Now, the above diagram shows my “X” defending against a puckcarrier shown as the “O”. My guy’s positioning is pretty good here, since he’s in between his man and our net, and he’s also holding something close to a 45-degree angle on that man.
When it comes to terminology, I say that my guy’s location — between his man and his own net — puts him on the Plus side of the play. (As an FYI here, his holding the 45-degree angle assures us that the puckcarrier is trapped towards the boards, and that he isn’t going to easily make his way to our goal.
However, here’s where things can sometimes get tricky — and go terribly wrong — in my Plus and Minus view of things… Very frequently, two rival players such as these get involved in a tussle along the boards. And, in the middle of that brief wrestling match, it’s a no-no if my guy at any point gets rolled towards the Minus side. And, all it takes is for the attacker to gain an advantage for a brief moment. For, if our guy does get rolled towards the Minus side, it’s quite likely our opponents will have something akin to a man-advantage from that point onward (as indicated by the green line in the sketch below).
Of course, these brief skirmishes can happen anywhere along the boards, in any of the three zones. Yes, I feel the situation is just as dangerous if our man loses his Plus side positioning far down behind our opponents’ net.
No comments:
Post a Comment