Corey Wogtech

As minor hockey seasons come to a close; Jr. “A”, NCAA, and professional playoffs approach. Depending upon their performance over the weeks ahead, goaltenders will either be left to ponder the results of their recently finished season, or they’ll continue with the daily grind of competing for a championship. At this juncture, just one goal against could be the eventual end for a team. Be it a one goal loss that keeps a team from reaching the playoffs, or a bar-down snipe during a seventh game overtime; every single goal makes a difference. Fortunate or unfortunate as it may seem, it’s a goalie’s sole responsibility to keep every single puck out of the net. That being said…when is it ok to give up a goal?

Ask most goalies what happened during any given loss and you’ll usually hear some form of the following. We lost 5-3; they scored two power play goals, one was a 5 on 3 and I had no chance. The third goal was a breakaway; my defenseman gave it away at the far blue line. The fourth goal was a deflection, and I was screened; and the fifth one was a snipe over my shoulder. We’ve all heard it before, and most of us have probably said it before. After the loss a coach will scold the defenseman for turning the puck over; yell at the team for taking bad penalties, and bench a kid for not picking up the man in front of the net which led to the deflection.

In that scenario we see a team having made a number of mistakes during a loss, and most of them being pointed out to the players. We see a goalie who bought in to the fact that yes, he gave up five goals, but in his description he seems to take the blame for none of them. Our parents, teammates, coaches; they all give us an excuse as to why it’s ok to give up goals. They transfer blame for us on things that happened before the goal went in, and most goaltenders buy into that blame, evident by their description of the game. Realistically, this type of goalie is going to struggle to succeed.

Your job as a goaltender is to stop pucks, period. That means that every time you give up a goal, it is your fault. The goalie in the scenario made at least five mistakes, and upon further analysis I’m sure he or she made many more in regard to: rebound placement, depth choice, play identification, puck handling decisions, save selection, play reads, etc.

It is almost impossible to get better until you realize you need to. If you walk away from a loss under the false impression that it wasn’t your fault, how can you learn from the mistakes that you undoubtedly made during that game? It is rare that a goal against could not have been prevented. A “bar down snipe” probably required better depth and higher chest placement. A “third-wack rebound” probably required better initial rebound placement. A “breakaway” probably required sealed holes, increased depth, or forward hands. A “5 on 3 backdoor” probably required better play reads accompanied with a stronger push. A “deflection” probably required depth management and sealed holes. A “screen” probably required smarter site line battles. And the list goes on.

Skill sets such as movement, save selection, puck handling, those are easy to develop. Mental toughness, maturity, and wisdom are much tougher to come by. Transferred blame, or a lack of personal responsibility, is obviously not an attribute of strong character. Coincidentally, choosing to be a goaltender requires the development or possession of strong character.

Real men take responsibility for their actions, and great goaltenders understand that every goal against was, in one way or another, their own fault. When a goalie makes the decision to accept a goal against as his own, he empowers himself to learn from that mistake. He doesn’t beat up on himself for giving up a goal, but he does understand that it was his job to stop the puck. He fixes the mistakes he made which caused the goal against; and that aids in his development. Consistently fix enough of those mistakes and you’ll begin to give up less and less goals; but understand that until you take ownership of every goal against you are limiting your potential to become a dominant force in an already difficult game.

Despite leading Team USA to the silver medal and being named the MVP of the Men’s Olympic Hockey Tournament, if you asked Ryan Miller whose fault it was that they didn’t win gold, I feel confident that he might shoulder the blame for a mediocre goal at a costly time. He became the MVP of a world stage international tournament not based solely on his ability to stop pucks, but his willingness to take responsibility for the pucks which he hasn’t stopped. Great goaltenders focus on the mistakes they’ve made and they use them to improve their development. They ignore the mistakes of those around them, and they are not easily convinced that a goal against was somehow someone else’s fault. Be responsible, and you’ll be much closer to becoming great.

Corey Wogtech
W Goaltending