1-2-2 Forecheck

(From Hockey Plays and Strategies by Ryan Walter and Mike Johnston)

The 1-2-2 Forechecking system is chosen because of its simplicity. The goal is to have F1 pressure the opponent aggressively, ideally leading to a bad pass that F2 or F3 can intercept. More specifically we want to "entice the other team to pass up the boards... and then take away the boards"

Here is the textbook setup - Note that all the players except F1 are in line with the faceoff dots, with the forwards slightly behind the dot and the defensemen on the blue line.

So long as we have have our players in the right positions, and F1 aggressively pressuring their puck carrier, we have a good chance of causing a turnover. Teams at our level struggle to break the puck out, and below are the specifics of how we adjust to their two main passing options:

UP - If the opponent passes up the strong side (IDEAL) :

In the above picture we see that F1 has forced a pass up the boards on the strong side, which is ideal. The forward on this side (F2) is now responsible for trying to turn the puck over, either by directly jumping on the pass, or by pressuring the opponent after he catches it. Note how F3 (Back Side Wing) shifts away from his faceoff dot and into the middle of the ice. If the opponent successfully breaks out with speed, then F3 should be the first forward back in the Midlane Backcheck.

OVER - The other main pass that F1 can force is a D to D pass across the ice:

If the opponent passes D to D behind the net, our forwards must all rotate. This is potentially challenging, but if we can read the situation quickly we can reestablish our 1-2-2 forecheck on the other side. After forcing the pass F1 DOES NOT follow behind the net, but instead curls up to the faceoff dot to become the Back Side Forward. F2 Skates across the ice to become the Strong Side Forward, and F3 becomes the new aggressive forechecker and attacks the receiver of the pass. After the rotation we want to get back to the original setup (1st picture) and should hope to force another pass - hopefully up the strong side (2nd picture above.)

Two last comments about our 1-2-2 Forecheck:

• "The defensemen never pinch on direct passes to the to the opposing wingers, but will come down on long rim plays (where the opponent rims the puck from one corner to the other half boards)"
• Our Board Side wing will be the F1 Forechecker if we lose an Offensive Zone Faceoff.