Bob,
 
On Mon, 10 Apr 1995 [log in to unmask] wrote:
 
> An interesting question arose during the social hour prior to the BG awards
> banquet Saturday night ... exactly what is the origin of the term "Five Hole"
> as applied to shooting the puck between the goalies legs? ... Can we therefore
> assume that each goalie carries a Two Hole and a Ten Hole at each respective
> armpit? ... (you can see where that conversation was going). Anyway, your help
> is appreciated.
>
> Bob Hall
>
 
If I recall, the term five-hole comes from the typical stance of a goalie
when defending a shot.  If you look at him (or her), there are five
places a puck can sneak by...top left and top right, bottom left and
right, and the fifth is right through the wickets.  Nobody much bothers
with the first four (at least not announcers, when there are other cool
phrases like top shelf, etc.), but the five-hole has stood the test of time.
 
Hope this helps,
John Davenport
Miami U. '94
U. Michigan 'xx
'Go CCHA!'