Whats your pregame ritual?

Ive always had acouple of superstisions.
1. I always listen to Taylor Swift before a game (ive lost almost every game i havent listened and im 13-1 when i have haha)
2. I always have my waterbottle with gatorade on the left side of the net and my water on the right side of the net
3. before the game starts i always tap my goalstick on the corner of the boards one and it has to be a counterclockwise spin while i do it on both sides
4. at the end of a period i always face the net and tap the post with my catcher, blocker, catcher blocker, catcher and blocker at the same time
5. When i see an odmanrush coming i always tap my stick on the right post before going out to face the shot

I don't have many but I do have a few:

1) Water bottle always on my glove side, sweat towel on blocker side
2) Skates and pads go on right first, then left
3) I "cross" myself before each face-off with my stick hitting the post on my stick side first, then glove side and then slap my leg pads
4) I always stretch my right side first, then left
5) When marking my territory...or "scratching" up my crease I always start from my glove side post to the blocker side and go over it twice

I'm sure I have more...I'll pay more attention on Saturday. I'm totally curious now as I've never really thought about it. It's just habit! :o)

I put on my equipment left to right (left skate, right skate, left pad, right pad, left knee protector...). I also clear the pile of snow I pack near each post & touch each post with my glove after each period. I'd call these habits versus superstitions though. I've learned to clear my mind of the idea that there would be bad results if I don't do certain things... other than work hard & prepare, of course.

1) Listen to music in the same order before every game
2)Put gear on right side first
3)Water on blocker side of net
4)Splits post to post then push out and stand back up

I used to, but I dropped them all when I started to realized it was affecting my game. I would start to worry if I put my stuff on the right way, if I grabbed the right stick etc. If it helps you stay focused before I game, go for it. Once you start to obsess about it, put it to bed.

My superstitions and habits usually occur during the game, not before:
- Everytime a shot dings off the post, as soon as it's clear I pat the crossbar with my glove and tell the posts "Good job" or "Thanks" or something like that :)
- On breakaways or penalty shots, just before I get into my stance, I tap my glove with my stick then drag my stick from far glove side to middle like I'm drawing a line...sort of signaling "Go ahead...go glove side" and "Cross this line, I dare you"
- After my team scores or I make a really good save, I tap the stick to the ground twice, hit the left post, then hit the right post.

It feels a little weird to me to have a routine before the game. I prefer being more casual, chatting it up with people as I put my gear on, joking around during warming up, etc. I'm looser and play better if I feel like I'm having fun and not stressing over the game about to start.

I try not to take too many shots during warm up. I get on the ice, do a ladder drill up to 4 t pushes and 4 shuffles, stretch, take shots from each teammate twice, then stand in the corner and clear my head. I also don't put the net on the morrings, I let a teammate or ref do that.

Originally Posted by GoalieInGlasses

It feels a little weird to me to have a routine before the game. I prefer being more casual, chatting it up with people as I put my gear on, joking around during warming up, etc. I'm looser and play better if I feel like I'm having fun and not stressing over the game about to start.

Being in my first season of ice, I was getting too caught up in winning, so recently I changed my attitude to "I'm doing something I love, have fun for Pete's sake!", and I have almost dominated the two games since that mental switch. So I completely understand!