The Mighty Triangle

The mighty triangle is king. All season we have worked on our triangulation. We have played the triangle at the top of the Umbrella, around the net, on overloads, and as the forward and reverse funnel attack. We attack the offense in twos with a trailer to pass back to or to regain a lost puck. Using the triangle requires good passing skills, quick reaction, and total awareness of all available options. When you have control of the puck you are at the active pivot point of the triangle. Even if this is only for a brief moment, you now are in the position of picking your options. You have to be aware of these options and make decisions based on what you believe is your best bet to work towards your goal, or should I say the goal. In the end we all are working towards the goal. If your not, you probably won’t get there. If you happen to be one of the options to the player who has control of the puck, you need to get yourself in a position that is an advantage. Sometimes this means to step into open ice, and sometimes this means to get right into the thick of things. Sometimes standing in the open ice is no advantage to anyone. Some situations call for battling in the middle of chaos to take advantage of your opponent’s disarray, and or confusion. In some cases one point of the triangle can be the decoy acting as the best choice in order to draw an opponent out of position. Always keep your head up and on a swivel when playing one point of the triangle. If one point moves then at least one other point must compensate for this change of position to keep the triangle in tact. One thing you don’t want is a triangle to become a straight line, and then your options become easier for your opponent to cover. The other part of this is to notice how triangles form on the ice among five or four players. These are your options opening up and increasing. Triangles also help move goalies back and forth from post to post, and can leave a defenseman stranded out of position with the back door to the net wide open. Speed adds to the power of the triangle in moving the puck and moving positions. The fastest path is a straight line, but it is not often the best route. If it were, there wouldn’t be any steering wheels in cars. Think about that one for a while.