Midlane Backcheck

The goal of the Midlane Backcheck is to have the 1st forward back default to skating through the middle of the ice on the backcheck, regardless of his forward position. This means that if our RW is in the high slot in the OZ while we have the puck, and then there is a turnover, he is now responsible for the midlane backcheck even though he is not the center. This will clog up space and encourage the opposition to go wide, helping to prevent the D from getting beat to the inside. This 1st forward back continues to backcheck hard all the way until he gets to the low slot, and then moves out to support the D from there. The other two forwards still need to backcheck hard, but they will stop at the top of the circles once they get into the defensive zone, and will then be responsible for covering the points. The Midlane Backcheck is chosen because of its simplicity and how it directly leads into the 2-3 Defensive Zone System, with the first forward back taking the role of the C or F1, and the two later forwards taking the roles of the high wings.

The biggest takeaway is that the forward closest to our D zone sprints back through the middle, and that we need to have a forward high enough in the OZ to help out in transition. We do not want to have all three of our forwards caught near the offensive goal line and then be too far behind the play to backcheck. It is also good to understand how we can transition from a forecheck to a backcheck. The first forward back (Midlane Backchecker) will usually be the Back Side Forward of our forecheck once the opponent passes up the boards. This is because the Back Side Forward will have moved from near the face off dot to the middle of the ice - See 1-2-2 Forecheck for more info.