Try shooting through the glass. See the post in this forum regarding shooting through the glass. The expressions you will capture by being at the ice level will be wonderful!
Great first outing with hockey! There's a ton to learn! You'll learn it all here at FM.
Capture the face and especially the eyes if you can. I'm staring at some hockey
prints of my son here, but I wish I could share them with you.
Yep, try shooting through the glass with on-camera flash and come back and tell us the results! (I'm joking with ya.)
Seriously, I'm not sure how well it will work to shoot through the glass with on-camera flash. I haven't tried it, but I'm guessing it won't really work. I'd be intereted to hear if anyone has done this before with success (and is willing to share that success--i.e. a couple of images--in this thread!).
Without the flash, I would doubt the 70-300 lens is going to be fast enough to stop action. You could try some panning shots, or maybe bench shots or jube. But traditional action might be out of the question.
Maybe you can somehow find a position that gets you lower yet gets you over the glass?
The other thing that can be rough shooting at this angle is nailing the focus. It appears that your AF found the ice and skates rather than the face of your subject which is not in the DoF. If you can't get down to ice level, try selecting an AF point around 12 O'Clock or if selecting the middle point, be real vigilant in keeping it on the head of your subject.
Depending on the level of hockey, you might be able to get a spot in the penalty box - in many of the rinks I shoot in, there is no glass in the penalty box, and you can get some nice shots of break outs, etc. You have to pay close attention to what is going on, though - pucks and sticks can hurt. Most youth hockey leagues look for volunteers to man the penalty box. Be sure to post your next shots!
(I'm joking with ya.)