"Keep covered what you already have covered."

That's one of the goaltending rules I learned in my first year of professional hockey. If you are down in a butterfly on the ice covering as much net as you can...keep it covered! So many times we watch goals go in on tips, screens, and even cross-crease passes that could have been saved except for the fact that the goalie felt the need to extend his/her leg and/or arm. Watch for it in the next NHL hockey game you see on television.

Take a look at Patrick Roy. He's not the quickest guy around, but he's definitely one of the greatest goalies of all time. He makes sure he's blocking the puck first before he's concerned with saving it. It's probably why he's lasted so long at such a high level of play. Watch him for examples of this concept. In fact, watch any French-Canadien goaltender. They all play the same way. Jean-Sebastian Giguere (Anaheim), Jose Theodore (Montreal), even Manny Fernandez (Minnesota). All of them are considered "butterfly" goaltenders. It's not a bad thing. They stop pucks don't they? Because they block first, and save second.

As you get older and the pace of play gets faster, it's going to be harder and harder to simply react to the puck. You need something else on your side to help you with this whole concept.

Patience and positioning.

Two of the hardest things to learn as a goaltender. Our first instinct is to react and thrust ourselves toward the puck. Sometimes it is more effective NOT to move. Tipping situations call for this most often. It is virtually impossible to react effectively to a tip shot. More on that situation in a later article. But, make sure you are concerned first with blocking the puck rather than saving. Make sure that your holes and movement is minimized. If you block first, the saving part takes care of itself.