A breakaway is a situation in ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 in which a player with the puck

Hockey puck

A puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball does in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.- Etymology :The origin of the word "puck" is obscure...

 has no defending players

Defenceman (ice hockey)

Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...

, except for the goaltender

Goaltender

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

, between himself and the opposing goal, leaving him free to skate

Ice skating

Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...

 in and shoot

Shot (ice hockey)

A shot in ice hockey is an attempt by a player to score a goal by striking the puck with their stick in the direction of the net.-Shovel:The shovel shot is the simplest most basic shot in a shooter's arsenal. Its execution is simply a shoveling motion to push the puck in the desired direction...

 at will (before the out-of-position defenders can catch him). A breakaway is considered a lapse on the part of the defending team. If a player's progress is illegally impeded by an opposing player or if the goalie throws his stick at the oncoming player, he is awarded a penalty shot

Penalty shot (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except...

.

Defense against a breakaway

• One theory about the best way for the goalie to react to a breakaway is called the "Y" theory. In this theory the goalie comes out to somewhere between halfway between the faceoff circle hashes and the crease or up to the hashes. From there he lines up to the puck. He skates backwards following the puck and based on the player's actions, he can drop and take the shot. If the player goes diagonally with the puck, the goalie splits off from going straight back and then goes diagonal either way. The "Y" comes from the going straight back and then the diagonal movement. That forms a "Y" representing how a goalie can potentially play that breakaway.

• Another theory to react well is where the goalie sees the blade of the stick. If it is more towards one side or the other, the goalie can usually anticipate where the shot is going to hit.

• Yet another way is that if the shot is going to be high (can be determined if the stick blade is upright on the ice 90 degrees), the goalie can move up to cut off the angle on the player, and go down right before the shot is taken. This way, there is more of a chance that the puck will not go over the goalie into the net.

• A goalie can go up to the player, dive down sideways, and collide with the player, forcing him to chip the puck over him/her, or deke. Though this strategy for goalies can be risky, it can usually work, considering that usually the player's head is down looking at the puck, so the goalie can surprise the player. This term is collectively known as the "two-pack stack" or the "Hextall" because Ron Hextall
  Ron Hextall
  Ronald Jeffrey Hextall is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 13 National Hockey League seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers, Quebec Nordiques, and New York Islanders...
  
   was famous for diving and stacking the pads to take out opposing players' legs.(See at 1:25)

See also

• Goaltender
  Goaltender
  In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
  
  
• Overtime (ice hockey)
  Overtime (ice hockey)
  Overtime is a method of determining the winner and loser of an ice hockey match when the scores are tied after regulation. The two main methods are the overtime period and the shootout.-Overtime periods:...
  
  
• Penalty shot (ice hockey)
  Penalty shot (ice hockey)
  In ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except...