Beating people to the inside?

Wachovia Center

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Dec 2, 2006
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Just got done playing hockey, and I'm very frustrated right now.

I'm a fast skater, decent puckhandler, good at passing and can beat people to the outside 75% of the time, I just can't beat them to the inside. Anybody have any tips or suggestions?

(if it helps I'm short, and more of a playmaker than a sniper)
 

McNasty

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Jan 20, 2007
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Also you have to remember that the defender is trying to keep you to the outside. Ideally you would make him bite on some sort of move and turn him outside or at least get him to stop moving his feet. Then you could either toe drag or put it between his skates and stick something to that effect. I'm not sure how old you are, but once you hit 15 or so 1 on 1s are tough if a dman has good positioning and is moving his feet.
 

Wachovia Center

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Dec 2, 2006
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Also you have to remember that the defender is trying to keep you to the outside. Ideally you would make him bite on some sort of move and turn him outside or at least get him to stop moving his feet. Then you could either toe drag or put it between his skates and stick something to that effect. I'm not sure how old you are, but once you hit 15 or so 1 on 1s are tough if a dman has good positioning and is moving his feet.

Just turned 16.

I've been trying to do that, just not successful, I think I'm a little impatient with the puck, and try to force my way around people. I think maybe sometimes I need to wait for the defenseman to make a mistake and capitalize on it

Thanks for the help everyone. :)
 

Muttley*

Guest
Just got done playing hockey, and I'm very frustrated right now.

I'm a fast skater, decent puckhandler, good at passing and can beat people to the outside 75% of the time, I just can't beat them to the inside. Anybody have any tips or suggestions?

(if it helps I'm short, and more of a playmaker than a sniper)

Are you a winger?


How about bouncing the puck towards the boards, forcing him to go after it, and then you skate right around him and grab the puck as it rebounds off the boards. (If he's a good defenseman, he won't fall for this)

How about acting like YOU REALLY WANT TO GO TO THE OUTSIDE, and then come to a complete stop and then change direction and cut to the inside. Hopefully he will still be skating to the outside and then you have him beat. Try to fool him with your eyes/head and learn to lean your body one way and then quickly move the other way.

If you still can't do it, just concentrate on moving to the outside and learning to turn your head to find your teammates so you can pass to them and be the playmaker that you are.
 

Wachovia Center

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Dec 2, 2006
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Are you a winger?
Right wing/ center


How about bouncing the puck towards the boards, forcing him to go after it, and then you skate right around him and grab the puck as it rebounds off the boards. (If he's a good defenseman, he won't fall for this)
I do this sometimes if we're both close to the boards.

How about acting like YOU REALLY WANT TO GO TO THE OUTSIDE, and then come to a complete stop and then change direction and cut to the inside. Hopefully he will still be skating to the outside and then you have him beat. Try to fool him with your eyes/head and learn to lean your body one way and then quickly move the other way.
I do this a lot, and it usually works, but it's the only way I know to get to the inside, and I don't have the best acceleration.

If you still can't do it, just concentrate on moving to the outside and learning to turn your head to find your teammates so you can pass to them and be the playmaker that you are.
This is what I usually do.

Thanks for the help =)
 

Reckless Abandon*

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Is he hitting you off the puck usually, or using his stick?
 

Muttley*

Guest
Right wing/ center


I do this sometimes if we're both close to the boards.

I do this a lot, and it usually works, but it's the only way I know to get to the inside, and I don't have the best acceleration.

This is what I usually do.

Thanks for the help =)

Practice your skating. Do it on your own time, not just team practice. If you can make yourself a superior skater and go faster than most people, you will simply skate around people because they don't have time to react. And you'll make them feel stupid. I play defense and the thing that gets me beat is a forwards speed ONLY. I never fall for their dekeing, pivoting, stopping, changing directions or other fancy moves because I follow the body and not the puck.

You might have to beat them with speed rather than just puck handling.
 

Muttley*

Guest
Right wing/ center


I do this sometimes if we're both close to the boards.

I do this a lot, and it usually works, but it's the only way I know to get to the inside, and I don't have the best acceleration.

This is what I usually do.

Thanks for the help =)

There you go. Make yourself better at acceleration and it will make you a better all around player. Skating, skating & skating. Then everything else falls into place. Then you will beat the defenseman on the instide & outside.

I'm a small player and the only way I was allowed to play D was when I was told I need to be a better skater. That's exactly what I did and I usually almost always beat people to the puck. Everybody goes to hockey camps, clinics etc, but they never practice just skating. I go to at least one public skate once a week.
 

Quagmier

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Feb 6, 2003
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Also you have to remember that the defender is trying to keep you to the outside. Ideally you would make him bite on some sort of move and turn him outside or at least get him to stop moving his feet. Then you could either toe drag or put it between his skates and stick something to that effect. I'm not sure how old you are, but once you hit 15 or so 1 on 1s are tough if a dman has good positioning and is moving his feet.

That is pretty much what beating someone to the inside is all about
the keys to getting a dman to bite to the outside are:
1- Be patient. If you make your move to early, the d-man wont feel the pressure to react and thus will just wait for you to come at him. Waiting till your up close and almost parallel with him will make him have to anticipate your next move and thats when a deke becomes most effective (i.e. like 1 on 1 with a goalie...make them make the first move)
2- Know what you're going to do. The key in making your move is a smooth transition from the move outside to the move inside. Make your decision to go inside and then stick with it, so you can operate at full speed throughout your rush.
3- work on a couple of moves and build a repetoire. Don't just have one failsafe move, make sure you can fool the defense in other ways.

- The classic move is the fake to outside put the puck under the stick /between the skates/toe drag. This move really works best when you have more momentum than the D man...if not the D will often be right there after the move
- My personal favorite (and a really underrated move) is the fake wrist shot/drag to the inside. Kinda like the one Kovalev scored against team USA (only with 80000% less hard a cut or skill). Keep your head up and pull the puck back as if you're about to take a shot. The D-man will most likely stick his stick out and tighten up his shin pads to block the shot. Instead of shooting, push the puck with your tophand to the inside and duck down to avoid his check...chances are you'll have a clear lane

If you're fast (and can beat most guys to the outside) practice starting to the outside and then cutting hard inside. If you can make a dman feel insecure about giving the outside, he'll overcompensate and lean back too much, leaving more space to the inside

Hope that helps
 

hexrae

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Jun 29, 2006
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stick

thanks again everyone, very helpful stuff. :handclap:

In that case work on your moves. But at your age continue your all-around growth (Speed, acceleration and strength). Plus, you have to know what your great at and expose it. We can't have it all and you need to know that.
 

Hank19

Registered User
Apr 11, 2005
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1
Just got done playing hockey, and I'm very frustrated right now.

I'm a fast skater, decent puckhandler, good at passing and can beat people to the outside 75% of the time, I just can't beat them to the inside. Anybody have any tips or suggestions?

(if it helps I'm short, and more of a playmaker than a sniper)


One move I love to do is take a step to the outside while bring the puck out with you, then quickly shifting back to the inside while dragging the puck, one-handed, back through the defender.
Of course, this move never works for me as I suck. But in theory it's sound. ;)
 

JLHockeyKnight

IMA Real American
Apr 19, 2006
19,438
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North Central Jersey
One move I love to do is take a step to the outside while bring the puck out with you, then quickly shifting back to the inside while dragging the puck, one-handed, back through the defender.
Of course, this move never works for me as I suck. But in theory it's sound. ;)

Yeah I can sometimes pull moves, lol, but I can't score for my life(I do get decent shots off though when I do shoot, just can't finish haha). So I just pass. But yeah, quick cut outside then inside works, or you can always cut outside, accelerate, and when you get behind the defender cut in from the side of the net and try a move. I see that done a lot.
 

Jason MacIsaac

Registered User
Jan 13, 2004
22,221
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Halifax, NS
Your not suppost to beat defensmen to the inside, there is a reason they tell the defensmen to line his outside shoulder to the forwards inside shoulder. To try to beat a defensmen inside you really have to catch them offbalance, fake driving to the outside and when they commit try to cut back inside, thats my only suggestion.
 

stick9

Registered User
Aug 12, 2004
10,084
1
Are you a winger?


How about bouncing the puck towards the boards, forcing him to go after it, and then you skate right around him and grab the puck as it rebounds off the boards. (If he's a good defenseman, he won't fall for this)

How about acting like YOU REALLY WANT TO GO TO THE OUTSIDE, and then come to a complete stop and then change direction and cut to the inside. Hopefully he will still be skating to the outside and then you have him beat. Try to fool him with your eyes/head and learn to lean your body one way and then quickly move the other way.

If you still can't do it, just concentrate on moving to the outside and learning to turn your head to find your teammates so you can pass to them and be the playmaker that you are.

Excellent tips for someone having problems making a move to the inside. I love faking like I am gonna go outside and pull up and see a wide open winger cutting to the net.

You have to stop though. You can't pull and curl. That gives him time to react...unless of course you just trying to feed your point man.

I've found that a simple shoulder juke is enough to get the dman to turn and comit ot he out side. At that point I can easily deke around him and make my move to the inside.

These are easier on your off wing.
 

McNasty

Registered User
Jan 20, 2007
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Rutgers
Yes a great move is also to sell shot and then just chip it to the inside when he stops moving his feet. Hows your shot, because if it's a 1 on 1 try using the defender as a screen and fire the puck, if you go through his legs go upstairs if you go around him keep it low, 6-12 inches off the ice. At the very least you should get a shot on net, which is always a good play. If you are still having trouble, instead of taking it real wide get your legs moving and circle behind the other teams net, more often than not as long as your moving something will present itself.
 

Reckless Abandon*

Guest
I usually just lower a shoulder, and hold the puck as far right (or left) as I can so he can't reach it. Then I just use speed and he usually can't get his stick to it. But you said your short, and D Man are usually bigger, so this might not work.
 
Nov 29, 2003
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The move I use to beat people to the inside is to make a quick move outside and quickly switch inside and start accelerating. I'm also a pretty big guy, so I lean in towards the dman as well, usually I have enough speed that I get them to back off just a bit.
 

Samuel Culper III

Mr. Woodhull...
Jan 15, 2007
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I played travel hockey all my life and than played in college for a few years. Now I play in A & B rec leagues as life is a little too hectic to still be traveling about for hockey. For a long time I never had any problems beating the guys I played with to the inside and than after a couple of years I found myself getting stopped on everything I did. I've got significantly better acceleration than most of the guys in my league and decent hands, but it seemed, after a while, that I'd used every move I had to it's limit and they were no longer effective. The only time I ever had success going inside was by putting a shoulder down, protecting the puck and driving my legs. When I finally got tired of having the puck swatted away or getting pushed to the outside, I decided it was time to add a few new tricks to the bag and went to a bunch of pickup games with guys from the C & D leagues. If you have trouble faking to the outside, coming to a quick stop and cutting the other way with good acceleration, I found that learning how to leave the puck behind you as you make your cut, so that when you begin in the new direction the puck is already to the inside and you don't have to bring it across your body (risking a pokecheck) helps make up for a lack of acceleration or a defender who seems to have a step on you. Another move I found helped me open up the inside lane again was something like Thomas Vanek's around the world move, but as a deke, not a shot-fake. If you put the puck to the inside, and deke with your body, without touching the puck and than get back to the puck quick enough to move it the other way it will buy you a lot of time. You have to really sell the fake though, because a defender who follows the puck and not the body will just pokecheck the loose puck. Finally, I found that extending your reach to the outside, as if you're trying to get the puck in a shooting lane while keeping your body behind the defender, will get the defender to turn (the important and desired effect, as mentioned above) and leave you enough time and space (because of your extended reach) to slide the puck behind the defenders back skate and to the inside as he turns to the outside. From here you've really got them beat. The move to get the defender to turn is similar to the way Jussi Jokinen and Pavel Datsyuk score a lot of their shootout goals... your body is lined up with the defender but you're reaching way out with your arms so that the puck is in an open lane. All of these moves are really easy to execute as they don't require great stick handling skills by any means, just good timing. Anyone whose been playing for a while should be able to pull them off with just a little bit of practice and while these don't work for me all of the time, they gave me a few new options when going 1v1 and something to mix in with my old moves to make me a less predictable stick handler and bring me back some of my old success.
 

lotus

Registered User
Jul 22, 2006
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New York
I played travel hockey all my life and than played in college for a few years. Now I play in A & B rec leagues as life is a little too hectic to still be traveling about for hockey. For a long time I never had any problems beating the guys I played with to the inside and than after a couple of years I found myself getting stopped on everything I did. I've got significantly better acceleration than most of the guys in my league and decent hands, but it seemed, after a while, that I'd used every move I had to it's limit and they were no longer effective. The only time I ever had success going inside was by putting a shoulder down, protecting the puck and driving my legs. When I finally got tired of having the puck swatted away or getting pushed to the outside, I decided it was time to add a few new tricks to the bag and went to a bunch of pickup games with guys from the C & D leagues. If you have trouble faking to the outside, coming to a quick stop and cutting the other way with good acceleration, I found that learning how to leave the puck behind you as you make your cut, so that when you begin in the new direction the puck is already to the inside and you don't have to bring it across your body (risking a pokecheck) helps make up for a lack of acceleration or a defender who seems to have a step on you. Another move I found helped me open up the inside lane again was something like Thomas Vanek's around the world move, but as a deke, not a shot-fake. If you put the puck to the inside, and deke with your body, without touching the puck and than get back to the puck quick enough to move it the other way it will buy you a lot of time. You have to really sell the fake though, because a defender who follows the puck and not the body will just pokecheck the loose puck. Finally, I found that extending your reach to the outside, as if you're trying to get the puck in a shooting lane while keeping your body behind the defender, will get the defender to turn (the important and desired effect, as mentioned above) and leave you enough time and space (because of your extended reach) to slide the puck behind the defenders back skate and to the inside as he turns to the outside. From here you've really got them beat. The move to get the defender to turn is similar to the way Jussi Jokinen and Pavel Datsyuk score a lot of their shootout goals... your body is lined up with the defender but you're reaching way out with your arms so that the puck is in an open lane. All of these moves are really easy to execute as they don't require great stick handling skills by any means, just good timing. Anyone whose been playing for a while should be able to pull them off with just a little bit of practice and while these don't work for me all of the time, they gave me a few new options when going 1v1 and something to mix in with my old moves to make me a less predictable stick handler and bring me back some of my old success.


holy hell bro use paragraphs :)
 

Wachovia Center

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Dec 2, 2006
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Thanks for all the help guys, just got back from playing again and I did much better. I'm feeling very confident in my game right now. =)
 

Jeffw-13

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Mar 23, 2006
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I like to come up the wing with speed and just read the defenseman. If he's playing me tight then I'm content to take the outside or dump & chase.

If I'm backing him up I'll just continue into the zone until he commits to trying to poke check or get body position then cut hard to the inside while pulling the puck back away from him.

The beauty of this move is you then have the puck in perfect position for a good hard wrister right from the slot. Saw Mario do it a hundred times. :)
 

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