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This is why hockey goalies wear a mask nowadays.

Until Jacques Plante got his nose broken and came back into the game wearing his practice mask, it was considered chicken-shit to wear a mask and coaches thought it would impair vision.
 
dud said:
Hockey pucks flying at your face at high velocity.

I wonder why?
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i love hockey....but can admit the people involved at all levels have not been the brightest of the bunch.

i have a huge book of the history of hockey or some such. my brother has it right now so i cant be precise, but im pretty sure the first 20 or 30 years of documented play had referees PLACING the puck on the ice, and many suffered hand injuries and lost fingers.

seriously. decades of putting up with that before someone said "ok, fuck it, ive lost enough fingers this shit has to stop"
 
Back in ye old days, it wasn't common place for pucks to be flying at 100mph 2+ feet in the air.

Today - makes perfect sense to wear a mask - even playing as defense/forward - at least a half shield to provide some protection for the eyes.
 
coloumb said:
Back in ye old days, it wasn't common place for pucks to be flying at 100mph 2+ feet in the air.

Today - makes perfect sense to wear a mask - even playing as defense/forward - at least a half shield to provide some protection for the eyes.
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yeah, sometimes i still cant believe guys will wear a helmet without at least a half shield.

theyre tough guys though...anyone watching regularly can count on seeing several players over a season take a shot to the face, go get stitches, then come back and keep playing.

not all of them, but a surprising number of them
 
Also goalies didn't drop down in a butterfly style back then, they stood up so less chance of getting hit in the face. Once hockey sticks acquired curves though, the shots started rising and getting harder too.
 
Add in composite sticks, and pro contracts where kids train from age 4 to make it to the big leagues instead of beer guzzling salesmen suiting up for a few extra bucks...

The thing that gets me these days is the armor they wear. it's not even padding anymore as it is actually very hard plastic on the outside. The elbows are particularly bad. Put them all in soft foam padding, mandate wood sticks and I'm sure we'd see injuries drop.
 
xSauronx said:
yeah, sometimes i still cant believe guys will wear a helmet without at least a half shield.
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This. Manny Malhotra is incredibly lucky to have not lost his eye.

I'd like to see the half-shields become mandatory.

silverpig said:
The thing that gets me these days is the armor they wear. it's not even padding anymore as it is actually very hard plastic on the outside. The elbows are particularly bad. Put them all in soft foam padding, mandate wood sticks and I'm sure we'd see injuries drop.
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Agreed. The wooden sticks break a lot less frequently than the composite ones anyway.
 
Tom-Berenger-as-Sergeant-Barnes.jpg


Sgt. Barnes was a maskless hockey goalie before the war?

MotionMan
 
foghorn67 said:
Wait. They have composite sticks? I've been away from hockey for a long while apparently.
And yes, I know every other sport has a composite somethingrather. It's still surprising.
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Meh, baseball still uses wood. People would get killed if they used composite materials.
 
dennilfloss said:
Terry Sawchuck is probably the greatest goalie ever and he spent most of his career in the pre-mask era. Check his face... D:
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He did not learn the first couple of times that he needed some kind of face protection?

Letting someone get those kind of facial injuries does not say a lot for hockey, or the people that play the game.
 
Texashiker said:
He did not learn the first couple of times that he needed some kind of face protection?

Letting someone get those kind of facial injuries does not say a lot for hockey, or the people that play the game.
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This was a long time ago. As in, "baseball/football players didn't wear helmets" days.
 
foghorn67 said:
Wait. They have composite sticks? I've been away from hockey for a long while apparently.
And yes, I know every other sport has a composite somethingrather. It's still surprising.
Click to expand...

I think there were composite sticks before composite baseball bats, lacrosse sticks, or anything else.
 
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