The five-hole is an

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 ...

term for the space between a

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 ...

's legs. The name and its first recorded usage was in 1976 by Flyer Reggie Leach The phrases ''through the five-hole'' and ''gone five-hole'' are used when a player scores by shooting the puck into the

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 ...

between the goaltender's legs. The term is also used in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

, and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

Origin

When a goaltender stands in the net in the ready position, there are five open areas (and two closed) that the goalie must cover. #Glove side, high This area is defined by the goaltender's arm and glove on the bottom, mask on the inside, and the post and top of the goal on the outside. #Glove side, low This area is defined by the goaltender's arm and glove on the top, the ice on the bottom, and the outside post of the goal. During a butterfly-style save, this area is closed off completely and the glove is typically stacked on top of the leg pad as the leg is extended to cover the post. #Stick side, high This area is defined by the goal post, top of the goal, and the goalie's arm and stick. The top half of the goaltender's stick is held in this area but is not commonly used for stopping the puck. #Stick side, low This area is the lower half of the stick side, defined by the stick and arm, the ice, and the outer post of the goal. During a butterfly-style save, this area is also covered by the leg pad with the blocker stacked on top to protect against low shots. When a goaltender is standing, the paddle of the stick (i.e. its handle) is used to cover this area and to deflect the puck away from the net. #Five-hole The fifth area is between the goalie's leg pads and skates. This area is protected by the blade of the stick at all times and is closed up by the upper leg pads when the goalie is in the butterfly position. The reason for naming this location ''five-hole'' comes from Canadian bowling, which uses 5 pins, the centremost of which is worth 5 points. This pin is often called the 5-pin. When the 5-pin is knocked down without hitting any other pins, the hole left in the middle is known as the 5-hole.

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References

{{Reflist Ice hockey terminology