Breakaway (ice Hockey)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A breakaway is a situation in
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
in which a player with the puck has no defending players, except for the
goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
, between himself and the opposing
goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
, leaving him free to
skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...
in and
shoot In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spri ...
at will (before the out-of-position defenders can catch him). A breakaway is considered a lapse on the part of the defending team. If a player's progress is illegally impeded by an opposing player or if the goalie throws his stick at the oncoming player, the breakaway player is awarded a
penalty shot A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
. If a player faces an empty net (i.e. the opposing team has pulled their goalie) and is illegally impeded by an opposing player, he is automatically awarded a goal for his team instead of taking a penalty shot.


Defense against a breakaway

*A theory about the best way for the goalie to react to a breakaway is called the "Y" theory. In this theory the goalie comes out to somewhere between halfway between the faceoff circle hashes and the crease or up to the hashes. From there the goalie lines up to the puck and skates backwards, following the puck. Based on the player's actions, the goalie can then drop and take the shot. If the player goes diagonally with the puck, the goalie splits off from going straight back and then goes diagonal either way. The "Y" comes from the going straight back and then the diagonal movement. That forms a "Y" representing how a goalie can potentially play that breakaway. *Another way the goalie can respond is to follow the blade of the stick. If it is more towards one side or the other, the goalie can usually anticipate where the shot is going to hit. *Yet another way is that if the shot is going to be high (can be determined if the stick blade is upright on the ice 90 degrees), the goalie can move up to cut off the angle on the player, and go down right before the shot is taken. This way, there is more of a chance that the puck will not go over the goalie into the net. *A goalie can go up to the player, dive down sideways, and collide with the player, forcing them to chip the puck over the goalie, or deke. Though this strategy for goalies can be risky, it can usually work, considering that usually the player's head is down looking at the puck, allowing the goalie to surprise the player. This term is collectively known as the "two-pad stack" or the "Hextall" because
Ron Hextall Ronald Jeffrey Hextall (born May 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and executive. He is the current general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hextall played 13 seasons for ...
was famous for diving and stacking the pads to take out opposing players' leg
(See at 1:25)
This is not recommended though at youth hockey levels as it can be very dangerous. *Until the mid-2010s, a way to avoid a particularly threatening breakaway (multiple skaters with no defenders approaching the net) would be to deliberately unseat the goalposts to stop play; although it was illegal, the resulting
penalty shot A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
would be contested with only one player (and be subject to the restrictions therein, such as continuously moving forward), reducing the chances of being scored upon. Most leagues began increasing the severity of the penalty on this tactic after goaltender
David Leggio David Leggio (born July 31, 1984) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Leggio is perhaps best known fo ...
exploited it twice; in North America, such a move will result in the goaltender being ejected from the game, while in Germany, the goal is automatically awarded.


See also

*
Goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
*
Overtime (ice hockey) Overtime is a method of determining a winner in an ice hockey game when the score is tied after regulation. The main methods of determining a winner in a tied game are the overtime period (commonly referred to as overtime), the shootout, or a com ...
*
Penalty shot (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal w ...


References

* {{cite book , first=Andrew , last=Podnieks , title=The Complete Hockey Dictionary , publisher=Fenn Publishing , year=2007 , isbn=978-1-55168-309-6 Ice hockey rules Ice hockey terminology Ice hockey strategy