Settling the puck refers to interrupting a bouncing/bobbling/skittering puck to force it to lay flat on the playing surface. Attempting to maneuver a puck that has not settled, or is sitting up on rounded face is often an exercise in futility. The puck is difficult to predict in these situations and any attempts at puck handling or evasive maneuvers are made much more difficult.
Being able to quickly bring an erratic puck to lay down flat and steady is a very useful skill. Using combinations of tic-tac maneuvers and knock-downs
Demo video coming soon!
Settling the puck can be done in a variety of ways, ranging form bigger movements like a tick-tack move or using the tip of the stick to knock the puck flat, down to small movements like tilting the stick forward to lessen the bevel on the front edge of the stick. Some situations require a big motion to settle the puck while sometimes a small movement is all that is needed, and players simply need to experiment to see what works best for them in particular situations.
Players should always try to settle the puck when they have possession of it since it is extremely difficult to do any maneuvers if the puck is not laying flat.
Player #6 on the black team steals the puck off the opponent, and sccops the puck with his stick angled forward to settle it so he can comfortably swim up pool.
White #11 recieves a pass and the puck is tumbling. The player settles the puck with his stick before driving hard forward.
SETTLING THE PUCK