No Red Lights: Hockey

It is a well known fact that one of the hardest shots to save are one-timers. Personally, I think this is for two main reasons:

1) one-timers are scary. They are fast, hard (depending on how skilled the forward is) and unforgiving (as in, the forward usually does not have much control over where that shot is going; so unforgiving insomuch as the forward can nail you in the ribs or head if you are not in proper position). So there is a higher chance that the goalie will flinch.. And if you flinch, you cannot watch the puck... And it is much harder to stop something hat you are not looking at.
2) The second reason I think one-timers are one of the most difficult shots to stop is because of the pass. The pass alone can beat the goalie, leaving the keeper with little or no chance of stopping the shot. Even though I am a strong advocate that the goalie can stop every puck, not all shots are created equal. In a well executed one timer, the goalie must move as quick as the pass, watch the pass in motion, watch the puck as it is shot, rotate to square up and also do all the little things right (stay in a good stance, stick on the ice, hands out, lean towards the puck and execute a good butterfly slide).

I hope you're starting to see why one timers are so tough!!A tip for the forwards: make a hard pass! The faster the pass is, then the less work your forward partner must do to score. If the pass is fast and can beat the goalie, your partner will had an open net. What you can control vs what the forward can control...The importance of skating is greatly overlooked in goaltending and may account for their lacking abilities. Again, like I have mentioned in other posts, the general "backward" thinking of a goalie probably contributes to the lack of attention towards goalie's skating skills.

There are two broad themes of goaltenders that most coach will be quick to point out: (1) be quick; don't get beat and (2) be patient; don't go down too early -- you all know you've said these two remarks about a goalie at some point or another -- what a stark contradiction!?! I only bring this up because to be good at staying patient and being quick, a goalie must be a good skater, and every goalie should work ok their skating. There is always much to work on. To the naked, untrained eye, the goalie's skating ability would not seem to be an extremely valuable and required asset.

So let's get technical: skating ability is important for two key reasons: balance and control. Being balanced allows the goalie to move quicker and in any direction. Balance is usually achieved through control. If you have ever heard the term, "control your edges," this sums it up perfectly. Let me explain; the skate has two edges: the inside and the outside edge. 95% of the time, a goalie is on their inside edge. Their whole game is basically played on the inside edge. This is because (at any given moment) they need to either go down in a butterfly or move laterally and both of these moves require the goalie to be on their inside edge. Being on the inside edge also balances the goalie (at least laterally - the goalie may still be too far forward or backward). To move laterally, the inside edge digs into the ice providing the edge of which to push off on. To go down, the skate must roll onto the inside of the foot, and therefore roll off of the inside edge. Because of this, having good inside edges, a result of good skating, will allow the goalie to have better control of their butterfly. There is also another function of balance - being equally balanced on each foot. Relying on one leg too much or a leg that is stronger than the other will cause a tendency.