Angling Stations

Foxhunt is a fun tag game that challenges a group of players to race to catch the Fox and take the puck. It is a competitive race that can help with under-handling the puck, conditioning & edgework. It can be set up in a variety of ways depending on the skill level of your players. Add additional obstacles or turns for advanced players. Below we will discuss the setup, coaching points & variations.

Setup

• Put the fox, with a puck at an advantage. Depending on the skill & speed of the Fox, you can give them more or less of an advantage. 
• In this example, we started the fox at the top of the circles and the chasers were at the goal line.
• Can use 1 to 4 chasers. We have found that 3 is a good number.
• On the whistle, the fox races around the net, while the chasers try to catch up and steal the puck.
• The fox attempts to skate two laps and get to the goal line before the puck is stolen.
• Get reps out of both sides so players work on different edges!
• Rotate through foxes & chasers. 

Coaching Points

• Encourage the fox to under handle the puck so they can focus on their speed (push the puck ahead so players can take full strides instead of stickhandling with short strides).
• Encourage the chasers to keep their sticks on the ice and angle the fox and go stick on puck as they get closer.
• Encourage both the fox & the chasers to try to gain speed as they cross over.

Variations

• Call the Fox whatever you like! We have also used the name Turkey Chase. 
• Can vary the number of chasers.
• Can give the fox a bigger or smaller advantage depending on their skill & speed.
• Can add additional turns so players are making turns on both edges during one lap.
• For more skilled players, you can require the fox & chasers to skate through an obstacle course (include tires, cones or a defender that tries to poke check them halfway through).
• Can reward the fox with a shot on the net at the end.

The 1 v 1 Angle Around The Net Drill is an excellent drill to practice forechecking angling for forwards and puck retrievals for defencemen. Forwards and defenceman should get reps at both positions.

Drill Objective: The goal of the game is for the defenceman to collect the puck and skate the puck through the cones. They can go in front of or behind the net. A forward can score a point by stripping the puck from the defenceman and scoring a goal on net. It is a draw if the puck goes out of play. The game starts for the defenseman when the coach chips the puck into the corner. When the coach bangs his stick on the ice, the forechecker starts. 

Angling Coaching Points:

1. Stick on the ice (to help you angle, intercept a pass, or go stick on stick to take the puck away).
2. Match the speed of the player you are chasing.
3. Take a proper angle (as pictured in the diagram) so the player can not easily turn back up ice. 

Puck Retrieval Coaching Points:

1. Look over your shoulder to see where the pressure is
2. Retrieve puck at an angle. This will allow you to keep your speed up while you collect the puck. 
3. Use deception to shake off your forechecker. Use your skates, hips, shoulders, head, or stickhandle maneuvers to make the forechecker think you are doing something else with the puck.

Variations:

1. Can be set up as a station, on half-ice, or on a studio rink.
2. The coach can give the defenseman a smaller or larger head start.
3. Can move the cones to be further away (so there is more skating) or so the goal is larger or smaller to skate through.
4. Can add a goalie.
5. Can give an extra point to the defenseman for making a pass to a player or coach that is breaking out.

This is a station drill that only uses 1/4 of the ice surface so it is great for station based or ADM practices. It is a simple drill but teaches players about how to angle properly. The offensive players will start with a puck and slalom through the cones and then try to attack the net. The defensive player will go around the cone and try to time it so that they are able to angle the offensive player to the boards.

Coaching Points

• The defender should keep stick on the ice on the ice at all times.
• The defender should use stick position and proper angle to discourage offensive player from cutting back to middle of the ice.
• The defender should match the speed of the player they are chasing and check their hands into the wall.

This is a great game that allows the players a chance to work on puck protection and awareness.

Set Up

Designate the 1/3 of the players as defenders. For example If you have 9 players then select 3, if you have 12 players then select 4. These defenders will not have a puck. The rest of the players are spread out with pucks within the playing area.

How to Play

Players with the pucks are chased by the defenders. They can go anywhere in the zone and they are trying to maintain possession of their puck. The defenders are roaming the playing area and trying to knock the puck away from the other players. When a player loses their puck they have to exit the game, and the defenders stay on to try to steal the puck from the remaining puck carriers. The coaches need to be judges and let players know when they are out. The last player to maintain possession is the winner of the round.

The Double Gates Activation Game from Coach Alyssa Gagliardi is a competitive small area game that starts out as a 1 on 1 and becomes a 2 on 1 after a player skates through one of the gates. This can also be modified to be a 2 on 2 that becomes a 3 on 2.

Setup

• Place a gate (gates can be made by tires, cones, etc) on each side of the net. This will create two gates and two options for the offensive player to skate though. 
• Place one forward and one defender in one of the corners or circles.
• Place an additional player at the high slot or point.
• To start: a coach chips a puck in the corner to begin a 1 on 1 battle. 
  • The forward is trying to first skate through a gate. Once the forward skates through the gate, they are able to pass it to the open player at the point to begin a 2 on 1. The offensive team is trying to score a goal.
  • The defender is trying to strip the puck during the 1 on 1 and/or the 2 on 1 and skate out of the zone.
• The coach can stop the play when there is a goal, the defender skates the puck out of the zone, the goalie freezes the puck or enough time has passed (15 - 30 seconds).

Coaching Points

• Offensive player:
  • Look over your shoulder to see where the pressure is coming from.
  • Do not expose the puck until you are ready to make a play. Use the net and the boards to protect the puck!
  • Keep head up to be aware of where the gates are and the extra player is.
• Defending player:
  •  Work on taking a good angle.
  • Keep your stick on the ice to go after the puck and to block passing lanes.

Game Variations

• Can allow the forward to immediately try to score a goal, or you can require them to first go through the gate before they can score. Either way, if they go through the gate the other forward is activated.
• Can set up gates in different areas of the ice.
• Can add gates at the blueline that the defense needs to skate through instead of skating over the blueline. 
• Can start the game in different areas of the zone.
• Can setup the game in smaller areas of the ice (example - 1/4 ice instead of 1/2 ice.)
• Can be modified to be a 2 on 2 that becomes a 3 on 2 (diagram displayed below)

Video Example of 2 v 2 Here

The 3v3 Angler Game (can also be done 2v2) starts off with a coach spotting a puck towards one side of the ice. In this diagram, it's towards the red team.

Three red players go and they have to go behind and around the net. Three blue players go and they are trying to angle the red player with the puck to create a turnover.

The angler is trying to use their stick to force the puck carrier where they want them to go and then close - stick on puck - body - and create the turnover.

After this initial angle, it's a straight up 3v3 cross ice game. 

63 Drills to Work on Angling

Angling in Hockey to Dictate Play