Photo Courtesy of Tim Pesek.
If being a goalie is not the toughest position in sports, it certainly is one of them. In a game where one score can be the difference between winning and losing, countless successes can be forgotten at the expense of a single failure. It has been said that “there is no position in sport as noble as goaltending.”
Before masks were introduced for hockey goalies in 1959 by Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper Jacques Plante, it was typical for the face of a hockey goalie to be riddled with scars, bruises, and missing teeth. The first masks were shaped to fit the bare minimum of the face. If seen today these masks would remind people of the ones worn by frightening movie characters like Jason from Friday the Thirteenth and Hannibal Lector of Silence of the Lambs.
Considered to be the pioneer of “goalie mask art and design,” NHL goalie Gerry Cheevers had his trainer draw stitches onto his mask, during the 1970s, “whenever a puck or stick struck him in the face.” The mask is now considered, according to ESPN, to be the Hockey Hall of Fame’s “most wanted,” but hangs as a gift on the wall of his grandson’s bedroom in South Florida.
Today, hockey goalie masks have improved in all aspects of comfort, safety, and style. The standard today is to include custom art and design on the masks worn by the goaltenders. Several of the goalies from the Connecticut College men’s and women’s ice hockey teams were kind enough to share images and descriptions of their own goalie mask designs for this article.
Carly Denora ‘22 of the Connecticut College Women’s Ice Hockey team has a custom mask designed in collaboration with the company Royal Essex, a company out of her home state of New Jersey. Denora’s mask includes many playful Disney characters, such as Stitch, from Lilo and Stitch, on the area covering her left ear, fitted in Conn hockey gear. Denora has “always loved Stitch’s high energy and want(s) to embody that on the ice.” She also has Russell and Carl from Up, as well as Woody and Jack-Jack from Toy Story and The Incredibles, painted on the back of her helmet, who represent each one of her family members. The cage of her helmet is white and so is its frame, in the same fashion as one of her favorite goalies, New York Rangers legend, Mike Richter. Also covering the helmet are the CC, and spelled out Connecticut College logos. These are painted with reflective paint that shimmers in the light. On the adjacent side of Stitch is the Camel logo and covering the back of the helmet, below the other Disney characters on the top is Denora’s last name spelled out as the text of a New Jersey license plate. Just below that is the iconic Red Bull logo, the company Denora has worked for as a part of their student marketing program since her freshman year. On the area of the helmet protecting Denora’s chin is her number 30, and just to the side of that is the phrase “Guess what day it is? Hump day whoop whoop!” The slogan comes from the Geico commercial saying their customers are happier than a camel on hump day. A song remixed with the phrase plays as the CCWIH goal song every time the team scores at home. Lastly a subtle “seek discomfort” is written along the top of the back of her helmet, a motto from the motivational group called “Yes Theory” on YouTube that has inspired her “to live life to the fullest.”
Tim Pesek ‘23 of the Connecticut College Men’s Ice Hockey team has his own custom design. Pesek reached out to the company Skinfx, out of Rochester, New York, on Facebook, and connected with artist Mark Magnanti, who completed his mask for him. Pesek’s design is clean and simple, focused on the color scheme and main logos of Connecticut College including the tree and water logo as well as the one Denora also used of the Camel. Pesek said he felt the Connecticut College tree logo represented a huge reason for his decision to commit to Conn, citing the beautiful campus and the opportunity to learn about his passion for the ocean through his study of environmental studies and biology. On the back of Pesek’s helmet is where his more personal decals are set. As a tribute to his Czech heritage, Pesek includes the blue, white, and red Czech flag, as well as a well-known Czech tongue twister, “Strč prst skrz krk.” The tongue twister is famous because it is a “syntactically valid clause without a single vowel.” Pesek’s grandfather would recite the tongue twister to him when he was younger, which means “stick a finger through the throat.” Also on the back of Pesek’s mask is the purple Alzheimer’s awareness ribbon, a disease that has affected his and so many other families. He also includes a decal of his number, 33.
Sean Dynan ‘24 could be having his mask painted as you’re reading this article right now. Dynan recently spent time planning out his design with his friend and former high school teammate Kyle Konin, also a goalie, who now works full-time for his company he started named NUJAX AIRBRUSH. Dynan is also keeping his design simple, with his main focus on Connecticut College, while also including some subtle personal nods. His helmet is white with a thick blue line with white and baby blue trim running down the middle of the helmet to its back. Following along with the theme of Connecticut College, Dynan has the Camel logo on the right side of his helmet and the Connecticut College seal on the left side. Perhaps the most outstanding part of his mask is a design of two camels with pyramids and the desert in their background along the top left of his mask. On the back of the goalie’s helmet is his highschool, Kimball Union Academy’s seal and the logo of his junior hockey team, The Philadelphia Jr. Flyers of the Eastern Hockey League. Just below, at the expiration of the thick blue line running from the front of the helmet is Dynan’s nickname “Dyno” spelled out.
The Connecticut College Men’s and Women’s Ice hockey seasons have just begun, with the men and women just recently having faced NESCAC opponents Trinity, Wesleyan, and Middlebury this past weekend. They will each have games to compete in the weekend of Thanksgiving and will look forward to having the whole community’s support this winter. Bundle up and come down to the rink!
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