That may seem like a strange statement unless
you understand
how the rink boards can be used to:
1.
Help you get out of trouble
in your defensive zone.
2.
Execute an offensive bank pass
3.
Generate a goal scoring opportunity.
Think of the rink as a pool table with the
boards surrounding the ice
acting like the rubber bumpers or side rails
surrounding the table.
If you shoot the puck at the boards it comes off
them at the angle
it hit the boards just like a pool bank shot.
The angle of incidence = the angle of
refraction.
A puck shot straight into the boards comes
straight out.
A puck shot at a 45 degree angle into the boards
comes off the
boards at a 45 degree angle.
This knowledge can be very beneficial if
explained and demonstrated to young players.
In your own defensive zone, a defenceman being
aggressively forechecked can bank the puck at a
45 degree angle behind the net to a defence
partner
in the opposite corner. The partner can then
move the puck out of his end with an accurate
outlet clearing pass to an open forward.
Wingers situated on the side boards in their
clearing play position can bank the puck off the
boards behind an opposition defenceman into the
neutral
zone to a breaking centre or winger to pick up
the pass on the fly.
As an offensive weapon a forward if over the red
line and meeting a defendercan shoot the puck
into a specific corner so it hits the boards and
comes straight
out off the boards to a breaking winger,
or centre cutting to the net.
The opportunities to use the boards to your
advantage and execute a bank or board pass are
endless. The good teams and creative players
will find ways to bank the puck around the
opposition to their open players.
