Cross Drop

Cones are placed at points of action to aid skaters. Player A passes to Player B who has skated into the high slot for a criss-cross action. Player B now skates with the puck around the bottom cone heading for the top cone. Player A at the same time is skating around the top cone heading for the bottom cone. Player B makes a drop pass to Player A between the cones, changing the direction of the puck. Player B continues to skate around the top cone while Player A skates around the bottom cone with the puck, both heading for the goal.

It is important that Player B is at least a little further than a goalie stick length from the goalie on the weak side so that a pass can not be poke checked away.

Player A meanwhile is skating to the goal trying to pull the goalie to the strong side and showing that he is going to shoot. If the goalie pulls to the strong side Player A passes to Player B for a one timer in the back door. If the goalie shows a hole then Player A takes the shot.

Russian Weave

Skaters are in 3 lines below the goal line, pucks start in the middle line. Skater 1 passes to Skater 2 wide then follows his pass to Skater 2's lane. Skater 3 skates forward to the blue line for puck support. Skater 2 cuts to the middle and passes to Skater 3. Skater 3 receives and passes the puck wide to Skater 1 and skates to the middle lane as Skater 2 continues to Skater 3's wide lane. Skaters continue to zig zag to the offensive zone and set up a triangle attack on goal. Variations: Regroup in the offensive zone and return to the original starting point goal for the triangle attack. Begin the next group as the 1st group is returning for their attack to create traffic and heads up play.

Cycle Offense

Skaters form 2 lines at center ice. At the directions of the leader the F1 shoots on goal long range. The goalie gains control and throws the puck to any corner he chooses. The strong side F picks up the puck and skates along the boards. The weak side F supports at net then supports in the corner. Strong side F cycles the puck off the boards about the hash mark of the face-off circle and immediately cuts to the net. The weak side F gains control of the puck and immediately gives an area pass to the other F who takes a shot on goal.

These offensive hockey plays will surely help your team with scoring. It will take a little time to learn them but once they players have mastered these plays, you team will be dangerous on offense.

This article is about offensive hockey plays. Three plays are explained so that the coach will be able to teach them to his players.

8. Fast Pace

The game of Hockey is played faster than any other sport. The tide of a game can change insanely fast. It only takes seconds for a goal to be scored. Hockey has less stoppage than any other mainstream sport. Basketball stops frequently, and football players take a 40-second break after every play.

Here is a video of 3 goals being scored in just a few minutes in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The momentum shift in these few minutes is epic.

If you're curious, the Canadians went on to win the series in game 7.

7. Team work

Hockey is a team sport. Yeah, so what? So are football, baseball, and basketball. In football, if everyone is not on the same page, a play will go bad and you lose a down. In basketball, if everyone isn't on the same page, the point guard will take it to the net himself. In baseball, you can just sit there, bored as hell, in the outfield, while your pitcher takes care of the would-be hitters.

In hockey, if your team is even the slightest bit off, a turn over can happen, and turnovers in Hockey, as in other sports, result often in goals. When you are playing a low scoring game such as hockey, a turnover goal can be a game ender.

Chief's goalie screws up the pass to his defenseman and pays the price. The amount of awareness and ability required to play a game together with your teammates should be held in higher respect in America.

6. The Hits

Yeah, there are some good football hits out there. Now just imagine if those players who were blind-sided by a linebacker were on ice! The carnage would be crazy! Too bad we don't have a sport like that.

Oh wait….

You'd think that America's thirst for violence on TV would make hockey the number one sport, eh?

5. The Fights

Are you kidding me? A brawl on the ice? I would watch that. Oh? It's called Hockey….Well, if you say so….

Although the NHL is trying to cut down on most fighting, it still happens. You can't crash into a team for 60 minutes and not evoke some anger. Here is a massive brawl between the Flyers and Senators. It lasts a few minutes and it's over….or is it?

Still not interested in hockey? Check out these clutch plays.

4. The Saves

Watching goalies stop pucks that can come at them at speeds over 100 miles per hour is impressive. Watching them go head over heels to make saves off of rebounds is flat out incredible. I'm not sure that there is any other sport out there that so much responsibility lies with one player, who gives so much to keep the rubber out of the net.

Could you do that?

3. The Goals

Ice skating is one thing, using a stick to rocket a hunk of rubber as hard as you can at a goal that is hardly larger than the goaltender is another thing altogether. Hockey players have to learn how to shoot both left and right handed, and behind the back (both ways again). Shooting left gives most players an advantage of shooting away from the goalies glove, but shot opportunities are not always available from the position you want them.

2. The History

Hockey has a rich, deep history, with great players such as Wayne Gretzky featured in this clip. NHL started in 1917 with just 4 teams, and now it has grown to 30 franchises.

The Improbable

Every sport has its insane moments. If the fights and hits weren't crazy enough for you, check out this. If this isn't the Hail Mary of Hockey, I'm not sure what is.

Hockey requires agility, strength, endurance, awareness, speed, reflexes, and years of training, just as any other sport does. People say hockey is boring, but how can they say that? Certainly, they haven't watched these clips.

I don't know you, or how much you enjoy your hockey, but I hope this article might change your mind about one of the greatest sports of all time.

The octopus first made its appearance at a hockey game on April 15, 1952 during the Redwings' Stanley Cup playoff run. Back then, there were only six NHL teams and to win the Stanley Cup required eight playoff victories (two best of seven series). Two brothers, Pete and Jerry Cusimano, who are the owners of a Detroit fish shop, threw the octopus onto the ice at the Olympia Stadium. The eight tentacles of the octopus were supposed to be symbolic of the eight wins that are needed to win the cup. The Red Wings won the series that year, and the squid or octopus has become the tradition ever since. The largest octopus ever to be thrown on the ice weighed fifty pounds! It was proudly displayed on the hood of the Zamboni while the ice was being cleaned in between periods.

Now there are thirty teams in the NHL and it takes sixteen victories to win the Stanley Cup. The crazy tradition still lives on, and probably will from now on, even though you could be thrown out of the game. The throwing of any object onto the ice in any arena is always prohibited. The risk of being thrown out for throwing squid or an octopus is much lower at the Joe Louis Arena, where the behavior is expected and unofficially encouraged. Like anything else, there are rules to follow when throwing the octopus! It should be boiled prior to the game to prevent it from sticking to the ice. Never throw it onto the ice while the game is being played. The appropriate time to throw a squid or octopus is directly following the singing of the National Anthem, after the Red Wings score a goal, or at the conclusion of the game.

So if you plan on attending a Detroit Red Wings game, do not be surprised to see flying octopus! Do not be alarmed if the arena smells like seafood, it is just the diehard fans showing their support!

Some powerful headshots by Pronger have caused only two one-game suspensions, plus injuries, but is it fair to get a longer suspension for stomping a leg even though the player was not injured? A long-term suspension should only be given for intentional misconducts which caused injuries. The Ducks' defenseman didn't even injure Kesler and the stomping happened while he was trying to get away from him. Brutal high-sticks and headshots that hurt players deserve to get big suspensions, but an incidental stomp should not.
Pronger hasn't got any longer suspension than this before even though this is his eighth. The incidents that have caused his past suspensions were even more brutal than this. Therefore, it is unfair to handicap the Ducks, who are vying for the playoff seed, by punishing their captain for almost the rest of the regular season.