Five-hole

Last updated
Schematics of the "holes" on an ice hockey goal. The five-hole is between the goaltender's legs. Goalie-holes.png
Schematics of the "holes" on an ice hockey goal. The five-hole is between the goaltender's legs.

The five-hole is an ice hockey term for the space between a goaltender's legs. The name and its first recorded usage was in 1976 by Flyer Reggie Leach [2] The phrases through the five-hole and gone five-hole are used when a player scores by shooting the puck into the goal between the goaltender's legs. The term is also used in basketball, association football, field hockey, and lacrosse. In baseball, the term is used to describe a wild pitch between the catcher's legs.

Contents

Origin

When a goaltender stands in the net in the ready position, there are five open areas (and two closed) that the goalie must cover.

  1. Glove side, high This area is defined by the goaltender's arm and glove on the bottom, mask on the inside, and the post and top of the goal on the outside.
  2. Glove side, low This area is defined by the goaltender's arm and glove on the top, the ice on the bottom, and the outside post of the goal. During a butterfly-style save, this area is closed off completely and the glove is typically stacked on top of the leg pad as the leg is extended to cover the post.
  3. Stick side, high This area is defined by the goal post, top of the goal, and the goalie's arm and stick. The top half of the goaltender's stick is held in this area but is not commonly used for stopping the puck.
  4. Stick side, low This area is the lower half of the stick side, defined by the stick and arm, the ice, and the outer post of the goal. During a butterfly-style save, this area is also covered by the leg pad with the blocker stacked on top to protect against low shots. When a goaltender is standing, the paddle of the stick (i.e. its handle) is used to cover this area and to deflect the puck away from the net.
  5. Five-hole The fifth area is between the goalie's leg pads and skates. This area is protected by the blade of the stick at all times and is closed up by the upper leg pads when the goalie is in the butterfly position. [1]

There are two additional areas, the 6 hole (under the glove side arm) and 7 hole (under the stick side arm), which are less commonly used terms. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey</span> Team winter sport

Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport, and is considered to be one of the more physically demanding team sports. It is distinct from field hockey, in which players move a ball around a non-frozen pitch using field hockey sticks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goalkeeper</span> Player in sports preventing the opposing team from scoring

In many team sports that involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting opposing shots on goal. Such positions exist in bandy, rink bandy, camogie, association football, Gaelic football, international rules football, floorball, handball, hurling, field hockey, ice hockey, roller hockey, lacrosse, ringette, rinkball, water polo, and shinty, as well as in other sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goaltender</span> Person who tends the goal in ice hockey

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penalty (ice hockey)</span> Punishment for breaking the rules in ice hockey

A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penalties are called and enforced by the referee, or in some cases, the linesman. The offending team may not replace the player on the ice, leaving them short-handed as opposed to full strength. When the opposing team is said to be on a power play, they will have one more player on the ice than the short-handed team. The short-handed team is said to be "on the penalty kill" until the penalty expires and the penalized player returns to play. While standards vary somewhat between leagues, most leagues recognize several common varieties of penalties, as well as common infractions.

In ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except the goaltender. This is the same type of shot used in a shootout to decide games in some leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shot (ice hockey)</span> Attempt to score a goal in ice hockey

A shot in ice hockey is an attempt by a player to score a goal by striking or snapping the puck with their stick in the direction of the net.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breakaway (ice hockey)</span>

A breakaway is a situation in ice hockey in which a player with the puck has no defending players, except for the goaltender, between himself and the opposing goal, leaving him free to skate in and shoot at will. A breakaway is considered a lapse on the part of the defending team. If a player's progress is illegally impeded by an opposing player or if the goalie throws his stick at the oncoming player, the breakaway player is awarded a penalty shot. If a player faces an empty net and is illegally impeded by an opposing player, he is automatically awarded a goal for his team instead of taking a penalty shot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glove (ice hockey)</span> Any of various sorts of gloves worn by ice hockey players

There are two styles of gloves worn by ice hockey players. Skaters wear similar gloves on each hand, while goaltenders wear gloves of different types on each hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roller in-line hockey</span> Sport discipline

Roller in-line hockey, American roller hockey or inline hockey, is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a very fast-paced and free-flowing game and is considered a contact sport, but body checking is prohibited. There are five players including the goalkeeper from each team on the rink at a time, while teams normally consist of 16 players. There are professional leagues, one of which is the National Roller Hockey League (NRHL). While it is not a contact sport, there are exceptions, i.e. the NRHL involves fighting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey goaltending equipment</span>

In ice hockey, the goaltender wears specialized goaltending equipment to protect themselves from the impact of the puck, and to assist in making saves. Ringette and rinkball goaltenders use the same equipment with some exceptions. This article deals chiefly with the sport of ice hockey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butterfly style</span> Goaltending technique in ice hockey

In ice hockey, butterfly style is a technique of goaltending distinguished by the goaltender guarding the lower part of the net by dropping to the knees to block attempts to score. The butterfly style derives its name from the resemblance of the spread goal pads and hands to a butterfly's wings. The butterfly style is contrasted with stand-up style, where most shots on a goal are stopped with the goaltender on his feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miracle on Manchester</span> 1982 National Hockey League playoff game

The Miracle on Manchester is the nickname given to a National Hockey League (NHL) playoff game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers that took place on April 10, 1982 in the league's 65th season. The game, the third in a best-of-five postseason series, was played at The Forum, the Kings' home arena at the time, which was situated on Manchester Boulevard in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. The Kings completed the largest comeback in NHL playoff history, going from being down 5–0 to win the game in overtime, 6–5. Combined with upset wins in Games 1 and 5, the Kings eliminated the Gretzky-led Oilers in a 3–2 series victory to reach the second round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Hockey League rules</span>

The National Hockey League rules are the rules governing the play of the National Hockey League (NHL), a professional ice hockey organization. Infractions of the rules, such as offside and icing, lead to a stoppage of play and subsequent face-offs, while more serious infractions lead to penalties being assessed to the offending team. The league also determines the specifications for playing equipment used in its games.

This is a list of common terms used in the sport of ice hockey along with the definitions of these terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey equipment</span>

In ice hockey, players use specialized equipment both to facilitate the play of the game and for protection as this is a sport where injuries are common, therefore, all players are encouraged to protect their bodies from bruises and severe fractures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Save (goaltender)</span> Preventing a shot from entering the net

In ice hockey and association football, a goaltender is credited with a save when they prevent a shot by the opponent from entering the net. A goaltender's efficiency in stopping shots, the save percentage, is calculated as a percentage of shots stopped divided by the total number of shots on goal. If a goaltender makes all the saves within a game it is called a shutout. In association football this is called a clean sheet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blocker (ice hockey)</span>

The goalie blocker is a rectangular piece of equipment worn by goaltenders in the sports of ice hockey, roller hockey, rink hockey, broomball, and ringette. It is generally worn on the dominant hand. This article deals chiefly with blockers worn by goalies who play winter sports.

The Hockey Canada Officiating Program is the governing body for on-ice officials for all ice hockey games played under the jurisdiction of Hockey Canada. The Hockey Canada Rulebook provides in-depth explanation and examples of all rules governing hockey in Canada.

The National Hockey League All-Star Skills Competition, officially the NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition during certain past years, is an event on the night preceding the National Hockey League All-Star Game. Started at the 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game in Pittsburgh in 1990, the NHL uses the event to showcase the talents of its all-star participants. The All-Star teams select representatives for each event, with points awarded to the winning team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goaltender (box lacrosse)</span> Person who blocks goal in box lacrosse

The goaltender or goalie is a playing position in indoor or box lacrosse. More heavily armoured than a field lacrosse goaltender, since the invent of indoor lacrosse in 1931, the box lacrosse goalie has evolved into a much different position than its field lacrosse cousin.

References

  1. 1 2 Gonzalez, Jason (2017-02-08). "Official hockey lingo: Merriam-Webster adds 'five-hole' to the dictionary". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  2. "Five-hole". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  3. "Why is it called 7 hole in hockey?". Quora. Retrieved 2023-12-13.