Link: The Mask

Incredible article posted on UniWatch a while back. If you haven t read it yet, do it now.

Two Words: Awesome Ness

Sorry for three straight posts mentioning Carey Price, but this is just so amazing.
Habs Inside/Out has an article and several pictures of the Montreal goalie wearing some Jacques Plante era equipment, including a replica mask.

"But the mask … now this is something truly special.

Price cradles the replica of the fibreglass mask Canadiens legend Jacques Plante wore into a game for the first time on Nov. 1, 1959, forever changing the face of goaltending. He rolls it around in his hands, studying every bump and scratch, then wrestles it on, adjusting the elastic straps before rapping his knuckles against his cheek and wincing at the impact of just that."

The full article can be found here, and the full gallery of photos is here.

2009 All-Star Game

Goalies at the All-Star Game get me mad. Perhaps it started when Khabibulin didn't recieve the MVP award a couple of years ago. But the real reason is how stupid they look. When you take your teams pads and masks, then mix in the all star jersey, the finished product usually looks like this.
This year seemed to be better then usual. Backstrom's pads had a little green in them, but for the most part, the colors were red. Tim Thomas looked the most out of place, and JS Gigure followed his lead, while Roberto Luongo was on the fence.
The "Best Dressed" has got to be either the hometown boy, Carey Price, or the Rangers Henrik Lundqvist. This is what an All-Star goalie looks like
My question is, why can't goalies have an all-star mask? If Mike Smith has a Saw mask, I don't see the problem in having one commemerating something more important.

The Coverboy

I got home a couple of weeks ago, and was pleasantly surprised at the latest ESPN the mag in the mailbox. Carey Price in all of his glory. Hockey is rare enough on sports magazine covers, but hockey goalies are even rarer.
Anywho, ESPN had a video of the photo shoot (below), and included this beauty in the article.

Pittsburgh Steelguins

In honor of the impending Super Bowl Sunday, I give you Marc-Andre Fleury:


Yeah, yellow doesn't really go with baby blue. Cool, nonetheless.

Interview with "Saving Face" Author

Victoria Star has posted a really nice interview with the author of the book all about hockey masks, Gary Smith. Here's a small excerpt

""I started making (goalie) masks in grade nine and I was always attracted to masks. Of course growing up in Canada I played hockey and I was attracted to the position of goal because of the masks," he said. "In grade nine I started making them and have been ever since.""

Sounds like my childhood, besides the actually playing goalie, of course.
The whole interview can be found here.
And the Amazon.com listing for the book is here.

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.