Hockey Sauce: The Complete Game Guide

Quick answer

Hockey sauce is a puck-passing game for the garden, patio or garage where players loft the puck through the air — using the saucer-pass technique — and try to land it cleanly inside a small target net called a sauce catcher. You score points for clean catches, partial catches, and bonus shots. First player or team to 11 or 21 points wins. It takes about two minutes to set up, works on any flat surface, and sharpens a real hockey skill at the same time.

Key takeaways

• Sauce is short for "saucer pass" — the puck spins flat and floats through the air before landing.
• The game requires a launch pad, a sauce catcher (mini-net), and a puck — all available as a single or double kit.
• Standard play distance is 6–7.5 metres; beginners start at 4.5 metres, advanced players push to 9 metres or beyond.
• A clean catch in the catcher scores 1 point; a rim catch scores 0.5; a miss scores 0; a bounce-in scores 2.
• Game formats range from casual 1v1 to round-robin and bracket tournaments.
• The same mechanics that win at sauce — wrist roll, blade angle, follow-through — transfer directly to game situations on ice.

What is the hockey sauce game?

The word "sauce" has been dressing-room slang for a saucer pass — a puck that glides flat and airborne over sticks, skates, and legs — for as long as anyone can remember. At some point players started competing specifically with that pass, setting up small targets and keeping score. The result is the hockey sauce game: part skill drill, part garden competition, fully addictive.

The setup is simple. Each player stands on a launch pad — a shooting pad surface that protects the floor and gives the puck a consistent slide — and fires at a sauce catcher positioned at the other end. The catcher is a low-profile mini-net with a mesh basket designed to trap an airborne puck and hold it. The puck must travel through the air for the shot to count. Rolling it along the ground is not a sauce pass and earns no points.

What makes the game stick is that it genuinely develops a skill. I use sauce sessions as warm-up drills at the start of on-ice practice — five minutes of sauce before a skating session does more for a player's touch and blade awareness than most structured passing drills that take twice as long.

Official-ish rules and scoring

There is no single governing body for sauce, but the rules that have settled across most competitions are consistent enough that you can pick them up anywhere and play immediately.

Core rules

• Players alternate shots from their launch pad. Each player shoots once per turn.
• The puck must leave the pad airborne — no rolling. If it rolls, the shot counts as a miss.
• Players may not step off the launch pad during a shot.
• If the puck hits the floor or any obstacle before reaching the catcher, the shot is a miss.
• Game is played to 11 points (short game) or 21 points (full game). Win by 2 is common in competitive play.

Point system

Pass result	Points	Notes
Clean catch — puck lands flat inside the catcher	1	Standard score
Rim catch — puck hits the catcher frame and falls in	0.5	Also called a "lucky bounce"
Miss — puck hits the floor, the wall, or nothing	0	No points awarded
Bounce-in — puck bounces off the floor once and lands inside	2	Optional rule; agree before game starts
Skipping shot — puck skips along surface and enters catcher	0	Counts as a miss under standard rules

Coach Erik's tip: When introducing sauce to a group with mixed skill levels, drop the 0.5 rule for the first game and only score clean catches. It simplifies scorekeeping and gets everyone focused on the right technique immediately. Add the rim score back once players are comfortable.

Sauce kit setup

Getting the right equipment makes the difference between a frustrating first session and one where everyone wants to keep playing. There are two main configurations.

Single kit — one sauce catcher (€58.06) and one launch pad (60x40 cm) (€33.16), also available as the Extreme Hockey Sauce Combo Single at €82.96 — €8.26 less than buying the two pieces separately. This is the right starting point for a player who wants to practise solo or play a head-to-head game where only one person shoots at a time.

Double kit — two catchers and two launch pads, packaged as the Extreme Hockey Sauce Combo Double at €156.87, which saves €25.57 compared with buying four separate pieces. Both players stand on their own pad and shoot simultaneously at their own catcher, which is placed in front of the opponent. This is the standard competitive setup and the format most sauce tournaments use. See the full hockey sauce collection for all options.

On distance: place the catchers 6–7.5 metres apart for standard play. Beginners can start as close as 4.5 metres — close enough to build the feel of the saucer pass without frustration. Competitive and experienced players typically push to 9 metres or beyond. One of the advantages of the sauce game is that you adjust the distance to match the skill level in the room, making it work equally well for an 8-year-old and a recreational-league veteran playing at the same party.

The technique: how to actually sauce a puck

The sauce game is inseparable from the saucer pass technique. A player who cannot saucer-pass a puck will struggle to score at any distance. A player who masters the technique will find that their on-ice passing improves alongside their sauce score.

The core mechanics are straightforward:

1. Cup the blade. The blade face opens slightly — roughly 45 degrees — so it gets under the puck rather than pushing it forward along the surface.
2. Load the puck at the heel. Pull the puck to the heel of the blade before starting the forward motion. This gives you the longest lever to generate spin.
3. Roll your wrist through the shot. The rotation of the wrist closes the blade as the puck rolls from heel to toe. That roll puts backspin on the puck, which stabilises it in the air and keeps it flat when it lands.
4. Follow through low. Finish with the blade close to the surface and the toe pointing toward the target. A high follow-through sends the puck up and over; a low one keeps the trajectory flat.

For a full technical breakdown with drills and progressions, read the complete saucer pass guide. The technique section there maps directly to what you need for sauce game accuracy.

Coach Erik's tip: The biggest technical mistake I see in sauce is rushing the shot. Players load the puck correctly then rush the release, which means the wrist never finishes rolling and the puck wobbles or tracks low. Slow down your pre-shot routine by one full second. You will immediately notice more consistent flights and more clean catches.

Tournament formats

Once you have a group playing sauce regularly, the natural next step is a tournament. The table below covers the most common formats and when each one works best.

Format	Players	Game to	Best for
1v1 casual	2	11	Quick garden session, skill practice
1v1 competitive	2	21 (win by 2)	Head-to-head challenge, team selection
2v2 team	4	21	Family games, birthday parties, team events
Round robin	4–8	11 per match	Groups where everyone should play everyone
Bracket tournament	8+	21 (semis/final), 11 (early rounds)	Team events, end-of-season parties, charity fundraisers

For youth groups and summer camps, a round-robin format with games to 11 keeps lines moving and every player active. See how other coaches structure summer competitions in the article on summer sauce games for youth hockey.

How to run a sauce session: practical steps

1. Choose your surface. Sauce works on any flat surface — a patio, a gym floor, a garage, or an ice surface (without skates). Avoid thick carpet, which stops the launch pad from lying flat.
2. Set up the pads. Place both launch pads parallel, facing each other. Start at 6 metres if your group has mixed experience.
3. Position the catchers. Place each catcher directly in front of the opposing player's launch pad, against the floor or a wall. The catcher opening faces the shooter.
4. Run a warm-up round. Before keeping score, give each player five practice shots. This establishes the right distance and lets beginners adjust before points are on the line.
5. Establish which rules apply. Agree on whether bounce-ins count, whether you play to 11 or 21, and whether you play win-by-2.
6. Rotate in doubles or group play. In 2v2, partners alternate shots. In a round-robin, the winner stays and the loser rotates out after each game.
7. Adjust the distance mid-session if needed. If a beginner is not landing any passes at 6 metres, move the catcher to 4.5 metres without ceremony. The goal is skill-building, not frustration.

Common mistakes

Rolling the puck along the floor. This is not a sauce pass and earns no points under any standard rule set. If you see this happening, it usually means the player has not yet developed the wrist roll. Address the technique before continuing the game.

Setting the distance too long too early. New players pushed to 7.5 metres from the start get frustrated quickly. Start at 4.5 metres and move back only when clean catches become consistent.

Ignoring the follow-through. Players who stop their stick motion at release — what coaches call "poking" the puck — produce unpredictable, wobbly flights. The follow-through is not optional.

Using a launch pad that moves. A pad that slides or bunches up under a shot disrupts the stance and ruins consistency. The Better Hockey launch pad is sized at 60x40 cm specifically to stay in place under repeated use.

Keeping score wrong in 2v2. In team sauce, both partners shoot each turn, so scores accumulate faster than in 1v1. Agree before the game starts whether you play to 11 or 21 team points, not individual points.

Not using it as a training tool. Sauce is not only a party game. It is a measurable, repeatable pass accuracy drill. Players who treat their sauce sessions as practice sessions improve their on-ice saucer pass noticeably faster than those who treat it purely as recreation.

FAQ

What surface can I play hockey sauce on?

Any flat, hard surface works — patios, garage floors, gym floors, concrete, hardwood, or even an ice surface without skates. The launch pad provides a consistent shooting surface regardless of the floor underneath it. Avoid thick carpet or uneven outdoor surfaces, which prevent the pad from lying flat and make the shot inconsistent.

How far apart should the sauce catchers be?

Standard competitive distance is 6–7.5 metres between the two launch pads. Beginners work well starting at 4.5 metres, which is close enough to build the right mechanics without frustration. Advanced and competitive players often play at 9 metres or more. There is no fixed rule — adjust the distance to the skill level of the players in the game.

Do I need a special puck to play hockey sauce?

A standard regulation hockey puck works for sauce. Some players prefer a slightly lighter or smaller puck when learning the technique, but the standard 170 g puck is what competitive sauce is played with. If you are playing on a surface where a hard puck could cause damage, there are soft-rubber training pucks available.

What is the difference between the single kit and the double kit?

The single kit (€82.96) includes one sauce catcher and one launch pad — suitable for solo practice and basic head-to-head play where one player shoots at a time. The double kit (€156.87) includes two catchers and two launch pads, which enables the standard competitive format where each player has their own pad and catcher and both can shoot simultaneously. For groups of three or more, the double kit is the right choice.

Is the hockey sauce game good for kids?

Yes. The game scales easily to younger players by reducing the distance and playing to 11 instead of 21. It develops real passing technique in a format children find engaging, which makes it one of the more effective off-ice training tools for youth players. The catchers are stable and low-profile, so there is minimal setup and no safety concern from errant pucks.

Can sauce help my on-ice game?

Directly, yes. The saucer pass is one of the most useful passes in competitive hockey — it clears sticks, avoids defenders, and arrives flat for the receiver. Every sauce session is saucer-pass repetitions in a scored format, which means you are building that skill under a form of pressure. Players who practise sauce consistently show measurably better touch on elevated passes in game situations. See the full saucer pass technique guide for the mechanics behind why it transfers.

Summary

Hockey sauce is a legitimate skill game built around one of hockey's most practical passing techniques. The rules are simple, the setup takes two minutes, and the learning curve is gentle enough for a 10-year-old and steep enough to challenge a player who has been on ice for twenty years. I recommend it to players and parents equally — as a garden game that is genuinely fun at a party or family gathering, and as a focused training tool that builds saucer-pass accuracy in a way that carries directly onto ice.

Start with the single combo kit (€82.96) if you are new to sauce, or go straight to the double combo kit (€156.87) for the full head-to-head experience. Better Hockey is a Swedish brand: the sauce gear is built with Swedish design and tested to the highest durability standards, and our equipment is used by many well-known NHL players, including Swedish pros, who are among our ambassadors. Follow us @betterhockeysweden on YouTube and Instagram for sauce challenges. See the complete hockey sauce collection for all equipment options.