Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near the area in front of the net, called the goal crease. Goaltenders tend to stay at or beyond the top of the crease to cut down on the angle of shots. In the modern age of goaltending there are two common styles, butterfly and hybrid. Because of the power of shots, the goaltender wears special equipment to protect the body from direct impact.
Goaltenders are one of the most important players on the ice, as their performance may greatly impact the outcome or score of the game. One-on-one situations, such as breakaways and shootouts, have the tendency to showcase a goaltender's pure skill, or lack thereof. No more than one goaltender per team is permitted to be on the ice at any given time. The rules do not oblige the use of a goaltender and so teams may instead opt to play with an extra skater. However the defensive disadvantage that follows means that this strategy is normally used purely as a desperation maneuver when needing to score late in a game. It may also be used when there is a delayed penalty.
The goaltender is also known as the goalie, ''goaler, goalkeeper, netminder, tendy, and tender by those involved in the hockey community. In the early days of the sport, the term was spelled with a hyphen as goal-tender. The art of playing the position is called goaltending and there are coaches, usually called the goalie coach, who specialize exclusively in working with goaltenders. The variation goalie is typically used for items associated with the position, such as goalie stick and goalie pads''.
Goaltenders in ice hockey
Roster
Goaltenders are a specialized position in ice hockey; at higher levels in the game, no goaltenders play other positions and no other players play goaltender. At minor levels and recreational games, goaltenders do occasionally switch with others players who have been taught goaltending; however, most recreational hockey rules are now forbidding position swapping due to an increase in injuries.A typical ice hockey team has two or three goaltenders on its roster. Most teams typically have a starting goaltender who plays the majority of the regular season games and all of the playoffs, with the backup goaltender only stepping in if the starter is pulled or injured, or in cases where the schedule is too heavy for one goaltender to play every game.
Professional hockey leagues at all levels require each team have a list of "emergency" goaltenders. The list provides goaltender options for both the home and visiting teams. These goaltenders are to be called to a game if a team does not have two goaltenders to start the game, most often in the ECHL where a goaltender can be called up to the American Hockey League that afternoon and the team is unable to sign a backup or the scheduled backup is unable to make the game on time after a callup. An "emergency" goaltender may also be called if both roster goaltenders are injured in the same game.
Goalie tandem
Some teams have used a goaltender tandem where two goaltenders split the regular season playing duties, though often one of them is considered the number one goaltender who gets the start in the playoffs. An example is the 1982–83 New York Islanders with Billy Smith and Roland Melanson; Melanson was named to the NHL second All-Star team for his regular season play while Smith won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP and both players shared the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed. Another instance is the Edmonton Oilers' Andy Moog and Grant Fuhr; both of them earned All-Star Game appearances for the regular season play, with Moog being the starter in the 1983 playoffs and Fuhr for the 1984 playoffs and subsequent postseasons.The Toronto Maple Leafs had Terry Sawchuk and Johnny Bower share goaltending duties in the regular season and games, playoffs, winning the 1964–65 Vezina Trophy and the 1967 Stanley Cup. The 1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers' Ron Hextall and Garth Snow alternated in the playoffs; Snow started nine of the ten games during the first two rounds, but Hextall took over in game two of Conference Finals and remained the starting goaltender for the remainder of the playoffs, though Snow started for game two of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Privileges
The goaltender has special privileges and training that other players do not. They wear special goaltending equipment that is different from that worn by other players and is subject to specific regulations. Goaltenders may use any part of their bodies to block shots. The goaltender may legally hold the puck with their hands to cause a stoppage of play. If a player from the other team hits the goaltender without making an attempt to get out of their way, the offending player may be penalized. In some leagues, if a goaltender's stick breaks, they can continue playing with a broken stick until the play is stopped, unlike other players who must drop any broken sticks immediately.The goaltender normally plays in or near the goal crease the entire game, an area marked in front of the net, unlike the other positions where players are on ice for shifts and make frequent line changes. Attackers cannot make contact with the goaltender within the crease, as this interferes with the goaltender's ability to make saves. However, attackers may still enter the crease if they have the opportunity to make a play on a loose puck.
Additionally, if a goaltender acts in such a way that would cause a normal player to be given a penalty, such as slashing or tripping another player, the goaltender cannot be sent to the penalty box. Instead, one of the goaltender's teammates who was on the ice at the time of the infraction is sent to the penalty box in their place; the goaltender will still be credited with the penalty minutes on the scoresheet. However, if the goaltender receives a game misconduct or match penalty, they must immediately leave the ice and be replaced by another goaltender. In such cases, an unpenalized player is required to serve any minutes assessed to the ejected player in the penalty box; this holds true for all hockey positions in the event a player is ejected from the game.
Goaltenders are often pulled if they have allowed several goals in a short period of time, whether they were at fault for the surrendered goals or not. Usually, a substituted goaltender does not return for the rest of the game. During a game in 1995, future Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy, playing for the Montreal Canadiens at the time, was infamously kept in net by then-head coach Mario Tremblay. Roy perceived this as a means of "humiliation," as he had allowed nine goals on 26 shots to that point, and the crowd in Montreal sarcastically applauded him after making an easy save. Tremblay would finally pull Roy midway through the second period; as he was walking to the locker room, Roy famously leaned toward Canadiens then-president Ronald Corey and told him that it would be Roy's "last game in Montreal." The Canadiens would ultimately lose the game 11-1; Roy was traded to the Colorado Avalanche four days later.
Seventeen goaltenders have scored a goal in National Hockey League games; combined, NHL goaltenders have scored 20 total goals. A goaltender can score by either shooting the puck into the net directly, or being awarded the goal as the last player on their team to touch the puck if an opponent scores an own goal. A goal scored by shooting the puck is particularly challenging, as the goaltender has to aim for a six-foot-wide net that is close to 180 feet away while avoiding hitting opposing players or turning the puck over; in cases of own goals, combining the circumstance of an own goal itself with the goaltender having been the last player to touch the puck renders own goals a very rare occurrence. Of the twenty goals, twelve were scored by shooting the puck and eight were the result of own goals. As of 2023, Ron Hextall and Martin Brodeur are the only goaltenders in NHL history to be credited with multiple goals; Hextall remains the only NHL goaltender to have scored multiple goals via directly shooting the puck. Brodeur is the only goaltender to be credited with three goals, and is the only NHL goaltender to have been credited with a game-winning goal.
A hockey team is not technically required to use a goaltender. At any time in any game, a team may remove its goaltender from the ice in favor of an extra attacker. Using an extra attacker is typically intended to overwhelm the opposing team's defense, and unlike during a power play, the defense cannot legally ice the puck if they are not already shorthanded due to a penalty. This puts the team without a goaltender at a significant advantage on offense. However, leaving the net untended creates the opportunity for an opposing team to score an empty net goal from virtually anywhere on the ice. Obviously, if the opposing team does manage to advance the puck out of their own defensive zone, it becomes much easier to score an empty net goal. Thus, pulling the goalie is often used as an end-of-game desperation measure by losing teams, done in an attempt to quickly score a tying goal with the aid of a sixth attacker. A team may also pull their goalie in the event of a delayed penalty.
NHL rules strongly encourage that teams use goaltenders in overtime; if a team opts for the extra attacker in overtime and an empty-net goal is scored, the game is credited as a regulation loss instead of an overtime loss, and the team pulling the goalie forfeit the point earned for going to overtime. Teams thus typically forgo using a goaltender only in situations where they are trailing by one or two goals with only a short time left in the game and have possession of the puck in their opponent's defensive zone. Prior to the introduction of the shootout, NHL teams occasionally pulled goalies in overtime during rare late season situations where the team pulling its goaltender needed two points to remain in playoff contention or home-ice advantage. The shootout has essentially ended this practice, since teams are statistically much more likely to win a shootout as opposed to winning with an empty net in overtime. Even with the introduction of the shootout to resolve games tied after overtime, it is still theoretically possible for a situation to arise where it may be advisable for an NHL team to pull a goaltender late in the regular season when tied late in regulation, since the statistics "regulation wins" followed by "regulation and overtime wins" are the top two criteria to break ties in the standings; as of, no such situation has occurred since the adoption of the shootout. However, as seen in the 2023-24 ECHL season, the Orlando Solar Bears were tied against the Reading Royals, 0-0, with less than two minutes in the final game of the regular season. The Solar Bears and South Carolina Stingrays were tied in points with the Solar Bears needing a win in either regulation or overtime to clinch the final South Division playoff berth, while the Stingrays led the Florida Everblades, 3-2, late in the third period. Orlando pulled their goaltender with a minute remaining in order to attempt gaining the two points necessary to clinch the final berth, and scored to take the position by one point.
The rules of the IIHF, NHL and Hockey Canada do not permit goaltenders to be designated as on-ice captains, because of the logistical challenge of having the goaltender relay rules discussions between referees and coaches and then return to the crease. The Vancouver Canucks did name goaltender Roberto Luongo as their team captain during the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons, but due to NHL rules, he did not serve as the official on-ice captain. In the NCAA, there is no position-based restriction on the team captain.
Out of the five positions on the rink, goaltenders are frequently candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs; goaltenders have won this honor in four of the last ten playoffs. Patrick Roy has won a record three times, and four goaltenders have won the Conn Smythe Trophy as part of the losing team in the Finals.