Hockey Who's Who
Goaltender
His main responsibility is keeping the opposition from scoring. He wears a mask, uses a bigger stick, and wears nearly 40 pounds of equipment to keep from being injured by pucks fired by opponents. The goalie sometimes gets into the act offensively by passing the puck up ice to a teammate.
Defenseman
The two defensemen (left and right) are the last line of defense before the attacking team reaches the goaltender. It is their responsibility to prevent the opposing team from getting scoring chances. To do this defensemen will clear opposing players from in front of the net to keep the goaltender from being screened, block shots, break up opponent's rushes, and clear the puck out of the defensive zone. On the offensive end, defensemen usually occupy the point- the area just inside the opponent's zone.
Forwards
The three forward positions- left wing, center, and right wing- are often interchangeable once the game gets going. A left winger, for example, will rarely stay only on the left side of the ice during an attack. The center usually takes all face-offs and is often the primary playmaker. Although the three forwards do have defensive responsibilities when the opposing team has control of the puck, the majority or a team's offensive production will come from its forward corps.
