This is going to be a short post because the video below does a great job of explaining box control. I plan on bringing strings to a goalie session so I can go over this with all the goalies! The only thing the video did not go over is how the angles change as the puck gets closer to the boards. As the puck gets closer to the boards the opening in the net gets smaller because of the bad angle. Since the net is getting small, as a goalie you do not need to challenge the shooters (come out of your net) as much, as if the shooter was in the center of the ice. This is a common mistake by younger goalies which causes them to over commit. Overcommitting has two major issues, one is the goalie cannot get back across the crease when a cross-ice pass happens. The second is a loss of angle which opens holes when a player is cutting across the ice.
The best solution to this is practicing tracking the puck as a shooter cuts across the center of the ice (Top of the circle to the top of the other circle as shown in the picture below). The shooter can shoot whenever he/she wants and should shoot to score.
If the shooter is constantly shooting to the glove side or the blocker side that gives you a hint that you are giving up more net on that side. The most common mistake young goalies make is not having enough patience, so usually the open net is the side you are moving away from. Have more patience, you take up more net than you think! If there is no pattern to the shots, then you are most likely keeping a good angle!
Keep this in mind in practice. If your teammates keep shooting at one side of the net you are probably off your angle.
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