Quick Up Regroup Attack

Players will love this dynamic flow drill which creates a quick counterattack. Your team’s transition game will really benefit from this drill!

Explanation of the Drill

This is a full ice drill with goalies in both ends and the forwards ultimately attacking the defencemen in both directions. The coach has pucks at the red-line on the boards. The defencemen are in a line to the blue-lines on the boards closest to the coach, split evenly, with half the defencemen on each blue-line, tight to the boards. If you have eight defencemen, (four on each blue-line) you will run 3-on-2s and if you have four to six defencemen you can run 2-on-1s. You can also run 3-on-2s with six defencemen by using a slight variation of the drill (see options). The forwards are lined up to the blue-lines, tight to the boards opposite the coach and split evenly between the blue-lines. To start the drill, if you are running 3-on-2s, two defencemen jump off one blue-line and set up on the red-line in the middle of the ice ready to defend. Two defencemen then come off the opposite blueline and skate towards the two defencemen at the red-line. Once they reach the red-line, these two defencemen will slide and then transition forwards to backwards, skating backwards away from the red-line and the two defencemen who are getting ready to defend. The coach then short dumps or spots the puck behind these two defencemen who are backing up. At the same time three forwards (a line) come off the blue-line at the far boards on the opposite side to the end that these two defencemen are backing into. One defenceman will retrieve the puck that the coach has soft dumped into the zone and turn up quickly with the puck. This defenceman will then pass the puck D-to-D to his or her partner. The three forwards will regroup, take the pass from the “breakout” defenceman and attack 3-on-2 on the two defending D-men towards the end at which they started. The two breakout defenceman will follow the forwards up the ice until the breakout defencemen reach the red-line where they will stop and get ready to defend the next rush coming from the opposite direction. Once the attacking forwards get past the offensive blue-line on their rush, the next two defencemen on the blue-line at the same end will skate hard forwards up to the red-line and will slide to transition forwards to backwards and skate back towards the end where the forwards are attacking. The coach will soft dump or spot a puck behind these defencemen and the defenceman closest to the puck will pivot and turn to retrieve the puck. This defenceman will pass D-to-D to his or her partner and the next three forwards on the far boards at the opposite end will come off the boards and regroup to take a pass from these “breakout” defencemen to attack the two new defending defencemen. This 3-on-2 will run in the opposite direction to the first 3-on-2. The drill will then continue to repeat itself with the coach short dumping the puck into alternate ends.

This drill has great flow and great energy. There are lots of variations and options to the drill. Players learn quick ups and break outs in the neutral zone, how to regroup and be in good position for a pass, how to develop speed through the neutral zone and how to attack and defend off the rush.

Options

You can run 1-on-1s, 2-on-1s, 2-on-2s and 3-on-2’s off this drill. Once the players are comfortable with the drill, the coach can add some pressure as a forechecker in the neutral zone after dumping the puck in. The coach can also wait until the rush is completed and dump the puck in deeper into the zone for a full breakout. The coach can also pass the puck directly to the defencemen as they are backing up off the red line for a very quick regroup and counter attack. The forwards must react and adjust to wherever the puck is dumped in or moved. One coach can also be available to back check to add some back pressure on the rush or to create a 3-on-3 on the rush.

If you only have six defence and want to run 3-on-2s with a variation of the drill, you don’t need the two defencemen on the red-line to defend to start the drill. Have the players do a second regroup to a coach at the far blueline, before attacking the defenceman that broke the puck out.

You can also encourage your defencemen to jump into the rush by running 2-on-1s off this drill and then have the defenceman that breaks the puck out jump into the rush to make it a 3-on-1. In this variation two defencemen jump out on the drill every time, one defending and one who will break out and then jump into the rush and join the attack.

Coach's Tips

You can really control the pace and flow of this drill by how and where you dump the puck to start the neutral zone quick up and breakout. Keep an eye on the attacking forwards and dump the puck to an area that is open just behind the defencemen that are backing up, making sure that you don’t interfere with the rush in the opposite direction that is just completing. Tell the forwards to create one quick chance on net and one rebound, and then clear the zone. Have a coach in each offensive end make sure that the forwards clear the zone quickly after their rush. You can really use this drill as a great teaching tool for both forwards and defence in the neutral zone break out and quick counter attack. Encourage a lot of communication between your players during the drill. Once the players have learned the drill, vary the dump-ins so that the forwards have to react and adjust to the break out. Add a forechecking and a back-checking coach to create pressure and make the drill even more game like. If you have two different colours on your team place your forwards and defence so that the forwards are regrouping with defencemen of the same colour and attacking defencemen of the opposite colour. To do this, the defencemen and forwards of the same colour will be at the blue lines at opposite ends of the ice when the drill starts. Encourage your players to go game speed all the time in the drill, so that they learn how to execute a very quick counter attack.

Tips for Players

To start the drill, the defencemen should skate hard to the blue-line before sliding and executing a forward to backward transition. When you skate hard forwards before the transition to backwards, you can create some momentum that can be transferred to speed going backwards. The use of the lateral slide will preserve your speed from forwards to backwards. Try to execute one crossover after the lateral slide and then move into a full backward stride. When the puck is dumped in behind you, pivot quickly to get to the puck as quickly as you can. The faster you get to the puck the quicker the counter attack. When you turn up the ice, try to turn towards the boards to protect the puck. Pass the puck hard and flat to your teammate. If there are two defencemen, your partner should hinge to be an option on the pass. Forwards should regroup so that they are available for the pass from the D. The forward on the strong side should open up to be a better target for the pass. The player in the middle should be patient, be on the proper angle to receive the pass and try to stay open for the pass as long as possible. Every forward, whether on their off side or not, should have their stick up the ice. React and adjust to the placement of the puck by the coach. At least two of the three forwards should stay close to the defence on the breakout to be better options. Off the rush, try to create a scoring chance as quickly as possible in case there is back pressure. Pass the puck early to create more options. Take what the defending defencemen give you. If they close the gap and stand up, chip the puck to an area where you or one of your teammates can get it. If they back in, gain the line and try to create a scoring chance with at least one player driving the net. Communicate with your teammates. Let them know where you are and what you are doing. Try to do the drill at game speed so that you can get the very most out of this great drill!

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