Power Play: Overload

The Overload is one of the more popular power-play systems because so many options can develop once it is set up. Four of our five skaters work on one half of the ice, creating short, supported passes and several ways to pull the penalty killers out of position. The system can be run from either side of the ice.

In the setup shown, F1 should be right-handed if possible and D1 should be left-handed if possible. When the power play runs from the opposite side, those handedness preferences reverse.

The Overload power play is designed to create a numerical advantage on one side of the ice. Three players work together around the half wall, goal line and net area, while the other two players provide options through the middle and at the point. The half-wall player is generally the quarterback and should be patient with the puck, using the point, goal-line player and middle option to move the penalty kill out of position.

The goal is not simply to pass the puck around the outside. We want to create a 3-on-2 around the puck and force the penalty killers to commit. Once they do, we attack the space they leave behind. Moving the puck below the goal line is particularly effective because it forces defenders to turn toward their own net and can open the slot, back door or net-front player.

When a shooting opportunity is created, we need traffic at the net and players arriving for rebounds. If nothing is available, keep possession, move the puck back high and start again rather than forcing a play through the penalty kill.

Draw the setup up for your team on the whiteboard, and see how penalty kills respond in the Diamond and Push Down systems.

The net we are attacking is at the left. Red circles are our five power-play skaters, the black dot is the puck, solid arrows show movement or a shot, and dashed arrows show a pass.

The first diagram shows the basic setup. The next three diagrams show options that can develop from the same structure.

The main idea is to get F1 into a strong shooting position in the high slot by drawing the top penalty killer out toward D1. Once D1 has pulled that penalty killer in, D1 passes to F1, who attacks the seam created by the out-of-position penalty killer. F2 and F3 must recognize the developing shot and create traffic and havoc in front of the net.

This option is commonly known as the give and go. F1 and F2 isolate X1 in a two-on-one situation. F1 gives the puck to F2, breaks to the net, and expects to receive it back in a strong scoring position. F3 can either block out X2 and create traffic in front or get open at the far post.

This option requires F2 and D1 to read how the penalty killers react when F2 takes the puck behind the net. If X1 takes away the pass to F1, D1 slips quietly into the space that X1 has vacated. X4 will often get caught watching the puck, giving D1 a chance to move into the slot undetected. If X1 does not take that option away, the pass to F1 should be available.

The Overload forces penalty killers to defend several threats from the same starting shape. Short puck movement and coordinated off-puck timing can open the high slot, the net-front lane, or the weak-side space before the penalty-kill box can recover.