Overview

The Forecheck Hockey Rink Board is a free interactive play designer, scorekeeping system, and game management tool. No account required — everything runs in your browser and saves automatically. The board shows an NHL regulation rink (200ft x 85ft) with benches, penalty boxes, and a scorekeeper area. Draw plays, manage rosters, run live games, and export your work.

Toolbar

The toolbar is a single row across the top of the board. From left to right:

• Menu (☰) — Export, view controls, sounds, and help. See Menu section.
• GV — Toggle Game View. See Game View.
• Panels (▣) — Open/close any panel. See Panel System.
• Select (↖) — Click to select and move items. V
• Draw (✏) — All drawing tools, shapes, style, and clear options. See Draw Menu.
• Add (👤+) — Add players by position, officials, markers, equipment. See Add Players.
• Roster (👥) — Quick-place rostered players. See Roster Quick-Place.
• Undo / Redo — Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y
• Save (💾) — Save current board to My Boards.
• Snapshot (📷) — Capture a keyframe for animation.

Buttons marked with ▾ open flyout menus. Click outside or press Esc to close. The toolbar is sticky — it stays visible when scrolling.

Canvas Basics

Select

Click any player, drawing, or item to select it (gold highlight). Drag to move.

Multi-select

Hold Shift and click additional items, or drag on empty space to box-select a region.

Rotate

Select an item, press R (or Shift+R for counter-clockwise). Also available via the floating context toolbar.

Resize

Select an item, press ] to enlarge or [ to shrink.

Delete

Select items and press Del or Backspace.

Context toolbar

When you select an item, a small floating toolbar appears with Rotate, Resize, Color, and Delete buttons.

Zoom

Mouse wheel, +/- keys, or Menu > View > Zoom. The board auto-zooms to fit on load.

Draw Menu

Click the pencil icon (✏) in the toolbar to open the Draw flyout. Select a tool — the flyout closes and you can draw on the rink. The active tool is highlighted. All drawings are moveable and rotatable in select mode.

Line (L)

Straight line for passing lanes or zone boundaries.

Arrow (A)

Line with arrowhead for pass direction or shots.

Dashed Arrow (D)

Standard convention for skating routes and player movement.

Curved Arrow (G)

Drag to draw a curved arrow. The curve bends left of the drag direction — useful for skating arcs and cycling plays.

Freehand (F)

Freeform drawing for curved paths or emphasis areas.

Circle

Drag to draw a circle or zone outline.

Rectangle

Drag to draw a box.

Zone Highlight

Semi-transparent filled rectangle for highlighting ice zones.

Text (T)

Click to place a text label. Use for play names, assignments, or coaching cues.

Eraser (E)

Click near any drawing to remove it. Does not affect players or items.

The Draw flyout also contains Style (color picker + line width: Thin/Medium/Thick/Extra) and Clear options (Delete Selected, Clear All Players, Clear All Drawings, Clear Entire Board).

Add Players & Items

Click the Add button (👤+) to open the Add flyout with four rows:

• Preset — Load a formation. See Presets.
• Home / Away — Add players by position: C, LW, RW, LD, RD, G, F, D, or X. Home = red, Away = blue.
• Items — Officials (Referee, Linesman), Coaches (HC, AC, GC), Number Markers (1-9 or custom), Equipment (Puck, Bucket, Cone, Net, Tire, Stick, Pad, Barrier).

Roster Quick-Place

Click the Roster button (👥) to see all rostered players from both teams. Click any player to place them on the rink with their jersey number, name, position, and notes. The list updates when you change rosters. If no rosters are loaded, you'll see a message directing you to Panels > Rosters.

Presets

Available from the Add flyout > Preset dropdown:

• 5v5 — Standard neutral zone positioning (6 home + 6 away + goalies).
• 5v5 FO — Faceoff formation at center ice.
• 3v3 OT — 3-on-3 overtime setup.
• PP 5v4 — Power play formation (umbrella).
• PK 4v5 — Penalty kill box formation.
• Breakout — Defensive zone breakout positions.
• 1-2-2 / 2-1-2 — Forecheck system formations.
• Empty — Clears the rink for a blank drill canvas.

Panel System

Click the Panels icon (▣) in the toolbar to open/close any panel. Open panels dock alongside the canvas — left-side panels (Scoreboard, Scorekeeping, Rosters, Drills, Practice Plan, Timer, Season) and right-side panels (Boards, Animations, Collaboration). Multiple panels can be open simultaneously.

• Collapse — Click the « chevron in any panel header to collapse it to a narrow strip showing live summary data and quick-action buttons.
• Keyboard — Alt+1 through Alt+9 toggle panels. See Keyboard Shortcuts.
• Persistence — Your panel layout (which are open, which are collapsed) saves automatically and restores when you return.
• Tooltips — Hover over any panel name in the Panels menu to see a description of what it does.

Scoreboard

Open via Panels > Scoreboard (Alt+1). The scoreboard docks on the left and tracks the full game state:

• Scores — +/- buttons for home and away. Custom team names and colors (click the color dot).
• Period — Select 1st through 3rd, OT, 2OT, 3OT, SO, Warm-up, Intermission, or Final.
• Period Clock — Presets (10/15/20 min), custom time entry (type "1530" for 15:30), Set button, play/pause, reset.
• Shots on Goal — +/- per team with active goalie dropdown. Saves auto-calculated. Switch goalies mid-game.
• Swap Teams — Swap home/away names, rosters, scores, and lines in one click.

Scoreboard Tabs

Below the score/clock/SOG area, three tabs organize additional features:

Penalties

Quick timer buttons (2m/4m/5m/10m/custom) plus a detailed penalty form (team, player, custom entry, infraction type, served-by for goalie penalties). Both create a running penalty timer AND a log entry. Active penalty timers display above the tabs.

Game Info

Date, start/end time, event name, division/level, organization, and venue. Auto-saved.

Arena DJ

Virtual music system. See Arena DJ.

Arena DJ

Automated arena music via YouTube playlists. Set a Stoppage Playlist (plays when the period clock stops during game periods) and an Intermission Playlist (plays when the clock runs during intermission/warm-up). Enter a YouTube playlist URL and an optional name for each.

• Transport — Play/Pause, Previous, Next, Mute, Playlist browser, Volume slider.
• Now Playing — Shows current track title, track position, and previous/next track names.
• Auto-behavior — Music fades in on clock stop (game periods) or clock start (intermission). Cuts immediately on clock start (game) or stop (intermission).
• Sync — DJ state syncs across collaborators.

Scorekeeping Panel

Open via Panels > Scorekeeping (Alt+2). Contains four collapsible sections for detailed game logging: Penalty Log, Scoring Log, Shift Tracker, and Faceoff Tracker. Each section expands independently.

Penalty Log

Click "+ Add Penalty" to record: team, player (from roster or type custom), penalty type (14+ infractions from minor through game misconduct), clock time (auto-filled), and notes. For goalie penalties, a "served by" field appears. Logging creates both a log entry AND a running penalty timer. Edit or delete entries. Print the penalty log.

Scoring Log

Click "+ Goal" to log: team, goal scorer (type or pick from roster via datalist), clock time (auto-filled), and assists (A1, A2 — same datalist input). Click "More options" to set goal type (EV, PP, SH, EN, PS, OT, SO), period (auto-filled), and notes. Logging a goal auto-increments the scoreboard score and plays the horn. Player stats (G, A, PTS, PIM) compute automatically. Print the scoring log or a full stats sheet.

Shootout Tracker

Appears when period is set to "SO". Add rounds with shooter selection from roster. Record goal/miss/save per round. Results auto-integrate with the scoring log and goalie stats.

Shift Tracker

Two-column layout (Home | Away). Players are grouped by position: Forwards (C, LW, RW, F) with sub-headers, Defense (LD, RD, D), Goalies (G). Within each group, on-ice players sort to the top, then by jersey number.

• ON/END — Toggle a player's shift. Green highlight = on ice. Red highlight = long shift (>90s).
• TOI — Time on ice only accumulates when the period clock is running.
• Goalie TOI — Automatically tracks when a goalie is set as active in the scoreboard and the period clock runs.
• Shift detail — Click the shift count to expand individual shift log with edit and delete.
• Start All / End All — Bulk start/end shifts for a team.
• Reset — Reset all shift data per team.
• Print — Print a shift report with TOI, shift counts, and averages.

Line Changes

If you've defined lines in the Rosters panel (Lines tab), line-change buttons appear above each team's shift list. Click a line button to: end all current shifts for that position group (forwards or defense), then start shifts for the new line's players. Buttons highlight green when all line players are on ice. One-click line changes instead of toggling 5+ players individually.

Game View

Click GV in the toolbar to toggle Game View. This auto-positions all rostered players on the rink based on their current status:

• On-ice — Players with active shifts appear at their position (C at center, LW/RW on wings, LD/RD at the points) with live stats overlay (G, A, PTS, TOI, current shift time).
• Bench — Off-ice players sit on their team's bench with the same stats.
• Penalty box — Penalized players appear in the penalty box with their timer.
• Crease — Active goalies appear in their crease with saves and SV%.

Requirements: Rosters must be created (Panels > Rosters). Shift tracking is optional — without it, all players appear on the bench. Game View updates in real time and is visible to collaborators and spectators.

Faceoff Tracker

Log faceoffs by zone (Center, OZ-L, OZ-R, DZ-L, DZ-R, NZ-L, NZ-R), team, player (from roster), opposing center, and win/loss result. View faceoff percentages per player and per zone. Print a faceoff report.

Rosters

Open via Panels > Rosters (Alt+3). Four tabs:

Home / Away

Add players with jersey number, name, position, and notes. Notes sync to placed players as hover tooltips. Click "Place" to put one player on the rink, or "Deploy" to place the first 6 in standard positions.

Lines

Build lines from your roster: Forward (LW/C/RW), Defense (LD/RD), PP, PK, or Full Unit. Click "Deploy" to place an entire line on ice. Lines also power the line change buttons in the shift tracker.

Officials

Add coaching staff (Head Coach, Assistant, Goalie Coach) and game officials with role-specific positioning on the rink.

Footer actions: Save/Load named roster sets, Import CSV, Export CSV, and Print (formatted roster sheet with notes, stats, lines, and staff).

Drill Library

Open via Panels > Drills (Alt+4). Browse 50+ built-in hockey drills. Search by keyword or filter by category (Skating, Shooting, Passing, Stickhandling, Defense, Goalie, Systems, Conditioning, Small Area, Warmup, Special Teams, Rushes, Fun) and difficulty level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced). Favorite drills for quick access. Hover over a drill card to preview it. Click "Load" to place the drill on the rink. Add drills directly to your practice plan.

Practice Planner

Open via Panels > Practice Plan (Alt+5). Set total ice time, then add drill slots with name, duration, and notes. Drag to reorder. A progress bar shows time used vs. remaining. Save plans as templates to reuse. Print a formatted practice plan.

Drill Timer

Open via Panels > Drill Timer (Alt+6). Three main modes:

Stopwatch

Count up from zero with lap/split tracking.

Countdown

Presets (30s, 1m, 1:30, 2m, 3m, 5m, 10m) or custom time. Sound plays at zero.

Interval

Set work time, rest time, and rounds. Timer alternates between work (green) and rest (red).

Additional features: Practice Timers — add multiple named countdown timers running simultaneously. Alarms — set named alarms that fire at a specific time. Chronograph — stopwatch with lap/split times and running total.

My Boards

Open via Panels > Saved Boards (Alt+8). Save the current board state (players, drawings, notes) with a name. Load, rename, delete, or favorite boards. Click the save icon (💾) in the toolbar for quick save. All data stored in localStorage.

Keyframes & Animation

Open via Panels > Animations (Alt+9). Create animated plays by capturing positions as keyframes:

1. Set up your first position. Click the snapshot button (📷) in the toolbar to capture.
2. Move players to the next position. Capture again. Repeat for each step.
3. Flip — Quick-flip through keyframes like a slideshow.
4. Animate — Smoothly tween players between keyframes with adjustable speed.

Reorder or delete individual keyframes in the panel. Save the sequence as a named animation.

My Animations

Save keyframe sequences as named animated plays. Load a saved animation to restore all its keyframes. Export as JSON to share with others. Import JSON animations. Organize with favorites.

Board History

Below the canvas, the history timeline records every board change:

• REC — Start/stop recording changes.
• Scrubber — Drag to scrub through recorded history.
• Step Back / Forward — Move one change at a time.
• Play — Auto-play through the recorded history.
• Save — Save the recorded history as an animation in My Animations.

Season Planner

Open via Panels > Season (Alt+7). Track your team's full season:

• Save Game — Save the current scoreboard state as a season game entry.
• Add Game — Manually add a game result.
• Record — W-L-T-OTL tracked automatically with cumulative GP and PTS.
• Cumulative Stats — Season totals for goals, assists, points, PIM, and saves.
• Edit / Delete — Modify or remove individual game entries.
• Export / Import — Save your season as JSON or load from a file.
• Print — Print a formatted season summary.

Collaboration

Open via Panels > Collaboration. Real-time board sharing via WebRTC (peer-to-peer). No data goes through any server.

• Create Room — Enter your name and create a room. Share the room code with others.
• Join Room — Enter a room code and click Join. All board changes sync in real time.
• Spectator Mode — Copy a spectator link for read-only viewers. Editing tools hidden, scoreboard updates live.
• Team Chat — Chat with Home/Away team tagging. Filter by All/Home/Away/Off. Host can enable/disable chat.
• Go Live — Broadcast your screen, camera, or audio. Viewers see a floating resizable video window.
• Limitations — Best with 2-5 participants. Session ends when host disconnects.

Menu (Export, View, Sounds)

Click the menu icon (☰) in the toolbar. Organized into sections:

Help

User Guide (this page) and Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).

View

Zoom (+/-/reset/fit), Fullscreen, Whiteboard Mode (hides panels, drawing only), Rink View (Full/Offensive/Defensive zone).

Sounds

Seven effects: Horn, Buzzer, Whistle, Crowd, Charge, Siren, Go! Sounds auto-play on timer expiry. Mute button toggles all sounds.

Export

• PNG — Download the rink as an image.
• Print / PDF — Opens print dialog with all UI hidden.
• Video (WebM) — Records keyframes as video (needs 2+ keyframes).
• Share Link — URL-encoded board state anyone can open.
• Export / Import JSON — Full board state as a JSON file.
• Game Summary — Printable box score with goals, penalties, goalie stats, faceoffs, TOI, and officials.
• Backup All Data — Download ALL localStorage data (rosters, boards, animations, season, settings) as one JSON file.
• Restore from Backup — Load a backup file to restore everything. Overwrites current data.

Command Palette

Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or click Menu > Help > Command Palette) to open a fuzzy-search overlay with 55+ actions. Type to filter — matches panel toggles, drawing tools, export options, presets, sounds, view controls, and more. Use ↑/↓ to navigate, Enter to execute, Esc to close. Works from anywhere, even inside form fields.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Data Storage & Backup

All data is stored in your browser's localStorage. Nothing is ever sent to any server. Saved boards, animations, rosters, game data, season data, practice plans, panel states, and DJ settings all persist between sessions.

Backup: Menu > Export > Backup All Data downloads everything as a single JSON file. Restore: Menu > Export > Restore from Backup loads a previously saved backup, overwriting current data and reloading the page.

Warning: Clearing your browser data (cache, cookies, localStorage) will delete everything. Use Backup regularly if your data matters.

Tips & Workflows

Run a live game

Open Scoreboard + Scorekeeping. Set team names and colors. Add rosters. Start the period clock. Log goals/penalties as they happen — scores, timers, and stats update automatically. Use shift tracker for TOI. Print a game summary when done.

Design a drill

Load an empty preset. Add players by position. Use arrows for passes, dashed arrows for skating routes, cones for obstacles, and text labels for coaching cues. Save to My Boards. Export as PNG to share.

Plan a practice

Open Drill Library to browse drills. Open Practice Planner, set your ice time, and add drill slots. Drag to reorder. Load each drill on the board to preview. Print the plan for your clipboard.

Share with your team

Use Collaboration to edit together in real time. Or export as a Share Link, PNG, or JSON template. For game days, use the Spectator Link so parents and fans can follow along live.

Back up your work

Menu > Export > Backup All Data before clearing your browser or switching devices. Restore on the new device to pick up where you left off.