90-Minute Penalty Kill Install Practice Plan

We’re warming the legs up, but everything points to PK movement: stops/starts, inside edges, and arriving under control into a lane.

• Skate flow: tight turns into hard stops at the dots, then accelerate to the next dot.
• Add sticks: arrive with stick in the lane first, then body square—no fly-bys.
• Finish with 2 x full-ice down-and-back at PK pace (short, hard, recover).

We’re moving on when: players stop on balance and can immediately re-accelerate—if guys are sliding through stops, fix it now before we ask them to block shots.

This is our on-ice install: where we stand, what we call it, and what the trigger is that turns “contain” into “pressure.” Keep it tight—teach, place them, rep it.

Align four killers in the diamond: top forward at the point, two flank players at the dots, low player in front of the net. Walk through puck locations: point, half wall, corner, below goal line, bumper area. When the puck goes below the goal line, show the collapse to wedge plus one—the two flanks and the low player form a tight triangle in front of the net, the top forward stays high on the point.

• Install rule: middle is sacred. We take away seams first; pressure comes from inside-out and returns inside dots after contact.
• Trigger examples: bobble at the point, puck on a player’s backhand on the wall, rim that dies below the goal line.
• Common bust: low player drifts above the circles and gives up the bumper. Stop it: “You’re low until the puck proves you high.”

Rep script: 6 quick placements (coach points, players sprint to spots), then 4 reps at 70% with a whistle reset.

We’re not glorifying blocks—we’re coaching them. This period is about arriving in the lane, presenting the right surface, and recovering to your feet and back into structure.

Setup: run two stations, one at each circle in the bench end, with a coach and a puck pile at the top of each circle. The next pair waits on the hash marks. Shooter retrieves to the pile; defender peels to the dot or post, then back to the line.

• Pairs at the top of the circle: shooter is controlled (no max clappers). Defender starts inside the dot line, closes to the lane, stick first.
• Coaching points: close under control; stick takes away the pass/shot lane; if you commit, get square and keep eyes on release; recover to feet and sprint back to an assigned spot (dot or post).
• Common bust: leaving feet early and sliding past the lane. Fix with a reset: “Hold your edges until you own the lane—block where the puck is going, not where it was.”
• Goalies: alternate every four reps—one in the net behind the blockers, one handling dump-ins at the far end.

Coach’s green light: every rep ends with a recovery skate—no laying there admiring the bruise.

Quick water. On the board: our three triggers, our clear priority (glass-and-out is a win), and the one phrase we want on the ice: "inside first". Assistants grab their groups and confirm PK units for the next block.

If we can force a dump or kill their clean entry, the whole kill gets easier. We’re installing where F1/F2 angle and where the D hold the blue line.

• Start with PP group at center or their blue line. PK starts stacked at our blue line.
• Install rule: F1 takes away middle ice; F2 reads and supports to force the puck wide; D hold the line with good gap and steer to the boards.
• Rep script: 8 reps total. Rotate PK units every rep. PP gets 2 looks: carry entry and chip-and-chase.

If F1 skates behind the puck carrier and gives up the middle, pull him: “You’re not chasing—your stick and angle eliminate the middle. Make them play where we want.”

Standard: 6 of 8 reps end in a forced dump or a contested entry that allows a first touch/clear.

This is the main install period. We’re repping the diamond rotations versus a predictable umbrella look so the reads get clean and repeatable.

Set PP in umbrella (two points, two flanks, bumper/net-front as you prefer). PK starts in the diamond. Start each rep with a coach-fed puck to a point or half wall so we control the look; when the puck goes below the goal line, we collapse to wedge plus one.

1. 3 reps: contain only (no chase) — spacing and sticks.
2. 5 reps: trigger-to-pressure — call the trigger out loud from the bench.
3. 4 reps: after a clear, PP immediately re-enters — PK must reload inside dots before engaging.

• Coaching points: sticks in seams; talk early (“I’m up / I’m down / switch”); net-front is body + stick lift timing, not wrestling.
• If the weak-side killer gets puck-watching and loses backdoor, whistle, point, reset: “Your head is on a swivel—backdoor first, then you can close.”
• Coach note: watch the distance between killers (too spread = seams; too tight = point shots) and whether we reload after clears.

Competitive standard: PP should feel crowded—if they’re one-touching through seams, we’re not inside enough.

We’re marrying clears with bench management. A clean clear that turns into a slow change is still a loss—this period makes the change part of the kill.

• Start in-zone with a rim or loose puck battle. PK must win it and execute a clear (glass, hard up, or chip to neutral with support).
• On the clear, PK unit changes on the fly while the PP regroups and re-enters.
• Coaching points: first touch is decisive; communicate “time” vs “on you”; change through the door fast—no loops.

Common bust: everyone changes at once and we give up an odd-man entry. Fix: designate one player as “stay” until the next unit is set.

We’re moving on when: 5 clean clears with a controlled change (no free entry).

Water and a fast correction window. Re-state the two biggest issues you saw (usually: weak-side backdoor and clears that die at the blue line). While they drink, assistants set both units in their faceoff alignments and stage pucks at the dot so the scrimmage starts on the whistle.

Short, sharp scrimmage: PP vs PK in-zone only. Keep it moving—this is an execution check, not conditioning. Players are already aligned and pucks are staged at the dot from the water break. No full faceoffs: the coach drops or spots the puck to start every rep.

Timing script (10:00):

• 0:45 — confirm units; coach drops the first puck.
• 6:00 — six reps of :30 live with :30 reset. Odd reps start from strong-side alignment, even reps from weak-side alignment; the coach drops the puck at the dot each time.
• 1:30 — one correction per unit while the next unit lines up.
• 1:15 — two final reps of :35 live with :20 reset, same scoring, units pick their own start.
• 0:30 — tally the points out loud and name the bust to carry to the next practice.

Scoring: PP goal = 1. PK clear past blue = 1. Clean lane block with recovery = 1 (coach calls it).

Standard: PK must win at least 5 of 8 reps on points.

Bring them in at the bench. Name the two rules we live by: inside first and clear with purpose. Assign captains to confirm PK units and faceoff jobs for the next game.

If you film, clip these three things tonight: entry denial angles, weak-side backdoor ownership, and whether our shot blocks are from inside-out with a recovery.