Sunday, February 27, 2011

Ben Bishop 2010-11 Mask

Ben Bishop of the St. Louis Blues (born Nov 21, 1986 in Denver, CO.)

Bishop was called up after Halak went out with an injury in February 2011. At the end of Feb. he had 3 starts, and already two shutouts. And he's 6'7". Wow.







Saturday, February 26, 2011

Ray Emery 2010-11 Mask

Ray Emery of the Anaheim Ducks (born Sept. 28, 1982 in Hamilton, ON.)

Emery has yet to play a game for Anaheim, but he was called up when Hiller went out with an injury and McElhinney was traded to Tampa for Ellis. So he's now backing up Ellis.

From In Goal Magazine: "...he’s wearing another boxing inspired helmet. This time Emery turned to David Leroux from Montreal...The Sugar Ray Leonard theme with Ducks’ graphics is sure to impress boxing and hockey fans alike."




Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Joey MacDonald 2010-11 Mask

Joey MacDonald of the Detroit Red Wings (born Feb. 7, 1980 in Pictou, NS.)

MacDonald has stepped in as backup goalie after Osgood went out with an injury.

According to the Goalie Guild: "This mask is another tribute design, this time focusing on famous retro Detroit masks, including Mark Rutherford’s Red Wings eyebrow mask, Terry Sawchuck’s mask, Rogie Vachon’s mask with the Red Wings, and Eddie Giacomin’s mask. There is a script below each mask with the goalie’s name in red font. The chin features the standard Red Wings with the letter “MAC” in the middle."






James Reimer 2010-11 Mask

James Reimer of the Toronto Maple Leafs (born March 15, 1988 in Winnipeg, MB.)

InGoal Magazine's article about Reimer's mask is here.
The sides of the mask: "...features a pond hockey game from his youth on one side, and Hockey Night in Canada icons Don Cherry and Ron MacLean on the other."
The backplate: "...an image of Jesus pulling Peter out of the water on the back of his mask, along with a reference to suitable verse for both him and the Maple Leafs."
And: "The bible passage referenced above the image of Jesus and Peter – “Matt 14:31″ – is also not without significance, and seems very fitting for both the overlooked Reimer and the Maple Leafs: Matthew 14:31 reads: “Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”











SI.com's Goalie Masks By Team

I've been waiting for it, and I finally found Sport Illustrated.com's spread of the goalie masks of the 2010-11 season.

Here it is: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1101/nhl-goalie-masks-by-team-2010-11/content.1.html

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Kiprusoff has secret solution to staying warm

I thought this was a fun article about Miikka Kiprusoff and the 2011 Heritage Classic (which is being played as I write.) I didn't realize he grew up with the Koivu brothers.

ALLAN MAKI
CALGARY— Globe and Mail Update
Published Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 9:09PM EST

He’s the hottest Flame with the coldest job, and Miikka Kiprusoff has a plan for staying warm while playing goal Sunday in an outdoor hockey game in Alberta, face to the wind, body to screaming slap shots, no heated bench for a comfortable retreat.

The key, he said coyly, could be in his water bottle.

“Will it be filled with hot chocolate?” Kiprusoff was asked after Friday’s skate inside Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome.

“Maybe,” he answered. “I’m not allowed to drink anything stronger.”

Okay, so the Finlandia vodka angle won’t fly. But Kiprusoff has been prepping for his Heritage Classic date with the Montreal Canadiens at McMahon Stadium on two fronts: by recalling his youthful days playing hockey in the frozen confines of Turku, Finland, with older brother Marko and their neighbourhood rivals, the Koivus, Saku and Mikko; and by playing shinny with his son.

For weeks now, father and five-year-old Aaro have been skating on the backyard rink at the Kiprusoff compound. The kid has been telling his dad it’s not that cold out. The dad has been remembering what it was like getting stuck in net whenever his brother and the Koivus clashed on ice or played street hockey.

“We used a tennis ball and it would freeze and it would hurt,” Kiprusoff said.

That was Kiprusoff’s introduction to goaltending and playing outdoors; it was cold and it hurt. Fortunately for Kiprusoff, it wasn’t enough to deter his passion for the position. He’s not only carved out a stellar National Hockey League career, he’s been the primary contributor to the Flames’ remarkable turnabout this season.

At one point, Calgary was next to last in the Western Conference with Kiprusoff giving up goals and being benched like never before. Since Jan. 22, he’s lost only once in regulation time and recorded nine wins as the Flames have roared back into playoff contention. The difference, he explained, has been a rebirth of confidence and a return to basics – strong positioning, good crease movement and an ability to make the right save when it counts.

“Kipper’s been huge for us,” team captain Jarome Iginla said. “He struggled a bit there, but he’s back on his game.”

As for Kiprusoff going the distance in a game where the temperature could fall to minus-19 with wind chill, Iginla remarked: “It’ll be something to think about when I’m complaining [about the weather].”

Playing in goal is tough enough in today’s NHL; playing it under intense conditions only magnifies the severity. Canadiens goalie Carey Price said he would use Saturday’s outdoor practice at McMahon to gauge what to wear and how much of it. Too little and you risk a bad case of the shivers, too much and you have difficulty moving.

“For goalies, it’s different,” said Price, who had his own woes this season and now has 27 wins, second best in the league. “You could work up a good sweat, then stand there for two, three minutes and do nothing. I’ll have to figure something out in practice. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Price will unveil a specially painted mask for the Heritage Classic. Kiprusoff will not wear a tuque à la Montreal’s Jose Theodore from the 2003 outdoor game in Edmonton. Instead, the Flames’ goalie, whose older brother Marko was drafted by the Canadiens and played alongside Saku Koivo, will think about the days when he took a frozen tennis ball off his shins and just had to go out and play again the next day, whatever the weather.

“That was fun. This will be fun,” Kiprusoff said. “I just hope it’s not crazy cold.”

Otherwise, the water bottle will need something stronger than chicken soup, right?

“I don’t even know how to answer that one,” a smirking Iginla said.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Carey Price's 2011 Heritage Classic Mask

Here's the article at InGoal Magazine about Carey Price's Heritage Classic Mask.

Montreal goaltender Carey Price will be wearing a sharp new retro look for the Heritage Classic in Calgary courtesy of David Arrigo of darrigoart.com. David is Carey’s regular artist and the creator of his Montreal helmet art this year. He’s also by far the most diverse artist in the business doing work for the NFL (Super bowl murals), NASCAR, the Canadian Forces and more charitable works than you can imagine.

The design uses a familiar form that mimics old masks by simulating ears and hair (Price’s own) but this one has the unique feature of simulated eyes as well – and a slightly disturbing mouth reminiscent of the “Saw” helmet Arrigo painted for Mike Smith in Tampa Bay. The eyes and mouth, in fact, are those of legendary Canadien Jacques Plante.





Alex Auld's New 2011 Mask

I haven't read whether this is specifically Alex Auld's Heritage Classic mask, or if this is just his new mask in general. Here's the article about it over at InGoal Magazine.

And here's the entry for the mask he previously used this season.




Montreal’s Alex Auld has a fantastic new helmet created by Dave Gunnarsson of daveart.com who has titled the design "1+29+33 Gardiens Legendaire des Canadiens." It features tributes to Montreal greats Jacques Plante, Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden – whose iconic mask design takes up the left side of Auld’s new helmet.

Gunnarsson describes the work:

"The side painted as Dryden’s classic mask features red and blue lines running around the mask forming something like a shooting target on the white base. Inside the red and blue lines I have created a design in the design, with paintings of Dryden and his number. The paintings are created in Old School Oil Paint Tech like classic drawings made with classic brush. I was inspired by the big classic artists. Alex wanted the motifs created with this technique, and it goes perfect with the theme.

In the white base you also see a motif of Dryden where he stands in his classic pose leaning on the stick. And on the forehead of the mask you see a motif of the old classic Montreal Forum. The Canadiens logo is painted as a pattern in the white bringing a 3-D feeling to the whole. All these details you see when you look close, from far this side of the mask is a tribute to Dryden’s classic mask.

On the other side the red and blue lines are opened up with flying 3-D effects. Here the Canadiens logo is painted big and powerful with a great depth. Again I have created a design inside the design with a classic motif of Roy making a save. The motif is painted with brush in old classic style, in a cool subtle way. You can also see his number.

Over the logo I have also created a big layout with Plante and his number, the famous picture of when he’s putting his mask on and his jersey is bloodied, and with plasters on the nose. Of course also this motif is created with Old School Oil Paint Tech, in blue tints and with playing lines."

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Butterfly Effect

This was an article by Mike Russo of the Minneapolis-St. Paul StarTribune.
By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune
Last update: February 10, 2011 - 10:51 PM

It is against copyright for me to publish the text of the article. Follow the link to view it.