2 v 2 Net Front Corner Battles with Support

By: Ice Hockey Systems

2 v 2 Net Front Corner Battles with Support is a competitive 2 v 2 small area game from the 2025 Buffalo Sabres Development Camp that practices corner and net front battles. The design of this drill encourages players to win the puck battle and pass it to the point for support and a shot, tip or redirect on net.

Setup

• Nets are in the corner as shown in the diagram.
• Each team has 2 players at the point, 2 players in zone, and 1 goalie.
• The drill begins with a coach flipping the puck into the zone.
• Each team is working to retrieve the puck and score on the opposing teams net, while the defending team is working to get the puck back so they can score on the other net.
• Coaches can require the defense to have to pass the puck to the point before they can transition to offense, or they can allow the defense to immediately attack the other teams goal.

Coaching Points

• Players should work on getting good position on the opposing team so they can win puck battles.
• Players should utilize board passes and rims to their point players.
• Defenders should keep sticks on the ice to angle and block passing lanes.

Variations

• Coaches can require the defense to have to pass the puck to the point before they can transition to offense, or they can allow the defense to immediately attack the other teams goal.
• Coaches can require the defense to only look for passes and redirects and no shots.
• Coaches can require the defense to one touch or two touch everything so the puck is not sitting at the point.
• Coaches can only allow the defense to go d to d once or twice (if they allow them to go back and fourth unlimited times it can slow the game down)
• This drill is a variation of Defend Net Front Progression With 2 Point Players, which sets up the two goals on the goal line and gives the players more space but works on similar concepts and would be better for younger age levels.