HOCKEY EQUIPMENT
Goalie Mask:
Goalie mask is ice hockey equipment, which is mostly worn by the goaltender of the ice hockey. The main purpose of the goalie mask is the protection of the head from any sort of injury. The goalie masks made at the initial states comprised of a model made of crude leather. It was used in the 1920’s by Clint Benedict, who used it in order to prevent his broken nose from any further injury. It was later aborted by Clint after his recovery. The first ice hockey player to wear a full time mask was Plante in the year 1959. Despite the initial derision, the fiberglass mask became the symbol and a standard for ice hockey.
Facial Mask:
In case of the youth hockey players and those who play at the college level, the facial mask needs to be essentially made from the transparent plastic or the metal wire, which are attached to the helmet. This helps in the facial protection during the playing of ice hockey. Most of the adult and professional ice hockey players may wear a visor instead of a facial mask, which only helps in the protection of eyes. Some adult players avoid the wearing of facial masks. At the professional level, the rules with regards to the face masks and visors are controversial.
Inference:
At a professional level, the safety standards adopted in the ice hockey games of North America was a slow and a gradual process. Till the 1980’s, the wearing of helmets was not at all mandatory.
