Winter Classic 2009

Not a whole lot of mask news during this years Winter Classic. For the first time, no goalie wore a beanie on his mask like Jose Theodore and Ryan Miller did in previous years. The one lone exception was Cristobal Huet who honored the even very well by having the famous Wrigley Field sign on the front of the mask. Ty Conklin, who has been in every Classic donned his normal octopus mask. Personally, I was hoping he would go for a retro looking mask to go with the jerseys.

Winter Classic

Time to break out the bubbly, throw some streamers, and play some outdoor hockey. The NHL's "Outdoor Classic" will be on New Years Day, and expect some nostalgia. Both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres will be wearing throwback jerseys.

But what about the goalies? Last time they played an outdoor game, the only significant detail involving goalies was Jose Theodore wearing a beanie above his mask. This year, Dany Sabourin, goalie for Pittsburgh will be wearing old-school brown equipment. He'll also wear this beauty. Look familiar? It's based on the recently discussed Michel Plasse mask.

The other Penguin goaltender, Ty Conklin, will also be wearing a retro Penguin mask, but no brown pads.

On the other side of the puck, the Sabres might display the beanie look, if practice means anything.