Angles: A goalie will position himself to decrease the amount of the net that a shooter can see
Around-the-world glove save: When a goalie catches the puck in a style where his arm will end up going around in a large circle
Backdoor: When the goalie is at one side of the net the empty side that he is not covering is referred to as the backdoor
Backstop: Another name for the goaltender
Back-up Goaltender: The goaltender who is not playing and is sitting on the bench with the players
Between the Pipes: A goaltender who is standing in his crease is said to be standing ‘between the pipes’; another name for the goalie net
Blocker: The large glove with a paddle on the backhand that the goalie wears on the hand that holds his hockey stick
Brick Wall: A term for a goalie who is stopping everything that is shot at him; it is like a ‘brick wall’ has been put up in front of the net.
Butterfly: A goaltender style of play where he goes down on his knees causing each of his pads to butterfly out to the sides. This is great for covering the bottom portion of the net.
Cage: A goalie’s helmet
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Chest Protector: The large piece of padding and protection that a goalie wears over his chest, body, and arms to protect against the puck
Crease: The painted area in front of the goalie net
Doorstop: The area directly in front of the goaltender, usually referred to a player right in front of the goal line being on the ‘doorstop’.
Face mask: Another name for the goalie helmet
Five-Hole: The area that opens up between the goaltender’s legs whenever he is moving from high-to-low or side-to-side. When a goalie lets in a goal between his legs a player has scored through his five-hole.
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Freeze the Puck: When a goalie puts his hand over the puck or keeps the puck in his pads to stop the play
G: Abbreviation for Goaltender in statistics
GA: Abbreviation for Goals Against, which is the number of goals a goalie has let in during the game
GAA: Goals Against Average, the number of goals that a goalie lets in on average during a game. For example, if he lets in 3 goals in one game and 2 in the next the average will be 5 goals divided by 2 games = 2.5 Goals Against Average. The actual calculation takes into account 60 minutes per game.
Glove: The catching glove that the goalie wears in his non-stick hand
Goal Crease: The painted area in front of the net that is the domain of the goaltender
Goaltender Interference: A penalty that is called on a player if he bumps or hits the goalie inside or outside the net
Goal Line: The small red line that runs from one end of the boards to the opposite side and which the goalie net is placed on. A puck must completely cross the goal line and go into the net to count as a goal
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Goal Mouth: Another name for the area in front of the net
Goalie Pads: The large pads that the goalie wears on his legs for protection and helping to stop the puck
Goalie Stick: The special type of stick featuring a large paddle that a goalie uses
Goose Egg: A term for getting a shutout or zero goals against
Hugging the Post: When a goalie is up tight against the post with his arm and leg touching it, and making sure that no puck can get in between him and the post
Holes: The areas that form in between the goalies limbs or posts where players aim to shoot to score their goals
Iron: A nickname for the metal post of the net
Jennings Trophy: The trophy awarded to the goalie tandem whose team has the fewest goals against during an NHL season
Lateral Movement: When a goalie moves from side-to-side or from one side of the net to the other.
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Mesh: The netting that surrounds the metal frame of the net
Net: What the goalie is protecting from players shooting the puck into
Netminder: Another name for the goaltender
Number-one Goaltender: Of the two goaltenders on the team, the goalie who gets the most starts and plays the most
Paddle Down: Making sure that the goalie stick blade is on the ice to prevent pucks from scoring along the ice
Puck: The black piece of vulcanized rubber that is used to score goals
Pull the Goalie: When a team takes the goalie out of the net near the end of the game and puts on an extra attacker on the ice in hopes of scoring a goal
Razor Sharp: When a goalie is playing extremely well making really hard saves
Rebound: When the puck hits the goalie and bounces back out into the play. The goalie is trying to limit the size of rebound or direct them into the corner of the rink
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Red Light: When a goal is scored a ‘red light’ will come on indicating that the puck has crossed the goal line
Reading the Play: A goalie is tracking the puck and trying to anticipate where it will go and when the puck will be shot on net
Ricochet: When a puck deflects off one or a few skates, sticks, legs, or other body parts
Roof: The top part of the net
Save: When a puck is shot at the goalie and the goalie prevents it from going into the net
Save Percentage: The number of saves a goalie makes divided by the number of shots. If a goalie stops 9 out of 10 shots he will have a .900 or 90% save percentage
Screen: When a player is standing in front of the goalie so he cannot see the puck or shot about to come
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Shutout: When a goalie lets in zero goals over the course of a whole game
Sieve: A goalie who is not playing well and is letting in a lot of goals which were stoppable
Slot: The area in front of the net that extends from the top of the crease to the top of the face
Square to the puck: The positioning of the goalie where he will be facing a shooter head-on so that the shooter will have the minimum amount of net to shoot at from his position on the ice
Stacking the Pads: When the goalie is on his side on the ice and places his two goalie pads together to stop a shot
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Stand on his Head: A term for a goalie who is consistently making unbelievable saves against the other team
Stone a Shooter: When a goalie makes a save against a player that has a really great chance to score
Trapezoid: The area behind the net where the goalie is allowed to play the puck when the puck goes behind the goal line to the end boards
Trapper: A nickname for the goalie glove
Undressed: When a goalie gets deked or faked out by a player which results in a goal
Vezina Trophy: The award for the goalie who is deemed to have the best year in the NHL
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