Neutral Zone Forecheck 1-2-2 Mid Lane Lock: Module 3.1 Video 51

(Transcribed from How to Play Hockey: Our Minor Hockey Coaching Course.)

Our next neutral zone forecheck is known as the 1-2-2, but with the ‘mid lane lock.’ The mid lane being the middle of the ice and the lock giving you the idea that we’re going to try to lock it down and decrease the space available almost centrally cutting the ice in half.

Example:

• The opposing D1 is skating up ice with the puck and we have the 1-2-2 set up.
• Our F1 is going to try to angle and force the opposing D1 to the boards and also with his/her stick prevent a back pass or a wide pass.Trying to mirror and you might try to come in as flat as possible and get that D1 to go where you want.
• As the play starts to come up ice F2 who is strong side is ready to jump on any kind of pass or the opposing D1 if they decide to skate the puck.
• We are really trying to hold the red line again, as a common theme in all of these neutral zone forechecks.
• Our F3 who is on the weak side can then start to come over and help close things off in that mid lane, acting as a shift once the F2 makes his/her move.

So now we have F1 lower who has forced the opposing D up ice. F2 has jumped and forced a play just before the red line along the wall. F3 has shifted over taking up the middle of the ice to break up any passing play, or collecting the puck if it pops out in that area.

We’ve started to close off this house of the ice. If somehow the pass gets through both of the FWD’s over to the weak side, this weak side D2 is going to have to be conscious of that area of the ice and be ready to hold the line and peel off. Our D1 is in position that if we can force this chip or turn over to come on the strong side wall then they collect the puck.

So it’s a 1-2-2 closing off half of the ice, congesting things, trying to hold first of all the red line and second of all the blue line. Preventing the mid lane and the cross ice pass, wide through the middle with the weak side D2 being conscious that this might happen if they do have somebody going up the far side.

That’s the 1-2-2 neutral zone mid ice lock!

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