NHL 09: Goalies Wanted, Will Train

[RaychelSnr]

Of all the positions in NHL 09, it seems like the goalie position is the one that is neglected the most.

Most of the players I have talked to agree that it is not so much because the position is not fun, but rather because the position is extremely difficult to learn -- much less master.

Part of the blame for that difficulty falls on EA Canada’s shoulder pads. The developers at EA Canada are the ones who have made the save controls completely counter-intuitive, given no on-screen indication of where the goalie should position himself, and put goalies at a severe disadvantage when it comes to dealing with input delay and the need to make split-second reactions to stop shots.

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[adayinthelife]

I don't feel like there is enough incentive for people to play net.

At least in real life goalies don't have to pay for shinny and in my beer league at least a shutout equals a free pitcher for the goalie .

[savoie2006]

I wouldn't want to play goalie in the EASHL unless I had teammates that could play effective/proper Defense. Alot, if not most, are only concerned about Offense it seems.

[hedache]

I'm a goalie in a beer league and it's so much fun. On the other hand, I don't find it entertaining anywhere close due to the lack of action/success percentage. Most of the time I find myself waiting for the puck to come to our side (in the few games i played net). It's more fun to play skater get a lot more action for sure. What's the point of playing a video game when you're not doing anything at least half the time. When you are a skater, you are always trying to be in position on offense and on defense or in the neutral zone. Playing goalie in the game is kinda pointless.

[scott209]

i play gollie on online ranked games my record is 46-25 my GAA. is 2.36 so i think i do fine i do most of these things it is a hard position to learn but once you do it's very fun and you stop alot of glitch goals

[jyoung]

The frantic up and down nature of online play keeps the goalies involved in NHL '09 a lot more than they might be in a real life game.

Rarely are there any dull moments, unless your team just happens to be completely dominating a group of scrubs and keeping the puck stuck in their zone all game long.

Like the article says, not only is it more fun to play with/against a good human goalie, but they are also incredibly useful to have on your team because you don't have to worry about them giving up glitch goals.

[Jeffrey99]

My problem with playing net is that you don't have to do anything to make a save. And as was pointed above, it actually hurts you more to try and make a save. That would be like me being able to skate into the crease and there be a auto-shot button, what's the point?

Goalies have to be quick on the reflexes to see/know where the puck is going. As it is now with NHL 09, all you have to do is be in "position" and allow the game to decide if it wants to make the save for you. If we are allowing the game to make the save, why play with human goalie at all?

[Gossennator]

I wish I knew how to play goalie well but its way too hard and takes way too long to learn. BTW if anybody wants to join my team send a msg to Gossennator over XBL. We could use more people.