Face-off analysis in men's ice-hockey world championships 2007
Liitola, Tuomas (2012)
Liitola, Tuomas
HAAGA-HELIA ammattikorkeakoulu
2012
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201302072139
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201302072139
Tiivistelmä
This study was made to find out how important face-offs really are in ice hockey. Study was designed to answer if face-offs have a meaningful role in the final result.
The starting point was to find out what are the factors we need to study, and what will the results tell. The study had to answer who wins the face-off, how it is won, where it is won to, how the teams line up and what happens after the face-off. Also the study had to answer how much there are face-offs, when there are face-offs and where the face-off is taken.
After deciding how the study is going to be made was to be decided from where the study is made. Options were SM-league, NHL or world championships. World championships were chosen due to two reasons – videos from most of the games were available and the amount of games was doable (51 games from 56 on official DVD’s)
Composing the stats was the third step and it took almost a year. Fourth step was to analyze the results and see if the questions rose before the study were answered.
Analysis shows that face-offs do have a meaning, but the differences are small. Most often the team that wins the face-off gains possession of the puck, but rarely scores. Study also showed that there are differences when and where the face-offs are. There is average of 69 face-offs in one game. 21 goals were scored in 3509 face-offs in 51 games. Also a small but meaningful finding was that players are not taken away from the face-off so much in the end of the game than in the earlier stages.
The study failed to answer how much teams have pre-planned tactics and how much coaches use certain players in certain situations and against certain opponents.
The starting point was to find out what are the factors we need to study, and what will the results tell. The study had to answer who wins the face-off, how it is won, where it is won to, how the teams line up and what happens after the face-off. Also the study had to answer how much there are face-offs, when there are face-offs and where the face-off is taken.
After deciding how the study is going to be made was to be decided from where the study is made. Options were SM-league, NHL or world championships. World championships were chosen due to two reasons – videos from most of the games were available and the amount of games was doable (51 games from 56 on official DVD’s)
Composing the stats was the third step and it took almost a year. Fourth step was to analyze the results and see if the questions rose before the study were answered.
Analysis shows that face-offs do have a meaning, but the differences are small. Most often the team that wins the face-off gains possession of the puck, but rarely scores. Study also showed that there are differences when and where the face-offs are. There is average of 69 face-offs in one game. 21 goals were scored in 3509 face-offs in 51 games. Also a small but meaningful finding was that players are not taken away from the face-off so much in the end of the game than in the earlier stages.
The study failed to answer how much teams have pre-planned tactics and how much coaches use certain players in certain situations and against certain opponents.