Hockey Goalie Helmets – At Least There’s SOME Sanity on the Ice

Glenn brought this to my attention and I thought it was interesting enough to share   I’m not a big sports fan (unless you count aviation and shooting), but I can understand the attraction

Being from San Diego, I never had the ice and snow growing up that others have, but I think I’d like hockey much more than soccer.  I’m not big on running (unless I’m chased ), I do like skates, and I like the contact involved.

Just don’t put me in the net!

The Loveland Reporter-Herald ran a story about hockey goalie helmets, the history behind them, and some of the current designs which gave an interesting insight to the players who stand in the net.  And to think they used to play without helmets!

Gone are the days of the masquerade-looking, fit-to-form fiberglass that protected just the facial features of the netminder.

Now, every goalie’s entire head is encompassed in a cage of protection from hockey pucks, sticks and even skates.

Colorado Eagles goalie Mike Mole can tell you just how important the bars on his mask are. Prior to his start in net on Veteran’s Day, Mole’s teammate, Brett Lutes, hit his mask so hard with a warm-up shot that the center steel bar protecting his nose and forehead bent inward about an inch.

“That shook me up just a bit,” Mole said. “You could well imagine what could have happened without that cage.”

Thinking back on the way it used to be, Mole and fellow Eagles goalie Andrew Penner said it seems almost unfathomable the way goalies braved it without a shield.

But although they’re not quite normal, the goalies aren’t all that abnormal, either.  Pretty funny, too

“That’s kind of a draw when you’re a kid, you know? They say goaltenders are their own breed, so I guess it kind of goes along with that,” said Mole, whose mask is adorned with an image of the cartoon character AstroBoy flying over the Rockies, a modified “Godfather” symbol with his nickname, “Molezy,” attached to puppet strings on the backplate, and of course, two different Colorado team logos along the jawplates. “It’s something you can call your own. I wanted something that was bright and that the kids in the crowd could take a liking to. But I had to find a way to show my love for Mafia movies, too.”

Penner took it one step further last year, decorating his helmet in pink ribbons in support of his mother, Cindy, a breast cancer survivor. He got the idea from a Minnesota Wild goalie, Josh Harding, who did the same thing for his sister.

And as much as people think pro athletes are some other type of being than human, they still love their families.  Kinda like Glenn – a bit salty at times and might fight a bit more than some people, but an all around great guy

Like I said, I’m not really into sports, but these guys are class acts