Offensive Zone Forecheck: 1-2-2 Skinny

The 1-2-2 Skinny squeezes the ice on one side of the rink. F1 pressures, and instead of splitting the walls, F2 and F3 stack the same side to take away the short outlet and the wall chip. We use it when we want the puck stuck in one corner.

Reading the diagram Net we are attacking at the top, their blue line at the bottom. The **X** in the top corner has the puck.

- **F1** angles the retriever on the strong side — the red arrow is his pressure route into the corner. - **F2** is high on the strong-side wall, near the outside edge of the circle, killing the up-the-wall pass. - **F3** is low and inside on the same side, at the bottom of the strong-side circle. He is the second layer: anything that squeezes past F2 runs into him. - **D1 and D2** hold the line, with the strong-side D ready to pinch when the puck sticks on the wall.

How it plays out Everything happens in a narrow lane. Their only real escape is a hard reversal to the far side, which is exactly why F1 must angle instead of chasing — if he keeps the retriever on our side, the Skinny stack means the puck has nowhere to go.