Today we move into our last topic in the offense section of "The Hockey Clinic with Brian Mullen" with a discussion on face-offs. Face-offs are an important aspect to the game of hockey. Unfortunately, many hockey schools, clinics and instructional manuals often overlook this skill.

As I have been saying from the very start, every player should learn every skill no matter their position. You do not have to be a center to take a face-off. You never know when you will be called upon to challenge your opponent for possession of the puck.

Becoming a face-off specialist is more a mental game than a physical one. When you are in the circle, you must believe you can win the face-off. If you think you are going to lose, you will lose. And after today's lesson, there is no reason to ever believe you will lose a face-off, so let's get started!

Before you enter the face-off circle, first decide what you are going to do with the puck. Will you draw it back or push it forward? Then position your teammates to where you want them to be on the ice. Remember you are the quarterback when you are in the face-off circle. Also, if you intend to draw the puck behind you and are in your own end of the ice, let your goaltender know. This will lessen the chance of putting the puck in your own net off the face-off. Believe me I have seen this happen several times during my career.

In addition, look at the positioning of your face-off opponent. Is his or her body turn to the left or right? Is he/she using a backhand grip on the stick? Is one skate back away from the face-off circle? You should always look for signs from your opponent as to what he/she intends to do with the face-off (see Fig. 1). If their body is turned or one skate is slide back away from the circle, chances are they want to move the puck in that direction. If they use a backhand grip on the stick, this usually means he or she wants to draw the puck back. Half the battle is figuring out what your opponent is going to do. Once you do that, you can plan your method of attack.

Here's how it works:

• Place your stick blade on the edge of the face-off circle.
• You do not want to put pressure on your stick, evenly distribute the weight on your skates.
• Choke up on the stick by sliding both hands down the shaft of the stick three to four inches and crouch down.
• Grip your stick firmly.
• Point your toes forward.
• Once you decide what you are doing to do, keep your eyes on the hand of the linesman anticipating the drop of the puck (see Fig. 2).

Fig. 1 Check the positioning of your opponent to see if he/she is giving any clues as to what they intend to do

Fig. 2 Once you are set, watch the hand of the linesman and try to anticipate the drop of the puck

Anticipation is an important aspect of face-offs. Anticipating what your opponent is going to do as well as how and when the linesman drops the puck is critical to your success. Some linesman drop the puck flat on its side while others bounce the puck on its edge. The more you can anticipate, the better face-off player you will become.

Some games, however, you will find the person on the opposite side of the circle to be faster than you are. You can combat this by either choking up on the stick a little more or take a defensive approach. The defensive approach is achieved by attacking the stick of your opponent. Bring your stick under your opponenet 's stick a few inches above the blade and lift up (see Fig. 4). This will eliminate your opponent from using his stick and enable you to either move the puck with your stick or tie up your opponent and kick the rubber biscuit with your skate to one of your teammates. Attacking the stick is also a good approach to use when the face-off occurs near your own goal. In that situation, you never want to lose the face-off. You either want to beat or draw with your opponent but never give them a clear shot at your net.

Fig. 3 Take an offensive approach such as the simple forehand move if you're quicker off the draw than your opponent

Fig. 4 It is a good idea to lift the stick and tie up your opponent when the face-off is in your zone