I would say discipline, positioning and timing is the key to solid defence. When I started playing I was skating around way too much - trying to pick up speed for a great tackle but missing my target most of the time. The truth is you can pretty much be still when checking - you just need to make your move when the opponent is close enough.

Just skate backwards slowly (skate-stop-skate-stop), position yourself in the line between the attacker and your own goal and let the defender near you. When he's right in front of you - bodycheck, poke or lift his stick.







With this in mind - control the slot and don't let your opponent sneak up from behind the net and score an easy goal, near post.

It's kind of easy ending up skating along the boards since you want to stay as far away from the opposing defenders as possible. This however makes you an easy target for a checking defender. If you stick to the boards you're reducing the possible movement angle to 180 degrees instead of having the full 360. But if you put just a yard between yourself and the board, suddenly you doubble your choices and your chances to shake of the defender - which, if you manage to, might leave the slot wide open.

As I've recently begun playing the EASHL with some friends, I've put together two basic examples of the zones each player by default should try to stick two.

When attacking, the wingers really don't have to stick to a specific side - their job is to go wherever they are free to recieve a pass/take a shot.

While on defence, you want to be as close as possible to the opponent in your zone while still being between him and your goalie. Try to anticipate his moves and move to the spot where you think he will be in a second. Don't overcheck as this, often, will result in you getting out of position. If you pokecheck instead, you have a better chance at keeping your desired position even if you miss the puck.
Players getting out of their defensive position breaks down the defence and often leaves it in a state of chaos - which a good team takes advantage of.

If you're not about to check - use vision control (L2 - PS3) so that your player allways faces the puck (works in the same way on the attack except behind the net where you'll face the slot).

D=pink
C=blue
W=yellow

Attack:




Defence:



The green circles represents the most important zones to defend for each player.