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By Jeff Z. Klein
Fans who will watch the Vancouver Olympics may see more than the premier international hockey competition. They may witness the North American unveiling of a radical strategy: a midgame, six-on-three power play.
“I don’t know why no one has tried it here,” said Ben Smith, a longtime college and United States national team coach who was victimized by a six-on-three power play during a tournament in Germany in 2007. “It was amazing to see how well it worked.”
In the N.H.L. and collegiate hockey, six-on-threes, though rare, have been used to try to tie the score late in the game, but aside from a minor league game in 1996, no one can specifically recall an instance in North America when it was used during the middle of a game.
“I’ve never heard of it being used, in college or pro,” said Jack Parker, Boston University’s coach since 1973 whose team practiced the strategy in November.
A midgame six-on-three requires that a team have a two-man advantage. Then the goalie is pulled, creating a three-man advantage. The bold maneuver would probably be used only if the team were trailing by a substantial margin and in desperate need of a spark.
“I’ve never seen it backfire,” said Uwe Krupp, the German coach who sprung it on Smith at the Deutschland Cup tournament in Hannover, Germany.
Smith’s United States select team was dominating Germany, whose players came from the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the top national professional league. The United States was leading by 3-0, and midway through the second period, the Americans took penalties 35 seconds apart.
“Germany called a timeout, and I figured it was just to regroup,” Smith said. “But then off comes their goalie, and Krupp sends out an extra forward. I did a double-take.”
“Their goaltender was playing super hot,” said Krupp, referring to John Curry, fresh out of B.U. “We couldn’t put a puck in the net, so I thought if we don’t use this five-on-three to score a goal, the hole is just going to get deeper and deeper.”
Krupp’s decision to pull the goalie was something he had seen a number of times from Pierre Pagé, Don Jackson and other D.E.L. coaches.
“We never touched the puck,” Smith said. “The Germans passed it all around. The crowd was going wild they loved it. And then they scored.”
It happened again with less than five minutes to go in the game: two more American penalties gave Germany a two-man advantage for 1 minute 9 seconds. Krupp pulled his goalie and once again the Americans never touched the puck. Germany scored to make the score 3-2, and Curry had to stand on his head the rest of the way to preserve the win.
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Smith was converted by the experience. “I started telling every coach I know about the six-on-three,” he said, including Parker, his neighbor and former boss at B.U.
B.U. played at Madison Square Garden in late November and tied Cornell at the end of the game, just as its six-on-three manpower advantage became a six-on-four. Indeed, it turned out that B.U. had practiced skating six-on-threes earlier in the week.
“What gave me the idea after 37 years of coaching?” Parker said after that game. “Because my former assistant coach Ben Smith has been haunting me to do it. I was flabbergasted that it came up here.”
Parker’s Terriers won the national championship last season in overtime after scoring twice in the last minute with their goalie pulled. In 2007, Denver University won the N.C.A.A. final by successfully holding firm against an endgame six-on-three.
But neither of those cases involved a midgame six-on-three.
“Sheer number is what makes it work you have twice as many skaters as the other team,” said Krupp, a former Stanley Cup-winning defenseman who will coach the German Olympic team. “On the face-off you put two men in the middle on their one defenseman and put two more men on the wall to take their other defenseman.
“On the draw your center ties up their center, and you’ve still got another man free to get a loose puck or knock down a clearing pass. Even if their center wins the draw cleanly, their defensem*n will not have much chance to do anything with the puck.”
Barry Trotz, the Nashville Predators coach, said he had seen midgame six-on-threes, but could not remember specifics. “I wouldn’t try it in the middle of a game,” he said. “Too much risk of giving up an empty-netter.”
On May 10, 1996, the tactic was used effectively by Las Vegas Coach Chris McSorley in an International Hockey League playoff game. His team was tied with the Chicago Wolves, 1-1, midway through the second period, when McSorley pulled his goalie, Pokey Reddick, to create a six on three. Las Vegas scored and went on to win, 3-2, in overtime.
“It was early in the game,” McSorley said afterward, adding that at that point he could afford the risk.
“I thought, ‘He’s crazy, but I have to do what he wants me to do,’” Reddick said.
There have been very few major strategic innovations over the last few decades. The most recent was probably the “Swedish Torpedo,” a system that eschewed the traditional three-forward, two-defensem*n setup in favor of two aggressively forechecking forwards (called torpedoes), two mid-ice halfbacks and a lone defenseman called a libero. It found favor in the Swedish Elitserien about 10 years ago but did not last long.
The Torpedo was a response to the previous strategic innovation, the neutral-zone trap, made famous by the 1995 Stanley Cup-winning Devils under Coach Jacques Lemaire. But that offense-stifling system was merely a variation on the old left-wing lock, a pincer-like checking scheme widely used 30 to 40 years earlier.
Krupp said he would try the six-on-three at the Olympics if the conditions were right. “But probably not if we’re playing Sweden,” he said.
Why not?
“If they’ve got Nicklas Lidstrom out there, I’m not going to pull our goalie,” Krupp said with a rueful laugh.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section
D
, Page
1
of the New York edition
with the headline:
5-on-3 Advantage? Pull the Goalie. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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I'm an avid hockey enthusiast with a deep understanding of the game's strategies and tactics. My knowledge extends to both international and domestic competitions, covering various leagues and tournaments. The article you provided discusses a unique and unconventional strategy in hockey—a midgame, six-on-three power play. My expertise allows me to delve into the concepts and insights presented in the article.
The strategy involves pulling the goalie during a two-man advantage, creating a three-man advantage for the attacking team. This bold move is typically employed when a team is trailing by a significant margin and needs a spark to turn the game around. Although six-on-threes are rare in North American hockey, they have been utilized in the past to attempt late-game comebacks. What makes the midgame six-on-three particularly intriguing is its infrequent use, with only a minor league game in 1996 being recalled as a precedent.
The article recounts an incident during a tournament in Germany in 2007 where the German coach, Uwe Krupp, successfully executed the midgame six-on-three strategy against the United States. Despite the initial skepticism of the opposing coach, Ben Smith, the tactic proved effective, and Germany managed to score during both instances of the six-on-three power play.
The success of the midgame six-on-three is attributed to the sheer numerical advantage—twice as many skaters as the opposing team. Krupp explains the strategic positioning during face-offs, emphasizing the ability to overwhelm the opponent and increase the chances of gaining possession or disrupting clearing attempts.
Notably, the article references instances where this strategy was employed in the past, including a game in 1996 where Las Vegas Coach Chris McSorley used it effectively in an International Hockey League playoff game. The coach pulled the goalie midway through the second period, resulting in a goal that contributed to their victory.
The article also touches upon the rarity of major strategic innovations in hockey, highlighting the historical shifts in tactics such as the "Swedish Torpedo" and the neutral-zone trap. Krupp expresses a willingness to try the six-on-three strategy at the Olympics under the right conditions but acknowledges the potential risks, especially against formidable opponents like Sweden.
In conclusion, the midgame six-on-three power play is a daring and unconventional tactic that, when executed strategically, can provide a team with a significant advantage and a chance to reverse the course of a game.
