Forechecking in the game of hockey comes in many forms. Teams can be really aggressive and hunt pucks or take a passive approach and lure the opposition into making mistakes.
This year’s Amherst boys hockey team opted for the latter, and it’s already starting to pay dividends.
The Hurricanes implemented a neutral-zone trap this season, which gives the other team plenty of ice to skate the puck out of their end, but once they reach the neutral zone, space is limited.
The idea behind the neutral-zone trap is to clog up passing lanes and prevent the other team from getting past the red line cleanly if at all. Most teams send at least one forechecker into the attacking zone to retrieve the puck, however a neutral-zone trap calls for one skater to hang out around the attacking blue line, while the other four skaters on the defending team are within the neutral zone.
In Amherst’s 3-2 win against Minnechaug on Dec. 27, its neutral-zone trap looked much improved compared to its season-opening 7-1 loss to Greenfield.
“We’re buying into the trap system,” Hurricanes senior goalie Spencer McDonald said. “Our coaches, we’ve been working on the past couple of weeks, it’s a new system for everybody, first year we’ve been doing it.”
Traps aren’t as common at the high-school level because they require commitment from all five skaters to execute their role. A traditional forecheck allows more room for error, while a trap has to have every facet clicking or else the opposition has an easy entry into the offensive zone.
Simply put, it’s difficult to learn the neutral-zone trap at first, but the Hurricanes are already showing progress in the early goings of their season.
“You got to commit,” Amherst head coach Mike Rousseau said. “This is not a system where you can commit hard some of the shifts and not commit to the other shifts. That third period was a full-blown commitment to what we do. Get the puck out, keep the puck to the outside, make them come 200 feet. We did it and we were able to keep them off the scoreboard that last 30 seconds.”
Against Minnechaug, the Hurricanes held on to their 3-2 lead for the entire third period, despite a couple of power play opportunities from the Falcons and a final minute scramble.
The benefits of a trap system are, if done correctly, the opposing team rarely gets high-quality looks off the rush and are forced to settle with shots from the perimeter. That’s exactly what happened during the final frame of Amherst’s first win of the year and first victory over Minnechaug since 2016.
“We’ve had some laughers, when they beat us, we’ve had some laughers, they’ve beaten us by four and five and the teams that did that were more skilled than what we have right now,” Rousseau said. “This team’s different. This is a different feeling we have as coaches. This is about grit, perseverance, heart, believing, keeping the game simple. Make a pass, move your feet, shoot the puck on net, good things can happen.”
Amherst was 1-2-1 after four games, but if its win against Minnechaug was any indication, expect the Hurricanes to frustrate some more opponents with their neutral-zone trap moving forward.
