How to do the Michigan in hockey

Updated October 17, 2026

The Michigan is the lacrosse goal. You scoop the puck onto your blade behind the net, carry it around the post, and tuck it into the top corner before the goalie can react. It looks like a trick, but it's a skill you can build in steps. Here's where it came from, who made it famous, what the rules say, and how to learn it.

What the Michigan is

You start behind the net with the puck. You lift it onto your stick blade, hold it there, and swing around the post. Then you push it into the top corner on that side, usually between the goalie's shoulder and the post. It's also called the lacrosse goal or the lacrosse move, because you carry the puck the way a lacrosse player carries a ball.

It works because of how goalies cover the post. Many drop to one knee with a pad sealed against the post, which can leave a gap up high, especially for a smaller goalie. A goalie who doesn't see the puck rising has almost no time to get a glove or shoulder there.

The Michigan comes after the basics. If you're still working on your wrist shot and backhand, start with the shots and moves guide.

Where the name comes from

On March 24, 1996, the University of Michigan played Minnesota in the NCAA tournament's West Regional at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. Michigan was down 2-1 in the second period when forward Mike Legg picked the puck up behind the net and tucked it in under the crossbar, past goalie Steve DeBus. Michigan won 4-3, went on to the Frozen Four, and won the national championship the next weekend.

Legg learned the move from Bill Armstrong, an older player from his hometown of London, Ontario, who had worked on it in the minor leagues. Before he tried it in a game, Legg checked with referees that they wouldn't call it a high stick. His stick was later donated to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The goal made the move famous, and people started calling it the Michigan.

Famous Michigans

For 23 years after Legg's goal, nobody scored one in an NHL game. Then Andrei Svechnikov, who had learned it from his brother Evgeny, finally made it work.

It isn't only an NHL move. Sidney Crosby scored one at 16 for Rimouski in junior hockey in 2003. Mikael Granlund scored one for Finland against Russia in the 2011 World Championship semifinal, and Finland went on to win gold. At 14, Nela Lopušanová of Slovakia scored one at the 2023 U18 Women's World Championship, which the IIHF called the first by a female player at one of its tournaments. And on March 22, 2025, Abby Roque of the New York Sirens scored the first Michigan in PWHL history, against the Ottawa Charge.

Is the Michigan legal?

Yes, in most hockey, as long as you keep it low. Two rules matter. You can't play the puck with your stick above your shoulders, and a goal doesn't count if your stick was too high when it touched the puck.

• NHL: playing the puck with a stick above the shoulders gets whistled, and a goal is disallowed if the puck was touched above the height of the crossbar. The rulebook even allows the lacrosse move on penalty shots and in shootouts, as long as the puck never goes above the shoulders and isn't higher than the crossbar when it's released.
• USA Hockey: batting the puck above the normal height of the shoulders isn't allowed, and no goal counts if the puck is played above the shoulder and goes straight in.
• Hockey Canada: you can't play the puck above the normal height of your shoulders either, and a high-stick goal is judged against the height of the crossbar.
• International (IIHF) rules: these name the move directly. Cradling the puck lacrosse style above shoulder height stops play, and on a penalty shot or shootout attempt it ends the attempt.

USA Hockey and Hockey Canada word the goal rule differently, one around the shoulders and one around the crossbar. The safe version works everywhere: carry the puck below your shoulders and put it in under the crossbar. Leagues and tournaments can add their own rules, so if you're not sure, ask your coach or the referee before the game, the way Legg did. The hockey rules guide covers high sticks and the rest of the basics.

How to learn it, step by step

You need an old stick, a puck, and a smooth surface like a training tile, or the ice. Use fresh tape on the blade. Wet, snowy tape lets the puck slide off, and a little stick wax helps it grip. Learn it on your forehand first.

1. The pickup

1. Put the puck on your forehand side, a little in front of you.
2. Lay the blade flat on top of the puck, with a little of the blade hanging past the back edge.
3. Pull the puck back toward you, quickly but smoothly, and press down so it tips up onto its edge against the blade.
4. As it stands up, push the blade forward under it and scoop it up in one motion. The puck should end up lying on the face of your blade.

Do sets of 10. When 8 out of 10 stay on the blade, move on.

2. The cradle

With the puck on the blade, keep the stick moving in small, smooth arcs. The motion presses the puck against the blade, the same way water stays in a bucket you swing. Let the curve of the blade cup the puck. Hold it for 5 seconds, then 10, low and close to your body, well below your shoulders.

3. The carry

Walk, or glide on the ice, in a half circle with the puck on your blade, as if you were going around the net. Keep your head up and your stick low. Start slowly. Do 5 carries, then rest.

4. The wrap and tuck

1. Start behind a net, or behind a box or chair at home, on your forehand side.
2. Pick up the puck and carry it around the post.
3. Reach the blade toward the top corner right next to the post and push the puck in under the crossbar. Aim for the space between where the goalie's shoulder would be and the post.
4. Keep your feet moving through the tuck.

5. Put it together

On the ice, skate behind the net, pick the puck up while you're moving, and finish. Go slowly until it works most of the time, then add speed. Next, add a goalie, and mix in normal wraparounds so the goalie can't guess what's coming. When your forehand is reliable, try it on your backhand, the way Forsberg scored his.

Off-ice drills

• Pickup sets: 3 sets of 10 on a tile, forehand. Add the backhand when the forehand gets easy.
• Cradle walk: walk a figure 8 holding the puck on your blade. 3 rounds of 15 seconds.
• Bump and catch: pop the puck a few centimeters (an inch or two) off the blade and catch it again without letting it touch the floor. 3 sets of 10.
• Chair wraps: use a chair or a box as the net. Walk around it, cradling the puck, and tuck it onto a target beside the "post", like a towel. 10 reps.

Practice in a garage or on a driveway, away from windows and people. A puck in the air can break things and hurt someone, so keep your stick low and move slowly while you learn. If your hands still feel clumsy, the stickhandling routine builds the soft hands this move needs.

Common mistakes

• Stick too high. Above your shoulders means a whistle or no goal.
• Lifting too early. Pick it up close to the net. A long carry gives the goalie and the defenders time.
• Stopping your feet. If you slow down, the goalie gets set.
• Staring at the puck. Glance at the goalie so you know where the opening is.
• Releasing too late or too high. Too late and it hits the post or the side of the net. Too high and it goes over the crossbar.
• Wet tape. Snow and water on the blade make the puck slide off. Wipe the blade or re-tape it.
• Forcing it. If a defender is on you, make the simple play.

When to try it in a game, and when not to

Try it when you're behind the net with time and space, no defender on your back, and the goalie is down on the post or looking the other way. And only after you've made it work in practice, many times. Connor Bedard has said that space is the key, and that he doesn't plan it ahead of time: "I don't think it's something you go into a game really planning on."

Skip it when a defender is right on you, when losing the puck behind the net would let the other team break the other way, or when your coach has asked for simple plays. Talk to your coach before you try it in a game. And don't use it to show off when your team is far ahead. Score it when it's the right play.

For a break from the practice tile, Brudvig Hockey 2027 is a free 3-on-3 arcade hockey game that runs in a web browser, with dekes, spin moves and a shootout mini game.