50 years ago Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante was forced off the ice after a shot hit him in the face, requiring 7 stitches to stop the bleeding. He refused to retake the ice if his coach didn’t allow him to wear the small plastic mask he had made to protect himself. With no backup, his coach had no choice.
If I played hockey I’d want to be a goalie so I could have an artist friend make me an incredibly dope mask (I bet commenter the roomate would make a sick one), of course, I also have no desire for 100+ mph shots to come towards me so I probably wouldn’t make a very good goalie…
Regardless, the folks over at TSN put together a gallery of some of the best masks on the ice this season and are holding a poll to see which one is the fans’ favorite. Here are the ones I like best. Make sure to head over to TSN after to see the rest of the awesome masks and to vote in their poll as well. Some of this year’s entrants include pop culture shout-outs, including Metallica, Heath Ledger’s Joker and Rocky Balboa as well as homages to the various cities the goalies play in and the team’s mascots.
[TSN]
The Slanch Report 
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