Keep a spare mask on the bench

[bunnyman666]

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Doesn’t sound all that practical until you hear this story…

My goalie partner was having a shut out on his end. His team played immaculate defense and when they didn’t, he saved their bacon. His neck was sore from standing on his head. Pucks were finding him, not the back of the net.  In the end, he was having a stellar game. That was, until he took a hard shot to the chin. 
 
It was a sickening sounding pop. He was down. No- he was okay, but he was searching for a screw. He found it, but the post bolt had broken. He decided that he was going to play the rest of the game. 
 
Since he didn’t have a spare mask, he was playing more tentatively. He felt that cage was loose despite it being a somewhat redundant screw. His 4-0 shutout became a 7-6 loss. 
 
One would say “have a spare set of hardware” on the bench.” Yes, but if your ice time is only an hour, you really don’t have time to fix it. A spare mask could be very expensive, and there is not one player helmet I would recommend as a combo. I have done research and there is not one I would recommend unless you can get a custom cage shaped like the old Torspo. I also wouldn’t touch a 30 plus year old SK2000 if my life depended upon it. I don’t know a good, economical solution to this quandary. I was going to sell my Victory helmet due to lack of use, but this sealed the deal. It is in my bag now (when I can return to the ice) and will go on the bench.  
 
You never know what will happen on the ice. Unless your league dresses an E-Bug (not likely), the game could end with a malfunctioning mask.

[RichMan]

We all know that in beer league you're on your own, rarely will a teammate help with anything unless on ice injury and even then. My bag is already more than I want to carry at my 6'2 frame L/XL gear. Carrying extra gear doesn't sound inviting to me. I don't even bring a spare stick cause getting through the doors is hell enough as is.

We should start a revolution and make beer league equipment managers a real thing

 

[bunnyman666]

11 minutes ago, RichMan said:

We all know that in beer league you're on your own, rarely will a teammate help with anything unless on ice injury and even then. My bag is already more than I want to carry at my 6'2 frame L/XL gear. Carrying extra gear doesn't sound inviting to me. I don't even bring a spare stick cause getting through the doors is hell enough as is.

We should start a revolution and make beer league equipment managers a real thing

 

I get it. I get it from my own perspective. I can lug my gear, but all those surgeries took out an extra step and I feel extra crappy after lugging my bag. 
 
If I can’t get back into the ice, I suppose I could rent myself out for $50 per game to be an EQM. I am actually pretty good at being an EQM. I act in that capacity when I sharpen skates, for example. Of course it will look funny being on the bench in sunglasses. 

[seagoal]

I sooner stop playing a game than have a spare mask on the bench.  Seems pretty impractical for something that is so extraordinarily rare.

I do keep a spare stick on my bench and in my bag in the locker room I have spare mask clips and I keep a spare dangler with pre-cut laces.  That's about it for me.

[coopaloop1234]

7 minutes ago, seagoal said:

I sooner stop playing a game than have a spare mask on the bench.  Seems pretty impractical for something that is so extraordinarily rare.

So rare that I've never seen a game have to get stopped due to a missing piece of hardware over the past 10 years of playing goal and the 8 years playing minor leagues.

This seems like overthinking a minor problem.

[bunnyman666]

8 minutes ago, seagoal said:

I sooner stop playing a game than have a spare mask on the bench.  Seems pretty impractical for something that is so extraordinarily rare.

I do keep a spare stick on my bench and in my bag in the locker room I have spare mask clips and I keep a spare dangler with pre-cut laces.  That's about it for me.

That’s your choice. 

[seagoal]

Just now, bunnyman666 said:

That’s your choice. 

Agreed. 

[Chenner29]

4 hours ago, RichMan said:

We all know that in beer league you're on your own, rarely will a teammate help with anything unless on ice injury and even then. My bag is already more than I want to carry at my 6'2 frame L/XL gear. Carrying extra gear doesn't sound inviting to me. I don't even bring a spare stick cause getting through the doors is hell enough as is.

We should start a revolution and make beer league equipment managers a real thing

 

50% of the job is already a thing.

https://lockerroom13.com/

There's multiple tiers of service, but even for the very basic you get laundry/towel service, locker room pickup/drop-off, skate sharpening.  Equipment repairs are extra

[bunnyman666]

2 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Agreed. 

I never thought of this before that happened. I literally saw this guy’s confidence change after that. He was so tentative.
 

This may not work for everyone. 

[seagoal]

3 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

I never thought of this before that happened. I literally saw this guy’s confidence change after that. He was so tentative.
 

This may not work for everyone. 

For sure, it's got to be scary to get rocked in the head so hard your helmet breaks and then you get rocked on goals.  Not fun, at all, I bet.   Did you talk to him after?

I'm a lifelong dangler user and been playing 25+ years.  Only had one crack once and I finished that game without it....pretty terrifying, honestly.  Talk about tentative.   I've kept a spare one on hand since and just leave it in the locker room.  There'd be a delay for the replacement, for sure.

Edited August 4, 2021 by seagoal

[bunnyman666]

Just now, seagoal said:

For sure, it's got to be scary to get rocked in the head so hard your helmet breaks and then you get rocked on goals.  Not fun, at all, I bet.   Did you talk to him after?

Yes. I was on the bench in sunglasses and he drove me to the rink. He was fine, but totally shaken up. I usually don’t advocate DNF, but I would have. He wanted to finish the shutout. First shot against after the pop was a goal. 

[seagoal]

4 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

Yes. I was on the bench in sunglasses and he drove me to the rink. He was fine, but totally shaken up. I usually don’t advocate DNF, but I would have. He wanted to finish the shutout. First shot against after the pop was a goal. 

Damn. 

Someone fell on my head in the championship game of my recent tourny and it was one of those that scared me more than hurt but I was still shook.  Next shot was low blocker, like around my knee area I didn't try to use my pad, just tried to drop my blocker and whiffed and it went in.  Pretty embarrassing goal. 

Playing tentatively is no good.

Edited August 4, 2021 by seagoal

[bunnyman666]

9 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Damn. 

Someone fell on my head in the championship game of my recent tourny and it was one of those that scared me more than hurt but I was still shook.  Next shot was low blocker, like around my knee area I didn't try to use my pad, just tried to drop my blocker and whiffed and it.  Pretty embarrassing goal. 

Playing tentatively is no good.

Nobody remembers what happened before an embarrassing goal. 9/10 it was something jarring right before.

Edited August 4, 2021 by bunnyman666

[Wonder35]

Ten years ago our team decided to keep a bag of gear, mostly goalie stuff, in our locker at the rink.  Just about every season I upgraded the equipment on our tiny budget. Now we have a bag with 3 pairs of gloves, one being a full right, a set of Vaughn V3's, assorted Goalie Cut jerseys, 3 pairs of skates plus 3 masks. One is a Cooper combo cage with dangler and the others are typical shell masks. We have a couple of sticks, everything required should a goalie be a no show and some forward/defense can step up and be Johnny Bower for a day.

It is my duty to keep the gear fresh and in good condition. It would take around 3 minutes to grab a spare piece of gear if something broke on the ice.

[bunnyman666]

58 minutes ago, Wonder35 said:

Ten years ago our team decided to keep a bag of gear, mostly goalie stuff, in our locker at the rink.  Just about every season I upgraded the equipment on our tiny budget. Now we have a bag with 3 pairs of gloves, one being a full right, a set of Vaughn V3's, assorted Goalie Cut jerseys, 3 pairs of skates plus 3 masks. One is a Cooper combo cage with dangler and the others are typical shell masks. We have a couple of sticks, everything required should a goalie be a no show and some forward/defense can step up and be Johnny Bower for a day.

It is my duty to keep the gear fresh and in good condition. It would take around 3 minutes to grab a spare piece of gear if something broke on the ice.

That is a spectacular idea! I am a firm proponent of being prepared. I know that occasionally, I will pack up a bag with goalie gear just in case if I hear that my partner isn’t showing up. I actually have a guy using a spare set right now until I can return.

[bildeer]

I keep extra mask hardware and stuff that I would otherwise need should something fail in my equipment bag. This season I will also be keeping my 3 pound box of mask and leg pad hardware in my locker room stall at the rink.

Last year at a men's league game, I took a puck to the head that broke a plastic clip. Luckily for me, I had several more in my mask bag. In less than 2 minutes, I was back on the ice and we were playing again.

Equipment repair on short notice is another goaltending related skill!

[bunnyman666]

13 hours ago, bildeer said:

I keep extra mask hardware and stuff that I would otherwise need should something fail in my equipment bag. This season I will also be keeping my 3 pound box of mask and leg pad hardware in my locker room stall at the rink.

Last year at a men's league game, I took a puck to the head that broke a plastic clip. Luckily for me, I had several more in my mask bag. In less than 2 minutes, I was back on the ice and we were playing again.

Equipment repair on short notice is another goaltending related skill!

Yes it is! 
 
What surprises me is that with fewer penalties against attackers going into the crease that I don’t see lots of skate cuts in used gear, weird as it sounds. I see lots of used gear, as I used to comb PIAS for vintage all of the time. Now that there are a few collectors out there, you just find old and used. Irbe used to do repairs between periods. Of course his was more likely due to age.
 
My puck foil popped on a shot, but thankfully it could function intact or not. I still haven’t cut another one. 
 
I left the Brian’s toe ties behind as they kept going around my runner rather than my skate! I still have a brand new set, never opened, in my spares box. They will likely be sold as NOS on eBay one day. There were three guys at one drop in who knew the score and if they saw me slip a weird way, they knew what was going on! They could situate me in a minute! I was taping them up and figured out “what is the point here?”

The ability to do quick repairs is nearly a lost art. I am really lucky that I haven’t had to make too many!

[tubby34]

On 8/4/2021 at 6:30 AM, bunnyman666 said:

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Doesn’t sound all that practical until you hear this story…

My goalie partner was having a shut out on his end. His team played immaculate defense and when they didn’t, he saved their bacon. His neck was sore from standing on his head. Pucks were finding him, not the back of the net.  In the end, he was having a stellar game. That was, until he took a hard shot to the chin. 
 
It was a sickening sounding pop. He was down. No- he was okay, but he was searching for a screw. He found it, but the post bolt had broken. He decided that he was going to play the rest of the game. 
 
Since he didn’t have a spare mask, he was playing more tentatively. He felt that cage was loose despite it being a somewhat redundant screw. His 4-0 shutout became a 7-6 loss. 
 
One would say “have a spare set of hardware” on the bench.” Yes, but if your ice time is only an hour, you really don’t have time to fix it. A spare mask could be very expensive, and there is not one player helmet I would recommend as a combo. I have done research and there is not one I would recommend unless you can get a custom cage shaped like the old Torspo. I also wouldn’t touch a 30 plus year old SK2000 if my life depended upon it. I don’t know a good, economical solution to this quandary. I was going to sell my Victory helmet due to lack of use, but this sealed the deal. It is in my bag now (when I can return to the ice) and will go on the bench.  
 
You never know what will happen on the ice. Unless your league dresses an E-Bug (not likely), the game could end with a malfunctioning mask.

I always take two masks to the rink (outdoor roller or Ice) and this happened to me one day.

Helmet broke off a hard shot, and I tried to get refs attention after a whistle. He skates away.

I skate off the rink and find the commish, and show hom the helmet is broken. I skate to my car about 50 yards away.

Before I get back, I have been assesed a delay of game penalty. I argue that it's bullshit and I get a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Two penalties and on the following penalty kill a guy runs me and I push him off, I get thrown out for my third.

Moral of the story, my league is a piece of shit (Miami Roller Hockey), and the refs are scumbags. In the future you better believe I'm going to hold the game up and look for the screw for 30 mins if I have to.

[bildeer]

5 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

Yes it is! 
 
What surprises me is that with fewer penalties against attackers going into the crease that I don’t see lots of skate cuts in used gear, weird as it sounds. I see lots of used gear, as I used to comb PIAS for vintage all of the time. Now that there are a few collectors out there, you just find old and used. Irbe used to do repairs between periods. Of course his was more likely due to age.
 
My puck foil popped on a shot, but thankfully it could function intact or not. I still haven’t cut another one. 
 
I left the Brian’s toe ties behind as they kept going around my runner rather than my skate! I still have a brand new set, never opened, in my spares box. They will likely be sold as NOS on eBay one day. There were three guys at one drop in who knew the score and if they saw me slip a weird way, they knew what was going on! They could situate me in a minute! I was taping them up and figured out “what is the point here?”

The ability to do quick repairs is nearly a lost art. I am really lucky that I haven’t had to make too many!

You still use toe ties in 2021?! straps with toe buckles are all the rage these days!