Goaltender (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 usually plays in or near the area in front of the net called the goal crease (often referred to simply as the crease or the net). Goaltenders tend to stay at or beyond the top of the crease to cut down on the angle of shots. In today's age of goaltending there are two common styles, butterfly and hybrid (hybrid is a mix of the traditional stand-up style and butterfly technique). Because of the power of shots, the goaltender wears special equipment designed to protect the body from direct impact. The goalie is one of the most valuable players on the ice, as their performance can greatly change the outcome or score of the game. One-on-one situations, such as breakaways and shootouts, have the tendency to highlight a goaltender's pure skill, or lack thereof. Only one goaltender is allowed to be on the ice for each team at any given time.

The goaltender is also known as the goalie, goaler,goalkeeper,net minder, 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.

Goaltending is a specialized position in ice hockey; at higher levels in the game, no goalies play other positions and no other players play goalie. At minor levels and recreational games, goalies do occasionally switch with others players that have been taught goaltending; however, most recreational hockey rules are now forbidding position swapping due to outstanding injuries.

A typical ice hockey team may have 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 goalie to play every game.

The NHL requires each team have a list of "emergency" goalies. The list provides goalie options for both the home and visiting teams. These goalies are to be called to a game if a team does not have two goalies to start the game. An "emergency" goalie may also be called if both roster goalies are injured in the same game.

Some teams have used a goalie tandem where two goaltenders split the regular season playing duties, though one of them is considered the number one goaltender who gets the start in the playoffs, such as 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.

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