Ice hockey Goalies

Hi, this essay will introduce you to the interesting ways of the ice hockey goalie. The goaltender or

“Goalie” is the player on the ice with the responsibility to keep the puck out of the net. Throughout this

essay, you will explore the basics of goaltending, the equipment needed to be a goalie, advanced

techniques, the path to becoming an NHL net-minder, and records set by some of the greatest

professional goalies.

The Basics:

If you want to be a goalie, there are basic maneuvers and rules you have to learn and become familiar

with. Generally, most goalies use the “butterfly”. The butterfly is use to stop down low pucks. To do a

butterfly, drop down to your knees. Next, you put both your knees together, and spread apart your feet.

Now, your legs should be in a nice “V” shape. If they are not, try again, and if they are, nice work. There

are rules specifically made for goalies.

The goalie is not aloud to handle the puck outside of the trapezoid behind the net. If he/she does, the

goalie will get a penalty. In the event that a goalie gets a penalty, a player on the goalies team will have to

serve the penalty for him/her. Another rule is that the goalie cannot control the puck past the blue line.

The blue line separates your team’s zone with the center ice. The other team also has a blue line. The

goalie will also get penalized for any physical contact with another player.

Goalie Equipment:

In ice hockey, the goaltender wears specialized goaltending equipment to protect him from the impact of

the puck and assist him in making saves. The blocker is worn on the hand that holds the stick. It consists

of a glove with a rectangular board attached to the backhand side. The Blocker is used to protect your

hand and wrist from pucks and sticks. The trapper, catcher, or catch glove is the glove worn on the free

hand. It is similar to a baseball mitt, but it is much more protective and has a deeper pocket. This glove

can be used to protect your hand, as well as catch pucks up high. The chest and arm protector or arm

and body pad is designed to protect the chest, shoulders, arms, and collarbone area from pucks and
sticks. It is worn under the hockey jersey. This pad has progressively become more and more protective

in recent years. A goalie jock, which protects the pelvic area, is more protective than a common jockstrap,

though it generally uses the same internal plastic cup. The jock is padded to spread an impact over a

larger area and rests on the legs, and is more bulky. Many modern Jocks use two cups, one in front of the

other, in order to provide more protection. Goalies wear special leg pads. The pads are typically 10 to 12

inches (25–30 cm) wide and extend 4 to 8 inches (10–20 cm) above the knee. Leg pads have evolved

significantly over the years. Different pad styling accommodate the different styles of playing goal. The

traditional leg pad style was designed with the stand up goaltender in mind. A newer design is meant for

goalies who play in the butterfly style. The newer pads have built-in knee support that allows the goalie to

be higher off of the ice when in the butterfly. These type of pads offer more flexibility, contouring to help in

defending the five hole. Typically, they are longer than the traditional style, in order to cover the five hole

while the goalie goes down in to the butterfly. In recent years goalies have tended to wear the pads loose.

The first commonly used goalie masks were made of solid fiberglass with holes for the eyes, nose, mouth,

and for ventilation.

Today, most goalies don masks made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, and other composite materials. Modern

masks have a large cutout in the eye and nose area covered by a steel or titanium cage. This mask was

developed by goalie Dave Dryden in the early 1980s. Many goalies are able to be identified by the custom

artwork airbrushed on their masks. Some maintain the same theme throughout their career, changing the

colors to match their team's colors. Examples include Curtis Joseph's Cujo, Ed Belfour's eagle, Felix

Potvin's abstract cat design, or Patrick Lalime's Marvin the Martian. Some goalies have more generic

team-specific artwork, while others vary the artwork over the course of their careers. An alternative to the

mask is the helmet and cage combo, which consists of a wire facemask attached to a standard hockey

helmet. This became popular during the 1970s since a cage provides better sightlines than a molded

fiberglass mask. Its popularity peaked during the 1980s, yet started to decline during the 1990s, as

hockey equipment manufacturers discontinued the production of helmets and cages favored by

goaltenders. By the turn of the 21st century, only a few professional goalies still wore a helmet/cage

combo. Included in this small group are Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings and

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Dan Cloutier. Goalies' protective short pants are similar to the pants
forwards and defensemen wear. They have heavy padding in the thigh area with lighter padding in the

back and sides covering the back of the thighs, tailbone, buttocks, and waist.

Goal skates are different from regular hockey skates. The blade is longer, wider, and flatter to provide the

goalie with more stability. It is made out of carbon steel rather than stainless steel. The blade is shorter

vertically so that the goaltender is lower to the ice. These are used to protect a goalies feet. Last but not

least, is the goalie stick. Like a player stick it has a shaft. Half way down the shaft it goes into a paddle,

then at the end is a blade. Although traditional goalie sticks were usually made completely of wood, most

modern sticks are reinforced with graphite and fiberglass and the paddle and blade are injected with foam

to make them lighter. Recently, manufacturers have begun to produce sticks made completely from

composite materials, which are more durable.

Advanced techniques:

One of the most powerful weapons in the goalies arsenal is his/her ability to freeze the puck. If a player

from the other team hits the goaltender without making an attempt to get out of his way, the offending

player may be penalized. In some leagues, if a goalie's stick breaks, he can continue playing with a

broken stick until the play is stopped, unlike other players who must drop any broken sticks immediately.

Goalies may catch or hold a puck shot at the net to better control how it re-enters play. When the

goaltender wants to poke the puck away from an opposing player, he quickly slides his hand up the stick,

thrusting forward towards the puck. This is a risky play, and occasionally the goaltender will miss and the

puck-carrier will be left with an unguarded net. When a goaltender is on the angle, often a sudden pass

close to the net will leave the net relatively unguarded. Stacking the pads is a desperation move in which

the goaltender slides feet-first, with legs together towards the potential shooter, attempting to cover as

much space as possible. In a proper stance, the goaltender has the weight on the balls of his feet, the

trapper and blocker just above knee-height.

NHL Goalie Records:

Lots of great professional goalies set records along the years. Terry Sawchuck holds the record for most

shutouts in a season (103). The goaltender with the most wins in an NHL career is Patrick Roy with 551

wins. There is two great net-minders tied for most playoff shutouts, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy (22).

The goalie with most career playoff wins is again, Patrick Roy (151). The high aceiving goalie with most

Stanley cup wins is Ken Dryden (6). The goalkeeper with the lowest Goals Against Average in a career is

Gary Hainsworth (1,911).

Now that you hav read this essay you will know enough to be a full gear NHL net-minder. You the basics

of goaltending, the equipment you need and its uses, advanced goaltending techniques, and NHL records

set by the professionals. Hopefully, this essay has inspire you to be a goalie in the future.