Are you wanting to score more goals in beer league hockey? Do you want to shoot to score and pick the shot that is hardest for a goalie to stop? We got ya bud.
Most hockey goalies have a hard time saving backhanded shots while the shooter is making the goaltender move side to side. Regardless of shot type or placement, the hardest shot for a hockey goalie to stop is one that they can not see. A screened goalie will have a more challenging time saving any shot. Combine a perfectly placed shot with a teammate parked in front of the net and you will score more goals.
I think one of the best shots to take to score on a hockey goalie is a quick-release wrist shot that is about 1-2 feet off of the ice on either side of the goalie, as close to the post as you can get. If the puck is just barely above their leg pads while in butterfly it is challenging for the goalie to stop. The reason I prefer these types of shots over a backhanded bar downski ones is because a wrist shot that is 1-2 feet off of the ice is a lot easier to execute and much more repeatable than a bar down backhand.
Read on to fine-tune your scoring abilities, especially in adult recreation league hockey.
Typical Places You Can Shoot At A Hockey Goalie And Score
There are 5 major areas to shoot to score. The top corners, just above the pads close to the pipes, and last but not least the five-hole. Obviously, the puck can score anywhere that the goalie is not but these are the most common places that you should be aiming to score.
The top corners are one of the hardest spots for the goalie to cover in my opinion but they are also the hardest to hit for the shooter. It takes some accuracy to go top cheddar every time. High risk equals high reward. It’s easier to miss the net completely when trying to snipe and go bar down.
The safer option is to shoot the puck about 1-2 feet off of the ice, this puts the puck just above a goalie’s pads while they are in the butterfly position. If you can get close to the post with your shot this makes it really awkward for the goalie to save. The goalie will have to stretch way out with their glove hand or over-commit with the blocker. I feel like this shot will consistently score you more goals in beer league hockey.
The last spot to shoot to score is the goalie’s five-hole. This is right between their legs. This can be a really good scoring option especially if you can get the goalie moving side to side. You see NHL players take advantage of this scoring spot often on breakaways or cross-ice passes where the goalie has to slide over to make the save.
What Are The Different Types Of Shots In Hockey?
There are 4 different types of shots in hockey.
- The wrist Shot
- The Slap Shot
- The Snap Shot
- The Backhand
Each has their own time to use them.
The wrist shot is a good all-around shot. It is well-balanced. It can be powerful, quick, and accurate. It is your go-to shot usually. Your bread and butta.
The slap shot feels cool as hell when you get a nice one-off. This is mostly reserved for one-timers and for defensemen from the blue line. They can be insanely powerful but they are not as accurate as a wrist shot and they also are not as quick. The wind-up on a clapper will take some time so don’t use this shot if you are being pressured.
The snap shot is great for when you need to get a shot of it quickly. Snapshots will not be as powerful as wrist shots but they can be just as accurate. The quick release of a snapshot is its real benefit.
The backhander is a sneaky shot. Most goalies will tell you that a backhanded shot is one of the more difficult types of shots for them to save. It is deceptive and it can also be released quickly to catch the goalie off guard. The downside of a backhand shot is that most players find it difficult to pull off well.
How To Score More Goals In Hockey
Scoring more goals is done by developing your shot but it is also a team effort.
If you can have a good shot and work on some screenplays with your team you will be sure to score more goals. The toughest shot for a goalie to block is one that they cannot see.
Crashing the net and parking bodies in front of the net are always a good thing, regardless of the level of play. If you have a nice screen set up but the puck doesn’t go in the back of the net, your team should have multiple people surrounding the net so you are in a good spot to get rebounds and hopefully put the biscuit behind the netminder.
Another good skill that you and your team can develop is deflecting the puck.
Working on your hand-eye coordination will help with tips ins but it will also help with other parts of your game as well. Below is a great drill to work on deflections and shooting. Have a forward park at the faceoff circle with a collection of pucks. That forward should pass the puck to the defender and then crash the net.
That defender should take a nice wrist shot looking for a deflection from the forward. The forward should work on developing their hand-eye coordination to deflect pucks into the net.
Deflections can be a little unpredictable but if you can get decent at them you will have a general idea of the way you are deflecting the puck.
Pay attention to the angle of your hockey blade while deflecting.
If you have a low shot, one that is on the ice. You want to try and angle your blade open. This helps the puck elevate.
If you are deflecting a puck that is in the air it is a bit more difficult to hit the puck out of the air but the obvious choice is to deflect the puck down. This way you can squeak some goals in between the goalie’s arms, around the 2 and 3 holes.
Make a map that shows a team screen plays
How To Improve Your Wrist Shot
Like we said earlier, improving your shot will help you score more goals in hockey. The best shot to work on in my opinion is not the slapper, but instead the wrist shot.
I know in our league I always see guys warming up with these crazy slap shots. But there are always more wrist shots taken in a game than there are slappers.
A nice hard and quick wrist shot is deceptive and if you can develop your wrist shot you will have plenty of power and speed behind your shot to beat the goalie.
Wrist shots are all about technique.
They do involve some power but that is not everything. If you compare Dwayne the rock Johnson and Kucherov, its pretty obvious which one is stronger. But who do you think has a harder hockey shot?
It’s all about letting the stick do the work for you. Let the stick whip! WHHHACCKKASHHHA!
There is a distinct push and pull motion.
One key thing that has really helped my wrist shot improve is thinking about pushing my top hand out and away from my body before I go to actually add the power to my shot. This allows a lot more space for the stick to move and you can gain a lot more leverage this way. More leverage equals more power.
To add the power to your shot what you want to do is transfer your body weight and lean into your stick.
There are a few different tactics when it comes to putting your weight into the stick.
You can always go from one leg to another, that is a very traditional way. Starting with all your weight on the leg closest to your stick and transferring through your stride, landing on your opposite leg while taking your wrist shot.
But that is not the only way.
People like Austin Mathews, are always shooting off of one leg and doing it very well, he is just leaning his weight into his stick and transferring the power through it.
It all comes down to practice. Focus on your technique.
Coach Jeremy has a great series on how to improve your wrist shot and I highly recommend that you guys check it out.
What is the hardest shot for a goalie to stop in hockey?
The simple answer is one that they can not see. A screened goalie will have a much more difficult time stopping shots regardless of shot selection.
If you have the skill, goalies have a tough time defending backhand shots while you are skating across the ice. These are deceptive and difficult for the goalie to track.
The more consistent play is to screen a goalie and take a solid wrist shot that is about 1-2 feet off of the ice that is on the net. Preferably closer to the pipes than the center. This will put the goalie in an awkward position and lead you to scoring more goals.