Hey guys, I came across this page and was curious to try this out... I've been playing as a goalie in BAP for a while but have almost no experience online, so I was wondering what the lowest skill level is and if you guys would welcome someone like me, or if I'm better off doing some EASHL drop-ins first before joining a team here... Thanks!
Nahh man sign up today! You will get placed in the CHL and based off your performance have an opportunity to grow to the AHL and possibly the NHL. This is a great place to start!
This. But also start practicing in drop ins and such. Online play is much different than offline play.
Play some drop ins, but don’t let it discourage you. There won’t be much defense played, it will just give you a feel for online play.
Use the chatboxes on this site to play actual club games with people as well. Goalie is usually a position that everyone is looking for, so anyone will take you. Don't let the toxic people bother you if you let in a bad goal because that will happen. I'm sure there are also goalie tutorial videos to watch online, as well as some good goalies in this league who are nice enough people to give some tips to a newbie goalie.
@Scheckel29 @JmOnEy2436 @Winston Payne @shutthegate @Perrilyzer1 Are all elite tendies who im sure would help you develop as well, theyre all great guys!
https://www.leaguegaming.com/forums/index.php?forums/leaguegaming-canadian-hockey-league-lgchl.371/ That link will take you to the CHL page. Whenever you’re looking to play just go there and type “G here” in the chatbox. That’s the best way to get some games in. Also when the off-season starts (another week or two) there will be a ton of people scouting for the next season. Be on the lookout for that. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
The Between the Pipes YouTube channel has a lot of useful info if you're looking to get into goalie: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpFLB61W75pkYF-QbpsFKw As others have said, the best way to learn is to play. I'd generally advise against doing drop-ins. They don't really prepare you for the kinds of plays/shots you'll see in normal play most of the time. Finding guys to club with in one of the league chatboxes and then playing against organized clubs is the way to go in my opinion. Since you haven't played before, you'll have the easiest time if you look for games in the CHL shoutbox first and to gradually work your way up. By playing clubs, you'll learn common plays that are used against you whereas you rarely see set plays in drop-ins. Another other tip I'd give is watch goals scored on you sometimes, figure out which goals are your fault and how to prevent them going forward, as well as which goals are basically impossible to save because of errors by your team. As a G, it's easy to blame yourself for everything, but you have to recognize when you've been put in a position to fail too or you'll go insane. That said, don't ever verbally blame the D lol, just figure out the kinds of goals that are actually your responsibility and focus your efforts there. Final tips: Experiment with the cameras. Definitely try Fixed, Overhead, High, and Zone - they probably make up the cameras used by 90% of the community for good reason, each offers its own advantages and disadvantages (I'd argue Overhead is objectively the best if you can get used to it because you have no blind spots, but many prefer Fixed because you're a little more zoomed in; I think High is worse than Fixed and Zone is worse than Overhead, but play around and see). The key to goalie is to watch your goalie as little as possible and focus on the play/open skaters/etc. You have very little reaction time at goalie so you want to be in a good position to make a save at all times and to have some idea of what you'll need to do in advance. Once you get comfortable controlling your goalie, it becomes easier to take your eyes off of your character and move them onto the play. It seems obvious, but it's easy to forget.
Thanks guys, these are all great suggestions! I tried getting in some EASHL drop ins last night and everyone who saw a low level guy as their goalie just dropped off so it'd be great to be able to get in some games with you guys!
I remember playing Be A Pro from like NHL 09 to NHL 12 offline and I thought I was very good. I then went to drop ins and I was horrible. I got yelled at, blamed, called a terrorist, anything you can imagine. Don't let it discourage you because people can be rude. But people can also be nice. I remember playing defense and a good goalie was in drop in and he explained to me when I should go in butterfly, stay in stand up, how deep to play in my net, and how to sort of angle myself towards shooters. I love watching the NHL in real life so I actually studied Lundqvist and Mike Smith because they both play so deep in their nets. In NHL 12 and 13 it was better to play deeper, but as the game progressed the next 2 years you had to challenge the shots more. Someone above mentioned Between the Pipes as a reference on YouTube. He does a great job explaining what I just mentioned. When to go butterfly, when to hold the post, when to move around in your crease, how to face the shooter the correct way, etc. He provides what that one person taught me. After that it's just trusting yourself, instincts, knowledge of common hockey plays (quick wraps, faceoff plays, tricks to go shortside, etc.), and your teammates. After a couple months I was one of the best goalies in NHL 12 and proceeded to be one of the best goalies in the game for a few years until I quit playing at the end of NHL 16. Finding a club can also be tough. I couldn't find a single person who wanted me on their team until I met two stoners who sold weed from their homes. They were so bad/baked that I faced at least 20 shots per game and at most 45 one time. I'm a pretty loyal person so I just got pissed losing and I figured I'd become as good as possible to stop every shot I faced. After that I found a new club in NHL 13 and it all came together for me. Some clubs will work out and some won't. You'll have some bad games and also some good ones. Have fun, make some friends, and mix it up by playing drop in games and then asking people in the chat box above if they need a goalie who's learning the game. You'll find some takers for sure. Joining LG is good. Starting off in the CHL or some scouting games can be very helpful. Also, I don't know if the online shootout mode is still around, but I practiced breakaways in shootouts like crazy because I was facing so many breakaways or penalty shots from defensemen tripping up the shooter instead of just letting them shoot. If that's still in the game I'd do that now and then as well. Good luck and have fun!
Thanks for the kind words. I don't even play with sound as my gf sits beside me watching netflix so I wouldn't even hear people bitching at me hahaha... Out of curiosity, what would be considered average stats online, and what are good stats?
Agree with going to drop ins to start as a goalie you are going to get tons of shots and practice as there is no defence really played at all in drops but you'll definatly get the feel fast @hihiclickk good luck buddeh!
I've played about 10 games now as a goalie online so I think I'm starting to feel the difference between online and offline play. Only complaint I have are running across people who just fuck around!!! I played a couple of games where every time my D picks up the puck, they'll just skate in circles in our own zone to kill time and everyone just stands around watching him...
Lol nobody likes playing defense in drop in games. It's like how nobody plays healer or medic in online shooters. They want to score or shoot all the time and have no responsibility. Just wait til you get defenders who score on you all game even though they're your teammates.
