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Glossary: Top Shelf

Top shelf, going upstairs, high heat…What do these have to do with ice hockey nets, which clearly have no shelves, stairs or space heaters? They all mean the same thing: A shot that goes in at the top of the net.

Players shoot top shelf by lifting the puck at close range. Top-shelf shots are very hard to stop, often whizzing by the goalie’s shoulder or head. Skim through the goalie stats at Hockey Numbers and you’ll see that most goalies save percentage drops about 10 percent when facing top-shelf shots. The percentages make it clear that practicing top shelf pays off, whatever you choose to call it.

See it in action here:

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Kelly Kordes Anton for this story.

Written by Minnesota Hockey · Filed Under Featured, Parenting 
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