Five-Man Clockwork Breakout

Objective: One breakout pattern, run like clockwork, at progressive pressure — timing first, chaos later. Setup: Five-man unit in breakout posture. Coach spots a puck low to start each rep and adds one checker per round. Execution: Round 1, no pressure: D1 to the swinging center in the middle lane; wingers stretch the walls. Center carries through the neutral zone with both wingers filling wide lanes and D2 trailing. Add one checker per round, up to three — the pattern never changes, only the tempo of the decisions. Coaching points: The center's swing times with the retrieval — arrive as the puck is ready, not before. Wingers start ON the wall at the hash marks; drifting to the middle kills the spacing. When pressure comes, same pattern, faster feet — don't invent a new play.