# Hockey - Goalie question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [December 7, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356 "2011-12-07T06:47:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/1 "2011-12-07T06:47:50Z")
I’ve played hockey, but never goalie (not seriously, anyway).
As a right handed baseball player, I always use my left hand for my glove, so if I ever played goalie, I’d just use a baseball glove that would go over my left hand, and with my right hand, I’d hold the stick.
But is this correct? what I mean is, does a hockey goalie (if he’s right handed) use the glove on the hand he would use for a baseball game and use his dominant hand for the stick and blocker pad?
I can see the benefit for using my right hand for the glove hand. It’s my dominant hand, and since I’m not required to use my left hand after stopping the puck (no baseball-like throws, for example), do most guys go with their dominant hand for the glove or is there no hard and fast rule?
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### Author:  [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/2 "2011-12-07T07:45:05Z")
I think most goalies put the blocker/stick on their dominant hand and the trapper on their non-dominant. It takes a fair amount of dexterity to handle the puck or perform poke checks, which makes it better for most people to have the stick in their dominant hand.
With that said, you can put the trapper on your head for all anyone cares if that makes you more effective at stopping the puck.
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### Author:  [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2011, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/3 "2011-12-07T08:18:52Z")
I agree: most right handed goalies hold their stick (and wear the blocker) in their right hand because they have the greater control that way.
There are a few exceptions: I know [Jonas Hiller](http://cdn.sportsmemorabilia.com/sports-product-image/1-t1117136-500.jpg)is right handed (for things like writing) but plays with the blocker on the left and trapper on the right. I think the same is true for Tomas Vokoun.
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/4 "2011-12-07T14:15:02Z")
You do whatever is comfortable for you, but I have to believe that catching with the non-dominant hand (as in baseball) would feel most right.
I do know that there are some right-dominant skaters who prefer to shoot “left-handed”, and vice versa.
mmm
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### Author:  [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/5 "2011-12-07T16:31:23Z")
Oddly enough, it seems that for regular shooting, the correlation between regular handedness and shooting handedness isn’t quite as strong. There are more lefty stickhandlers (blade out to the left, shaft in the right hand) than righties, but the proportion isn’t similar to regular handedness. My husband is right handed for everything, and shoots right. I’m right handed but shoot left (when I “play” hockey…I just grabbed a stick and pretended to shoot…guess what, I’m a lefty!).
I dragonboat, and there’s a similar thing with paddling: despite ~90% of the population being right handed, we have no trouble finding people who are naturally able to paddle either left or right (defined by which side of the body/boat you swing on). Our usual method with newbies is to just give them a paddle and say “pretend to paddle”… their handedness becomes clear pretty quickly. A few people are ambidextrous, though; we like them, 'cause we can place them anywhere in the boat!
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### Author:  [@thatguyjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thatguyjeff)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/6 "2011-12-07T17:37:56Z")
I was a right handed skater and an opposite hand goalie - stick/blocker on left.
I also skate/board goofy foot (right/dominant foot in the rear).
Not sure why that is - just the way I prefer it.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/7 "2011-12-07T21:58:25Z")
When I first started, it just felt the most natural to have the stick in my right hand. Everything else followed from that.
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### Author:  [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/8 "2011-12-08T02:10:49Z")
this is interesting…
so let me ask you all this… can you all tell me 1) what your dominant hand is, 2) if you were going to play goalie what hand your glove would be on, and 3) if you played forward or defense, what hand was lower on your stick when you took a shot?
for me, it would be
1. Right Handed
2. Left Hand
3. Right Hand
SFP
(I’m asking because I’m getting the feeling that this is split more along the lines of 50/50, and not something that follows one’s dominant hand)
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### Author:  [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/9 "2011-12-08T03:10:58Z")
1. right
2. left
3. left
husband;
1. right
2. left
3. right
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### Author:  [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/10 "2011-12-08T03:47:59Z")
Another vote for right-left-right!
One of my buddies was goalie in our ball hockey league last year even though he’s regularly a forward. He’s right handed for everything but had to play either right or left gloved, depending on what equipment the university had for us on any given week. He also plays billiards right hand forward, which is weird for me, as well. I guess it’s a toss up between the level of control, and the level of power you wield with the stick. Or something. :-S
But I know lots of left handed people who put the right hand glove down playing hockey, arguing that they need more power in their top.
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### Author:  [@UTejas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UTejas)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/11 "2011-12-08T05:25:44Z")
[Related to this issue](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/sports/olympics/16lefty.html), there is a USA-Canada split on this issue.
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### Author:  [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/12 "2011-12-08T15:58:30Z")
And Québec players are even _more_ left handed than the ROC, and BC goes the other way…I’d say it was strange, but it kind of makes sense too! 😉
I guess I’m an unusual lefty woman, too.
Interesting.
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### Author:  [@UTejas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UTejas)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/13 "2011-12-08T19:07:34Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#):
>
> 1. what your dominant hand is, 2) if you were going to play goalie what hand your glove would be on, and 3) if you played forward or defense, what hand was lower on your stick when you took a shot?
>
> for me, it would be
>
> 1. Right Handed
> 2. Left Hand
> 3. Right Hand
1. Right
2. Left (I grew up playing baseball and feel much more comfortable this way)
3. Right
American, FYI.
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### Author:  [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/14 "2011-12-08T20:10:35Z")
Dominant hand: Right
Would wear catcher on left.
Shoot left (left hand lower on stick)
Canadian (Alberta)
I’ve played a few rec league games with Sylvain Turgeon. He’d go for a rush into the opposing zone, and at about the blue line switch hands on his stick. Very effective and his off hand shot was plenty hard, too.
[As for goalies; they don’t necessarily need to wear catchers at all](http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?id=1989377).
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### Author:  [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/15 "2011-12-08T21:02:24Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#):
>
> this is interesting…
>
> so let me ask you all this… can you all tell me 1) what your dominant hand is, 2) if you were going to play goalie what hand your glove would be on, and 3) if you played forward or defense, what hand was lower on your stick when you took a shot?
>
> for me, it would be
>
> 1. Right Handed
> 2. Left Hand
> 3. Right Hand
>
> SFP
>
> (I’m asking because I’m getting the feeling that this is split more along the lines of 50/50, and not something that follows one’s dominant hand)
1. Right
2. Left (when playing street hockey I used my baseball glove)
3. Right
I can actually pinpoint the reason that I shoot left handed (although I haven’t played hockey in any non-video game form in about 20 years). When I was young (6 or 7 years old), my parents bought me three hockey sticks on clearance. These were two left handed sticks and a goalie stick. The goalie stick made me popular in the neighborhood (I was the only kid who owned one on my block), and the other two influenced how I learned to play. Ultimately, I learned to shoot left-handed because those were the sticks that were on sale.
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### Author:  [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/16 "2011-12-08T21:10:01Z")
For me (coached hockey for 10 years):
1. Right
2. Left
3. Right
For my son (played 10 years):
1. Right
2. Left
3. Left
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### Author:  [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goalie-question/605356/17 "2011-12-08T21:57:58Z")
> [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](#):
>
> 1. Right
> 2. Left (when playing street hockey I used my baseball glove)
> 3. Right
My reply apparently makes more sense if you realize that by “3) Right”, I actually meant “3) Left”.