2 Hockey, expression, informal — e.g. to find the back of the net.
to score a goal.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — In hockey, one sense of back of the net is the inside part of the net, which is, technically speaking, what is defended by the goalie. In this sense, back of the net is often found with the verb "to find", to find the back of the net, as a figurative way of saying that someone has scored a goal (see, for example, the 2009 and 2015 quotations). This meaning is also applicable when discussing soccer or other sports with netted goals.