An extra attacker in ice hockey and ringette is a forward or, less commonly, a defenceman who has been substituted in place of the goaltender. The purpose of this substitution is to gain an offensive advantage to score a goal. The removal of the goaltender for an extra attacker is colloquially called pulling the goalie, resulting in an empty net. This article deals chiefly with situations which apply to the sport of ice hockey.
The extra attacker is typically utilized in two situations:
The term sixth attacker is also used when both teams are at even strength; teams may also pull the goalie when shorthanded by a player, in which case the extra attacker would be a fifth attacker. It is exceptionally rare for a penalized team to do so during five on three situations.
Also, in four-on-four overtime, an extra attacker is added to a team on a power play in the case where another minor penalty is committed against them. This results in a five-on-three. In leagues with a three-on-three overtime, each minor penalty results in an extra attacker for the team on the power play (up to a maximum of five total skaters plus goalie). Penalized players return to the ice when their penalty expires, and the proper on-ice strength (e.g. 4-3, 4-4, or 3-3) is corrected at the first appropriate stoppage.[1]
In leagues like the National Hockey League (NHL) where regular season standings are based on a point system (i.e. two points are awarded for a win, one point for an overtime/shootout loss, and no points for a loss in regulation), a team may be forced to use an extra attacker even when the score is tied near the end of regulation of a game at or near the end of the regular season to avoid being eliminated from playoff contention, division title contention, or even home-ice advantage. Beginning in 1999–2000 season, the league discourages from pulling their goaltender in overtime; if a team does so, and subsequently loses the game when their opponent scores an empty net goal, the losing team is charged with a regulation loss and forfeited the one point in the standings they would otherwise have received for an overtime loss.[2] [3] [4]
Russian and Soviet coaches are known for refusing to pull their goalies when behind late in games, as was the case in the 1980 Winter Olympics medal game between the Soviet Union and the USA.[5]
The extra attacker concept was first utilized in the NHL by Art Ross, coach and general manager of the Boston Bruins, who picked up the idea from experimental incidents in amateur and minor-league hockey. In a playoff game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 26, 1931, Ross had goaltender Tiny Thompson go to the bench for a sixth skater in the final minute of play; the Bruins failed to score and lost the game 1–0.[6]
Milt Schmidt was the first NHL coach to pull the goaltender for a delayed penalty on April 16, 1958 while coaching the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens.[7]
A 2018 model by Aaron Brown and Cliff Asness based on the 2015–16 NHL season suggested that, for a team down one point where losing 2–0 is no worse than losing 1–0, the ideal time to pull the goalie is somewhere between 5 and 6 minutes from the end of the match.[8]