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N O V. / D E C . 2 0 2 0 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M 11 contact. It wasn't like bullets but just a little bit of a finish to a check: 'You're not getting anything easy.' … It sounds sim- ple, but you're going to have to outwork people and have a physical nature. It can be frustrating for other teams that don't want to work through that." FIND THE HANDS Ultimately, the purpose of body checking in hockey is to gain possession of the puck. Whether it's a bump or a (legal) hit into the boards, the objective is that the defending team is no longer defending. "Look for the hands," Plante said. "Go right through the hands, essentially, so you're trying to find that angle where you can get right in front of the body. If you go too far, you're getting the end of the stick and you can lift the stick and take the puck. If you're a little behind, you're right on the body. W hatever level you're at, you've done almost everything right—as long as you don't blow the guy up. If you take a penalty you just learn from that, right?" PLAY LIKE YOU PRACTICE Angling, checking and playing fast are skills that can be learned and improved upon with practice—and an emphasis on that work from coaches. "Teach the right way to do it, and show the kids like any other skill, whether it's skating or stick handling," Plante said. "When they don't do it right, talk about it. When they do it right, talk about it." Not all players skate the same, so they're going to learn to angle differently. "Get them in a position where they can keep their feet moving and skate and get ahead of the (puck carrier) and into a position that the kid can't get out of. So really, it comes down to an angling art and then being in a body position where your legs are lowered and you're in a strong position to make contact and not fall over." RESPECT THE CHECK You're playing fast and physical, but so is your opponent. Understand that you're likely to get bumped or checked in a game. Understand that means you might get knocked down. Don't get mad and retaliate when someone gets the best of you, Plante says. "When I'm at a game I look for that," he said, "like, 'I got knocked on my butt. Now what do I do? Do I get up and go whack the guy or run around all over the rink trying to get them back? Or am I just going to go out on the next shift and be better?' For me, that's character." You don't want to put your team in a bad spot by playing undisciplined hockey. "Hockey sense is a big par t of that, k now ing when it 's appropriate to ma ke a strong check, when is it appropriate to just get back. It 's about the big pic- ture. It 's about what 's best for your team. But if you're going for the big hit because you're k ind of upset, and now you let your g uy go dow n and score a goa l because you were too busy worr y- ing about something else, you've hur t your team." Plante is back at UMD after spending five years as a development coach for the Chicago Blackhawks. He played eight seasons in the NHL. "I'm all about pace and being in someone's face… I was in your face, but I never hammered people."