Hockey is all about Angles

How geometry and angles make you a better hockey player

February 27, 2025

by Eryn Barwinski, Education Coordinator, Imagination Station

Hockey is all about angles and geometry. And that's the key to being a great hockey player.

When a puck hits a stationary object it bounces back at the same angle it hit, but in the opposite direction. In hockey, this could be a wall, a person, a goalpost, or a hockey stick. This idea is known as the law of reflection first described by ancient Greek mathematician Euclid around 300 BCE. The law of reflection is used throughout hockey games to manipulate the puck in quick and predictable ways.

The player that should be the most invested in angles is the goalie. Understanding angles can help goalies to make spur-of-the-moment decisions that will help them to defend their side.

Goaltenders can improve their play by always being square to the puck or facing the puck while it is in front of the goal. This means having their shoulders and knees pointing toward the puck at all times. It's called square to the puck because they should be perpendicular to the puck with a 90-degree angle like that of a square.

When a puck is in play there is always an imaginary triangle that branches from the puck to goal posts called the shooting triangle. The area of the shooting triangle is the largest when the puck is directly in front of the goal and grows as the puck moves farther from the goal.

The ideal shot in hockey is to be directly centered with the goal because there is the most area for the puck to make it in, but often that's not possible because that area is blocked by a goalie. Goalies can increase their area of deflection simply by staying square to the puck and moving further out from the goal.

Moving too far out of the goal isn't a great idea though, because hockey pucks move very fast and goalies need to be able to get from one spot to another quite quickly. The crease is a blue-shaded area surrounding the goal that marks where the goalie can go but other players can not. A goaltender can generally maximize the defense of the goal by staying square to the puck in the shooting triangle and by staying at the top of the crease.

Whether you are playing ice hockey, table hockey, soccer, or any other sport with a goal, considering the angles will help improve your game.