Special teams in hockey are vital to any team's success. The ability to score on the power play and to keep the opponent from scoring while short-handed is often the difference in winning a game or coming away with a win in a playoff series. Coaches may spend as much as 40 to 50 percent of their time in practice working on power play and penalty killing drills.
Wisconsin Power Play Drill
This drill is designed to give the offense options when attacking the net on the power play. In this drill, the defenseman near the blue line gets a pass from one of the wingers. As soon as the defenseman has the puck, he works his way towards the middle of the zone to create offensive options. If he discovers a lane to shoot the puck, he fires a slap shot on net. If his lane is blocked by an opponent, he passes the puck to a teammate on the boards. That teammate takes the puck with speed towards the slot. As soon as he gets a lane, he fires a shot on net.
Tip Drill
In this drill, the forward has the puck in the corner of the ice. He fires the puck back to the defenseman, who in turn passes the puck to his defensive partner. The second defenseman is located near the blue line as close to the center of the zone as possible. He fires the puck at the goal. One of the forwards goes to the front of the net and keeps his stick blade on the ice. He attempts to deflect the puck past the goaltender. This is one of the primary ways goals are scored on the power play.
Protect the Lanes Drill
The penalty killers must prevent unimpeded shots from the point from getting to the net. This requires the forwards who are on the penalty kill to stay in the lanes. Great patience is required on the part of the forwards to stay in a steady position and to not allow themselves to be drawn out of position. One of the forwards may be tempted to leave their station to try and keep one of the opposing forwards from getting an open shot down low. However, that is the defenseman's responsibility on the penalty kill. By staying in the lane, the penalty killing forwards prevent the unimpeded shot. The key to this drill is the defensive players holding their position as the puck moves around the ice.
Diamond Penalty Kill Forecheck
The goal of this drill is to force a turnover by aggressively forechecking the puck carrier. In this drill, the primary forechecker will skate at the puck carrier and try to force him to the right or left boards so that his primary option is to pass the puck back to the middle of the ice. The secondary forechecker must anticipate this pass and time his drive to the offensive zone to coincide with that pass. If the defending forward times the pass correctly, he can intercept the puck while skating at full speed and create a short-handed scoring opportunity.
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