps:

1. Come in to start the turn with a wide base and basically do a two foot side stop.
2. Roll into a couple of backwards cross-overs (push pull).
3. Open up the hips and accelerate using your forward stride in the other direction.

Tips:

• Try to maintain your speed through the turn with your backwards cross-overs.
• Control the stick and upper body.
• Keep the head as level as possible, try to stay away from bobbing up and down.

Transistion turns in hockey are necessary any time you need to change direction in the game of hockey. In this video Dwayne Blais discusses how to transition from forwards to backwards.

To break it down into steps:

1. Side stop
2. Backwards cross-over / backwards start
3. Backwards skating into our C-cuts

Coaching Points

1. start with a wide base
2. Start low (instead of bobing up and down)
3. Preferably 1, maybe 2 cross-overs as you transition backwards
4. Try to maintain a straight line instead of a wide semi-circle