hockey defense 101?

I am hoping the eLynah community can fill me on hockey defenses, specifically the "trap". I havent ever been a hockey player and am clueless about defensive alignments/systems... can someone more knowledgeable fill me in? I frequently hear commentators and other fans speaking about how Cornell uses the neutral ice trap (denied by other Cornell fans). If you feel like really going all out I would love to hear more on hockey defense in general (forecheck, backcheck, etc.) I was at the Cornell/Brown game last week and from what I could tell they (Brown) was actually playing a trap more than Cornell if I actually understand what it is...

thanks in advance, cant offer anything but gratitude and maybe clarification on volleyball systems and rules (my sport of choice to play)

Kevin

This explains it pretty well:

[www.geocities.com]

Basically it's a 1-2-2 zone defense that forces the puck carrier to the boards when he's trying to clear his zone. At that point, he can be double-teamed while simultaneously preventing him from making a cross-ice pass.

JH

very informative for the neophytes

The two-man forechecking system Cornell typically uses is a variant of the left-wing lock, which is described at the same web site Jeff found.

[www.geocities.com]

The two-man forecheck is a much more aggressive and physical defensive system than the neutral-zone trap. People who don't watch Cornell play unfairly stereotype the Big Red as a trapping team because the team gives up so few goals against.

As an interesting aside, a buddy of mine coaches a midget team. He taught his team the left wing lock and went from losing by a few goals to winning by a few goals in the span of a season.

Seems the other coaches hadn't caught on to it, and despite inferior talent his team won with a good system.

Hmmm. There's a lesson there.

JH

My question after reading that description is why do many commentators tend to speak disdainfully about the trap (e.g. the Brown hacks last weekend)? The description made it sound like a system that makes sense and puts effective coverage/pressure on the offense.

Cornell Fan wrote:

My question after reading that description is why do many commentators tend to speak disdainfully about the trap (e.g. the Brown hacks last weekend)? The description made it sound like a system that makes sense and puts effective coverage/pressure on the offense.

Because it takes a connoisseur to appreciate a game in which scoring is depressed and the action is kept in between the blue lines. It is good strategic hockey, but less "exciting" hockey.

Yeah, the average guy would rather see 10-7 shootouts than a 2-0 defensive game. Of course, he'd probably want to see lots of fights most of all...

A.K.A - Hockey East fans