The Goalie Mask
November 2, 2009
I have always been fascinated by the goaltender in hockey. As a child I loved looking at their hockey cards, reading their statistics and spent many hours drawing their wonderful equipment - especially the mask. Fifty years ago today, Jacques Plante was corked in the face with a puck decided he had had enough and told Toe Blake he was going to wear something over his face from here on in; and since then the goalie mask has evolved to new and wonderful measures. During my childhood the masks I loved were: Ken Dryden, Tony Esposito, Mike Palmateer, Gerry Cheevers, Rogie Vachon, Mike Liut and John Davidson. I loved them all. There was/is just something so interesting about the position itself and all the wonderful equipment that goalies wear. While the masks are certainly not as cool as they were in my childhood, they continue to evolve as the game grows and the appeal of the mask (and the person behind it) has not changed.
What is overlooked in the momentous occasion of Jacques Plante donning a mask is that it was preceded by the use of the curved stick. Andy Bathgate was one of the first to use it regularly and it was his booming slapshot the hit Plante during that fateful game.
Comment by Dalong — November 4, 2009 @ 5:41 am