The Shoot Out - Musings on a Backup Goalie

Goalie.   The last line of defense. The netminder.  The keeper.   There is no other position like it in sport.


In hockey, players are trying to score by getting a puck into the opposing team's net (or goal).  There are rules about how the puck can get to the net  (you can't kick the puck into the net, for example).  And in hockey , there is a goalie who is in charge of standing in front of the net to try to keep the pucks out.  The goalie gets to use special gear (bigger pads and helmet) and special rules apply (he or she can cover up the puck, for example).   But the goalie is part of the team.  The puck has to get by all other 5 players on the ice before it gets to the team's goalie.

That said, the goalie is highly visible.  A team wins - the goalie is great!  A team loses, and the goalie may feel the heat.  The goalie is central to the team, frequently its best skater, and a huge key to a team's success.    A team plays differently in front of a goalie in which they are confident, or accustomed.

Tonight, the University of Michigan's hockey team started its backup goalie  against the visiting Lake Superior State Lakers (both teams part of the CCHA).  The backup goalie played really well, stopping 34 shots and keeping Michigan in the game, letting in only 2 goals in regulation play.  Michigan also scored two goals, and at the end of regulation time, the game stood at a 2-2 tie.

In hockey, depending on the league, after a game is tied in the regulation time allowed, an overtime period may occur.  This happens in CCHA play - the overtime period lasts 5 minutes and the first team to score a goal wins the game (aka "sudden death").  Tonight, neither team scored in overtime.

Which leads to a shootout in the CCHA.  Each team picks three skaters and  each skater gets a one-on-one chance against the goalie to score.  They go one at a time.   If each team has the same number of goals after the first three skaters, additional skaters take shots on the goalie until one team has scored more shots than the other.  A shootout in college hockey is something of a nebulous event.  The outcome does not count for the NCAA.  Not all conferences use shootouts.  I don't like the shootout, especially in college hockey.

A shootout takes the game out of the hands of the team, and transfers it to the hands of individual players.  One skater, one goalie.  Is it exciting?  Yes, it is. Many fans love the shootouts - a dramatic finish to the end of a close game, not to mention the display of skill (both shooter and goalie) during the event.  I have not played goalie in hockey, but I have filled in as a goalie at soccer and there are few things in sport (even as a recreational athlete) like the excitement of a one-on-one between shooter and goalie.  I loved being the goalie against a breakaway in soccer. 

But a shootout changes the game.   It takes the game from a team sport to a one-on-one competition, transferring the focus from the team to individuals.  The best team may not win, but the one with the most skilled shooters with the best moves may.  Or the team with the hottest goalie.  But not necessarily the best team.  And it is a team sport, after all.

Michigan lost in a shootout tonight and its backup goalie played a great game. 

Play the hockey game.  Play an overtime.  Bet let the game stand as a tie if neither team wins at that point.