DEFENSEMAN There are two defensemen on the ice, one to cover the left side of the ice and another to cover the right. Very rarely will you not see two defensemen on the ice during play. A 4-on- 3 power play or 3-on-3 play is perhaps the most common times a team will only have one player playing defense. Defensemen are tasked with forcing turnovers out of the opponent's forwards and keep the line of sight clear for the goalie, so he can see and stop shots coming his way. Defensemen are also asked to block shots frequently to prevent them from getting to the goaltender. In the offensive zone you will see defensemen guarding what are known as the "points". The "point" refers to the area where the blue line meets the boards inside an attacking zone. The next time you hear a broadcaster say "shoots from the point" this is the "point" he's usually referring to. Not only are defensemen usually the toughest guys on the ice (enduring the most body checks from opponents, blocking shots without goalie gear, skating more minutes on average than a forward) they also can possess some of thehardest slap shots on the team. This makes defensemen perfect for putting hard slap shots in on net from the point position. They are far enough away that they can get the shot off, and they hit the shot so hard that even if a goalie sees the defenseman he may not see the shot whizz right by him.
FORWARDS In a normal situation of 5-on-5 hockey there will be three forwards on the ice, a center, a left wing and a right wing. The center’s job is to take the faceoffs attempting to win control for his team right away on any given play and act as a rover of support between more offensive minded players and the defensive minded players. Wingers are more offensively based players who will use the flanks to create havoc on an opponent’s defensive core to try and score goals. Depending on the zone a line expects to play in or what kind of situation the game is in (power play, penalty kill etc.) it may be more beneficial to have an “off-handed” winger, which is a left-handed shot playing right wing. It all goes into a coach’s strategy on how he chooses to set up his lines. Three forwards are usually kept together throughout the game, so they can build good chemistry while on the ice. If a team goes down a man because of a penalty you will often see less forwards on the ice. A 5-on- 4 power play would see the team playing shorthanded utilize two forwards and two defensemen. Conversely, a team on the power play could send out more forwards to try and capitalize on the man advantage.
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