75-Minute Forecheck And Breakout Install Practice Plan

Coach stands at center ice with the puck bucket. Players leave in pairs from both corners, pass in motion through the neutral zone, then wide drive and a shot with a net drive lane filled by the partner. Next pair goes on the shooter’s release—no standing. What I blow dead: a pass that is not flat and on the forehand, or a pair that arrives at the blue line gliding.

• Coaching points: head up through the middle, pass flat and on the forehand, and arrive at the blue line with speed.
• Goalie note: track pucks through traffic; we want game-like releases, not floaters.
• Standard to move on: passes are caught clean at stride and we’re not bunching at the blue lines.

Purpose: install the pressure shape before we add reads. We’re coaching the first three strides and stick position—this is where forechecks die.

Set pucks at the offensive blue line. On whistle, coach dumps to a corner. One forward (F1) hunts, second forward (F2) reads off F1, third forward (F3) stays high between the dots. No defense yet—just routes at pace.

• Install rule: F1 arrives inside-out and takes away middle; stick through hands to force the puck to the wall.
• F2 rule: if puck is on the wall, you’re the pin/jump player; if it pops middle, you’re first touch.
• F3 rule: stay above the puck—your job is to kill the chip and keep play alive.
• Common bust: F1 loops behind the net and loses leverage; stop it: “You can’t give him the middle—arrive on the wall side and turn his shoulders.”

Rep script: 3 reps per line, rotate fast; coaches feed the next puck immediately.

Purpose: install the exit picture that beats pressure—retrieval, shoulder check, first pass on time, and a connected second touch.

Use one end. D starts at the dots, forwards at hash marks in breakout positions (center low, wingers at the walls). Coach rims or dumps a puck. D retrieves and must make a play within two strides after pickup.

• Install rule: D shoulder checks before touch, then either (a) D-to-D, (b) center low, or (c) quick-up to winger if the wall is clean.
• Forward rule: center stays below the puck until possession is secured; wingers hold until D has it, then present with stick available.
• Common bust: winger leaves early—whistle it dead and replay; tell him, “You’re not an option if you’re already gone.”
• Competitive standard: 7 of 10 reps exit clean (possession or planned chip with support), not just a panic clear.

Rep script: two D pairs rotating every rep; three forward lines rotate every 2 reps. Keep a puck ready on each side for fast reload.

Quick water. While they drink, give them the two checks for the next segment: F1 angle takes away middle and D makes a decision by stride two. Then we go competitive.

Purpose: connect the two installs under pressure. Short reps, hard starts, and we grade rules.

Set up 5v5 in one end (or 5v4 if you’re short a D). Coach starts each rep with a dump-in or rim. Forecheck unit executes F1/F2/F3 pressure; breakout unit must exit with possession or a planned chip with support.

Scoring: forecheck gets 1 for a forced rim/turnover or a held puck on the wall for 3 seconds; breakout gets 1 for a clean exit with a connected second touch in the neutral zone. First group to 5 stays on.

• Coaching points: F2 can’t drift—he’s either pinning the wall or jumping the D-to-D lane; D can’t stand still on retrieval—feet move first, then puck.
• Common bust: F3 collapses below the dots and we get chipped past; pull him mid-rep: “You’re the lid—stay above it and kill the exit.”
• Film/checklist note: tag every rep where the breakout decision is late; late decisions are what create turnovers, not ‘bad luck.’

Rep script: 10 reps minimum. Keep reps to 12–18 seconds; whistle, point, reload immediately.

After the exit, we need a next play—this block sets our transition spacing so we don’t turn clean breakouts into turnovers at the red line. I stand at the far blue line so I can see all three lanes at once.

Run a 3-lane rush pattern out of the breakout: center supports under, strong-side winger can either carry wide or bump to the middle lane, weak-side winger stays available as a second option. Add one backchecker to force decisions. Six to eight reps, rotating lines every rep.

• What I say: “Plan by the far blue—wide with support, or chip with F2 first in.”
• What I blow dead: all three forwards on the same side—stop it, reset their lanes, go again.
• Standard: we enter with control or a purposeful chip with first touch pressure—no soft dump with nobody arriving.

Quick competitive finisher that reinforces tonight’s theme without another long setup.

Setup: play 3v3 below the tops of the circles in one end; put cones on the hash marks if you want a tighter box. Split the group into three teams of three (two teams play, the third is next-up at the blue line and jumps on the whistle). With 12 skaters that is four teams—run the fourth as a second next-up group. The coach stands at the half wall with 6–8 pucks and spots every puck to the wall.

Rules: to score, a team must win a wall puck and then complete an exit pass to a teammate standing at the top of the circle on the blue-line side (that player is the outlet and does not play below the circles; rotate who is the outlet every shift). If you score without the wall win plus the exit, it doesn’t count. Stick on puck first; shoulder-to-shoulder pinning is fine, no full board pins and nothing from behind.

• Shifts: 30-second games, 10 seconds to reload, change on the whistle. Run 10 rounds total—that is the whole block, and each team plays six or seven of them.
• Restart: after a goal or a dead puck, the coach immediately spots a new puck to the wall—no faceoff, no waiting.
• Rotation: losers off, winners stay for one more round, then everyone changes. The next-up team is already standing at the blue line, not resting on the bench.

Bring them in. One sentence each: what F1’s job is, what the D’s clock is on retrieval. Then give them the film checklist for tomorrow: shoulder check before touch, F3 stays above the puck, and first pass by stride two. Done.