Equipment Needed
- One puck per pair
Keep pucks in every lane
A bulk bag of practice pucks means every pair gets their own puck for gap-control reps.
Shop Practice Pucks on Amazon As an Amazon Associate, FreeCoachingDrills.com earns from qualifying purchases.Setup
- Pair players up in a marked lane.
- One skater carries the puck, the other defends.
Instructions
- The puck carrier skates the length of the lane at a controlled pace.
- The defender skates backward, keeping a stick's-length gap, staying square to the carrier.
- Switch roles at the end of the lane.
- Gradually increase the carrier's speed as the defender's backward skating improves.
Coaching Points
- Keep the gap small enough to pressure, but not so close you can be skated around.
- Stay square to the puck carrier's chest, not their stick or the puck.
- Backward crossovers to stay in front, not just straight backward strides.
Variation
Add a second lane and a lateral move for the carrier to work on angling instead of straight-line gap control.