(Transcribed from How to Play Hockey: Our Minor Hockey Coaching Course.)
In this video of neutral zone possession we’re going to discuss the difference between a neutral zone regroup which we showed in the last video and a quick counterattack. And I think the easiest way to conceptualize this, is our team has gone back to retrieve a loose puck and then has had time and space to plan a route and get open to support each other and go. A counterattack, a quick up or rapid attack might happen if the other team is carrying the puck through the neutral zone and loses it.
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Example:
The opposing team is coming up ice towards our defensive zone. Their puck carrying F1is attacking our D1, he/she makes a pass attempt and gives it away or our D1 has a good stick and causes him/her to lose it.
We mentioned earlier that the backside pressure is really important. If our FWD’s are lazy they’re not there to help out. So rather as we’re back checking hard through the middle of the ice, and we win possession. How quickly can we turn and get going the other way? It requires probably a quick open pivot and boom right up and we’re gone. And if there are teams going one way and we’re counter attacking the other way then we’re going to get an opportunity. The C probably wants to curl quickly and jump rather than taking one of these big looping skates from the regroup. The weak side W also wants to adjust, maybe opening up and cutting across or if it happens really quickly then driving the net and attacking the offensive zone.
The key to a counterattack versus a regroup is most likely in a game that we have stolen the puck back from a team that’s attacking against us and we move it quickly. Again, a turnover happens, maybe we make a D to D and up, but most likely it’s probably quick up the middle to the C or quick up the wall to the W and away we go.
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