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Pyramid of Doom
Contributor: Michael Dell, LCS Hockey.
Emphasis: For shooters: shot release. For goaltenders: lateral movement and rebound control.
Age Level: Um, whatever...
This is a little something I like to call "The Pyramid of Doom". It's half drill,
half party game... a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It's good for
when you don't have enough guys to play a game but want to do more than just
shoot around. And it could also be listed as a goaltending drill, too, because
it helps all invovled. Sort of like the Red Cross...
You need three shooters and one goalie. The shooters form a pyramid in front of the
netminder, with one near the bottom of the right circle, one near the bottom of the left circle, and one at the middle point (see diagram at right).
The object of the drill is for the shooters to try and score against the goalie while using no more than two passes. If the shooters score, they get a point. If the goaltender freezes the puck, he gets a point. The game usually runs to 10, win by two.
The thing is that the shooters aren't allowed to move around. They have to stay
in their original positions. The pointman is allowed to collapse a bit, but there's no cutting to the posts for tap-ins. Once a shot is taken, the shooters can then go to the net for a rebound. But they can't leave until the first shot is launched.
If a shot misses the net, the puck gets collected and the offense has two more passes to work with to try and score.
So here's an example of how it would all work. The pointman starts things off with the puck out high. He has three options:
1) Take the shot.
2) Pass to the left winger.
3) Pass to the right winger.
If he takes the shot, the wingers collapse on net for the rebound.
If the puck gets moved to the left winger, he can either take the shot himself, move the puck back to the point for the shot, or go across to the right winger for the shot. But a shot must come after that second pass. Even if the pass isn't handled properly, whoever accepts the second pass must shoot. And he has to do so from his position, he is not allowed to skate it in on net.
This is an excellent drill for the shooters since it stresses swift puck movement and
one-timers. It will help cement the idea that a quick release is gold.
This is also a great drill for goaltenders because it forces them to move with the passes and go post-to-post in preparation for one-timers. The goaltender gets quite the workout. And the two-pass limit doesn't allow the shooters to hang the goalie out to dry with one too many passes.
Face it, you just can't go wrong with "The Pyramid of Doom".
Variations:
To bring even more fun to the preceedings, refer to the goaltender as "Dr. Jones" and the shooters as "Short Round". Then whenever the goalie makes a big save, someone has to yell, "You cheat, Dr. Jones!"
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