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Is pulling the goalie worth it?

By Michael Trzinski, WiPH Staff, 01/14/18, 6:00PM CST

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Down by one, pull the netminder, or no?

Down by one goal, the coach is looking for any edge he can find to tally the equalizer. He waits until the puck is deep in the opponent's defensive zone. 

The goalie is begging to come off, while the coaching staff is holding off to the very last minute. Finally, when a forward has possession below the hash marks or the goal line, the coaches on the bench frantically wave to the goalie to get him off the ice for an extra attacker.

The netminder sprints toward the bench, practically falling onto the seat as the extra attacker skates at full speed to the offensive zone to join the attack.

The question: is it worth it?

This humble reporter has kept a careful tally of all games covered by him in the last two seasons.

Of the 37 games attended since December 1, 2016, a goalie was pulled for an extra attacker in 14 of those games.

The results:

  • 71%, no goals are scored (10 of 14)
  • 21%, the opponents scores (3 of 14)
  • 7%, the extra attacker team scores (1 of 14)

Although this a small sample size, I believe it is representative of the results of the pulled goalie.

Most likely, no goals will be scored by either team during the last one minute or so of play. The opponent scores one in five times, while the team that pulls the goalie scores less than 10% of the time.

My thought was always that it doesn't matter if you lose by one or two, so pull the netminder for the extra skater. Being on the 'power play' should give a team a slight advantage over skating equal strength.

And I think that is still correct, but it doesn't always work out, as the statistics show.

The defensive group is playing extra hard to deny all passes and shots, while the offensive team is trying to make the perfect pass or trying to get to that perfect spot to catch the pass and make the game-tying shot.

It might just be my imagination, but the attacking team seems to stress more, causing missed passes and errant shots. That gives the defense the slight edge.

By the numbers, no change in score is likely to happen, but the fans on both sides and both benches get fired up by the possibilty of either getting the tying score or denying the equalizer when the netminder is pulled for the extra skater.

Although there is less than a 10% chance of scoring the tying goal, the possibility of that outcome fires up both sides of the crowd, making the pulled goalie one of the most exciting 'plays' in hockey.