Hockey game controls explained: dekes, one-timers, slap shots and checks

Updated October 8, 2026

Hockey games borrow their moves from the real sport, and the names don't always explain themselves. What's a one-timer? When is a slap shot worth it? What's the difference between a poke check and a body check? This guide explains the common moves in hockey video games, why they work, and when to use them.

We'll use Brudvig Hockey's controls as the example, because we make it and know exactly how it works. The ideas carry over to most hockey games.

Skating

Everything starts with skating. In a hockey game with decent physics, skaters don't turn on a dime: they carry speed and curve through turns, and stopping takes a moment. That matters because good positioning comes from reading where the play is going, not reacting to where it is.

Brudvig Hockey: left thumbstick on a phone, W A S D or the arrow keys on a keyboard, left stick on a gamepad.

Tip: start turns early. If you wait until you're level with the puck carrier to turn, you're already beaten.

Passing

A pass moves the puck faster than any skater can. In most hockey games, the pass button sends the puck to the teammate you're facing or nearest the direction you're skating, and good games lead the pass so a moving teammate skates onto it.

Brudvig Hockey: ✕ on a phone, E on a keyboard, A on an Xbox-style pad. A tap sends a flat pass along the ice; holding it sends a saucer pass that lifts over sticks and sprawled defenders, higher the longer you hold. The pass goes when you let go, to the teammate your stick points at.

Why it matters: goalies set up for the shooter they can see. Moving the puck sideways makes them move, and a moving goalie leaves gaps.

Switching players

You control one skater at a time. On offense that's usually the puck carrier. On defense, games pick a skater for you, usually the one nearest the puck, and let you switch.

Brudvig Hockey: without the puck, the pass button (✕ or E) switches skater. The skater you control has a ring under him.

Tip: the nearest skater isn't always the right one. Often the best defender is the one between the puck and your net.

Shots

Wrist shot

A quick shot that comes off the stick with almost no wind-up. Less power, but hard to see coming. It's the best shot from close in and when a defender is about to reach you.

Brudvig Hockey: tap □, Space or left click.

Slap shot

The big one: the player raises the stick and swings through the puck. Far more power, but the wind-up takes time, and a defender can close in or block it.

Brudvig Hockey: hold □ (or Space) to wind up and let go to shoot.

When to use it: when you have space and time, not in traffic. A slap shot from your own end is usually a turnover.

One-timer

Shooting the puck straight off a pass, without stopping it first. It's the most dangerous shot in hockey, real or virtual, because the goalie has to move across with the pass and the shot comes before he's set.

Brudvig Hockey: press shoot just as a pass reaches you.

How to set it up: carry the puck to one side, pass across to a teammate in front of the net or at the opposite side, and shoot the moment it arrives.

Dekes and moves

Deke

A deke is a fake: you make the goalie or a defender think you're going one way, then go the other. In hockey games, dekes are often done by cutting sharply or moving across the front of the net before shooting.

Brudvig Hockey: there's no separate deke button. With the puck, flick the stick quickly from one side to the other: the puck goes wide to the new side, and a poke check from the side you left misses. Against the goalie, cut across the front of the crease and he bites on the move, leaving the far side open.

Spin move

A spin, sometimes called a spin-o-rama, turns the puck carrier away from a defender, shielding the puck with the body, and carries on past.

Brudvig Hockey: △ (or Q) with the puck. Use it just before a check lands.

Defense

Body check

Using your body to knock an opponent off the puck. In sims, checks have to be clean or they draw penalties. In arcade games they're often the main event.

Brudvig Hockey: ○, F or right click. Tap for a quick hit, hold to wind up a bigger one. There are no penalties, so anyone can be hit at any time, puck or no puck. A big enough hit sends a player into the glass hard enough to crack it, or shatter it.

Timing: start winding up as the carrier skates toward you, and let it go when he's close. A quick tap is better when he's already alongside.

Poke check

Reaching with the stick to knock the puck away, rather than hitting the player. It's quicker than a body check and works from angles where a hit wouldn't.

Brudvig Hockey: △ (or Q) without the puck.

Blocking shots

Standing in the shooting lane so the puck hits you instead of reaching the net. In most games this comes down to positioning: get between the shooter and your goal.

Dives

In real hockey, a dive is a player falling on purpose to draw a penalty. It's against the rules, and referees can penalize the diver. Some sim hockey games have penalties for it. The word also gets used for a player diving across the ice to block a pass or shot.

Brudvig Hockey: the dive here is the blocking kind. On defense without the puck, press □ (Space, K, or X on a gamepad) and your skater lays out along the ice in the direction of the stick, sliding. He blocks shots and passes, and a puck carrier who skates into him trips and goes flying over him. He's down for a moment afterward, so a dive that misses leaves a gap. There's no diving to draw penalties, because there are no penalties.

Momentum features

Arcade hockey often adds a streak mechanic to reward hot play. In Brudvig Hockey, a skater who scores two goals in a row catches fire: he skates faster, shoots and hits harder, and goalies have trouble seeing his shots. It lasts about 45 seconds, or until the other team scores, whichever comes first. Feed him the puck while it lasts.

Full Brudvig Hockey control table

More detail is in how to play Brudvig Hockey, and strategy in Brudvig Hockey tips.

Combining moves

Individual moves win battles. Combinations win games. A few that work in most hockey games, including Brudvig Hockey:

Spin and pass

Spin away from a defender to buy space, then pass immediately to a teammate the defender left open.

Pass, return, one-timer

Pass to a teammate, skate toward the net, and take the puck back as a one-timer. The goalie follows the first pass and is out of position for the second.

Hit and go

A check knocks the puck loose. Switch to the skater nearest the loose puck and you're on the attack before the other team recovers.

Cut across and shoot

Skate across the front of the crease to move the goalie, then release a quick wrist shot back toward the side he left.

Common mistakes

• Winding up every shot. Slap shots in traffic get blocked. Use the wrist shot more than you think.
• Chasing the puck with every player. Switching to the nearest skater every time leaves your net open. Sometimes the right move is to hold position.
• Holding the check too long. A wound-up hit is useless if the carrier is already past you.
• Shooting from bad angles. A shot from beside the goal line rarely goes in. Pass it out front instead.
• Spinning too late. The spin works before the hit lands, not after.

Glossary

• Breakaway: a puck carrier alone against the goalie.
• Crease: the painted area right in front of the goal.
• Cross-ice pass: a pass from one side of the ice to the other.
• Forecheck: pressuring the other team in their own end to win the puck back.
• Hat trick: three goals by one player in a game.
• Rush: an attack carried quickly up the ice.
• Turnover: losing the puck to the other team.

Put it into practice

The fastest way to learn these moves is a few games against the computer. Try a one-timer, wind up a hit, spin out of a check. Then play a friend and see who learned faster. Play Brudvig Hockey free, no download needed.

Want to know why arcade hockey plays this way? Read arcade vs sim hockey games.