There are a few basic plays that we feel all adult no-check players should know. They are fundamental building blocks to any team's strategy. Beginners should be able to execute them at whatever level of skill they possess. If your teams has practices, these plays should be a part of them.

Hockey plays are never executed exactly as diagrammed as the fun and beauty of the game is in the improvisation that every player brings. However, the basic plays we have selected provide a starting point and basic context for getting the puck out of your zone, moving through the neutral zone and executing an effective attack.

You can watch these plays on your computer or you can learn about them on the ice. Attend Lifetime Hockey's schools in Minnesota and really improve your play. Click here and find out more.

A few notes on format: We choose to use animation for each play as this is one of the advantages a computer has over a book. Each play is a large file (200 KB or so) and will take some time to down load. We have provided an explanation of the play at the top of the web page so you can read about the play as the animation loads. We do not include every player on the team - only those that are important to the play. The animation will repeat so you can study each player's movement. You can get a "diagram" of each play by clicking the print button on your browser at key times in the animation and thereby get a series of print-outs for the play.  

Basic Hockey Plays

Offense	Defense	Penalties
Breakout - up the boards	One player forecheck	Starting the power play
Breakout - up the Center	Zone Defense	Basic power play
Neutral Zone Regroup	Odd Player rush	Power play box defense
Dump in	Defensive Zone face off
Forward Criss Cross
Hitting the Trailer
Triangle Offense
Two player forecheck