The Facemask (I like my teeth)

My 2-year old daughter has a favorite book for me to read her, John Newby's "Heart of the Game." Guess what it's about . . .

(Found at fine booksellers everywhere) You'll note that the little guy on the cover has a facemask. For some reason that's my girl's favorite thing to talk about. She just loves the facemask. So do I.

In our league, a facemask, although strongly recommended, is optional. As a result, several guys don't wear masks, and the half-shield is the choice for others. One of our better players, four years ago or so, was skating along the boards at the blue line during warm-ups when one of our lesser players decided it was a good time to practice her slapshot (yes, "her" -- we were co-ed back then). 19 stiches, and 5% less vision in his left eye later, he switched to the cage.

Karma will get you. Just a few weeks back, our guy had graduated back to the half shield. And he got hit in the face, lacerating his tongue. Ouch. I swear a stick gets up in my grill at least once a game. Of course, several guys on my own team continue to wear the half-shield . . . better them than me.

Now, there's one rule I take issue with USA Hockey over. They state that any high stick that draws blood (causes injury is actually what they say) is an automatic major penalty. What that really means is that if a guy is stupid enough not to wear a cage or full shield, and gets high sticked, the other player is guilty for his stupidity. I think this should be changed. If a player without a mask or with a half-shield is cut as a result of a high stick, there should be no major penalty unless the high stick was malicious (in which case it wouldn't matter if there was an injury). But that's just me. In the mean time, enjoy explaining your cuts, breaks, and missing teeth to your significant other, boss, co-workers, friends . . .