Defense to Offense

While I’m writing this post there is a large snow band working it’s way south toward the city. It has already dumped over two feet of snow up north and closed down pretty much everything. Super Bowl 41 is over. Apparently orange doesn’t have the same effect in football as it does in hockey. It was a very strange game as far as mistakes were concerned. I’ve been thinking a lot about what brings a team to a higher level of play. I believe it has a lot to do with the level of competition. We were successful again this afternoon, but I left the rink with a lot of mixed feelings about the game. I’ve been working on tightening up the defense recently and have been pleased with the results. Now it’s time to work on the entire teams’s neutral zone game. The defense has been able to hold the puck in the offensive zone, and break out of our defensive zone quicker, but the neutral zone quick regroup and attack have issues. The defense also has improved their passing to set up the attack, but we need to quicken the offense’s shots as they enter the offensive zone. I’d like to see the tempo of the attack become our advantage. On the other hand there are times when the defense has successfully maintained control of the puck to open up the ice while moving through the neutral zone allowing the offense to regroup. Today I watched as one of our defensemen carried the puck into the neutral zone while drawing the other teams forwards out of position. He took his time, watched and waited for the other team to close the gap. Once he had drawn them over he made a very nice pass to one of the forwards who carried the puck into the offensive zone. He took his time, read the situation and made a smart pass. This was a bit like a lacrosse goalie walking the ball up field looking for a open man while the opponent's attackmen move in to force the pass. It’s the small things I like to see work. When the players make smart decisions based on the moment you know they are thinking and confident in their game play. After a couple bad checks some player’s emotions were starting to get the best of them. Although some coaches may try to funnel this emotion as drive to work hard, I’d rather see the players settle and play smart. I want to see them calm down and focus on playing their game. A hard-hitting team can get under the skin of some players and take them off their game. Generally I prefer to see the officials tighten up the calls and keep the game under control. Most refs around here are pretty good about this. Getting back to the offense, I have pretty good forwards that can do a lot as long as the defense keep the puck out of our defense zone and deep in the offensive zone. Now that the defense is breaking out faster and making better use of the points, we can focus on our transition through the neutral zone and get quicker shots as we enter the offensive zone while attacking the net for the rebounds and loose pucks. Shots from the points have set up some nice scoring opportunities that have been productive. Some of our players made scoring goals look easy today, but I also noted that they were making good passes and skating hard to get the puck to the net. I rotated some of the forwards and defense today as I did yesterday. I think every player should be able to cover any position on the ice especially when cycling the puck and back checking. I saw a lot of good things this weekend. There’s a lot of talent and heart here moving the team forward. Not a bad week for hockey, just a lot of snow and cold.