One of the most difficult things for a goaltender to master is quickly and efficiently closing the five-hole without creating other openings for the shooter to exploit. Most goaltenders, if asked what they need to work on the most, will almost unanimously agree; the "five-hole". But then why is such an obvious problem, so hard to correct? It really comes down to understanding why the five-hole is so difficult to cover.

The majority of goaltenders today play a Pro-fly style or a modified version of this style. This style can best be described as having the feet positioned very wide apart and going down with the pads positioned on the edges, the gloves held out to the sides and the upper body kept more vertical. This gives the greatest amount of net coverage. While this style is great for overall coverage, it can cause problems. With the feet so wide apart, it can be difficult to get the necessary push from the skate blade to get good lateral movement. It is essential to keep the feet positioned proportionate to the individual goaltender's own body size. All too often I see kids trying to look like the pros with their feet so wide apart they have lost all lateral movement. This leads to hesitation and loss of speed when trying to close the five-hole. Any goaltender has to remember that many of the professional goaltenders they are watching on TV are very tall individuals who can position their feet very wide apart as this does not hurt their lateral movement. The best thing to do is to find the foot spacing that is wide enough for this style but still allows for a strong powerful push on the skate blade. Normally this is putting the feet shoulder width apart plus 12 inches (30.5 cm). If you start from this position and then practice slowly widening your stance until you can detect a loss of lateral speed, you will have found your ideal foot spacing. Remember this foot spacing and practice it. Repetition will make it feel natural.

A few other pointers can also help protect the five-hole. When going down to the ice, your pads should not hit together at the top until you are just contacting the ice. If the pads hit sooner, the pads are too tall and when they hit, it will slow down the closure of the five-hole. If your pads are too short when you contact the ice, there will still be a spacing between the tops of the pads. How big the space is will tell you how short you pads are. Keep your stick on the ice. It can help fill in the five hole area.

Many goaltending coaches will teach to pull the elbow in and turn the blocker glove sideways when going down. This is not very effective for low shots along the ice and will contribute to a more exposed five-hole. Practice your foot work T-pushes, shuffles, and even the seldom used skate save. Practice on shots without your stick low and along the ice just a few inches to the outsides of your pads. Quick feet and small quick lateral movement will give you greater control and keep you from over committing or reacting first to the puck or shooter. This will give you more time to properly react to the shot.