Page:Hockey, Canada's Royal Winter Game.djvu/94

 an opponent, but to the side or to an opening, in order to enable the forwards to follow it up and block the return.

It is advisable for the defence to be so placed that if the cover-point is directly in front of the goal-minder, the point will be either to the left or right, between the two, because they will thus all have a clear view of the play. On no occasion should the three defence men be in Indian file, one directly in front of the other.

"A cover-point in lifting the puck should be guided by the positions of his players. If they are around their opponents' defence, he should quickly lift the puck in their direction, in order to keep the play in that territory. In this case he should lift and not dribble or slide the puck, because a lift is more difficult for his adversaries to secure. If his forwards are around their own defence and he is forced clear, he should shoot the puck in such a direction that will cause his opponents the most trouble to recover it, thus enabling his forwards to follow up with a chance of securing the return.

"When the cover-point secures the puck and only a short distance exists between himself and his forwards, he should advance, pass the puck to them and bring them all into play, then return to his post.