Derek Michael Hodgins wrote:
 
> Oh come on. It's one thing to watch the game but it's another to play
> it. When commenting on a game or on hockey from an objective standpoint,
> I can completely understand where you're coming from. My father never
> played competitive hockey but as a goalie, I value his advice and
> observations of my game. To relate this subject of a half-shield to the
> like with goalies being the cats-eye, an outside of observer does not
> have any experience in it. You can't watch the game and be able to fully
> understand the benefits of wearing a cats-eye or the real dangers of it,
> not just specualtion which this listserv has been flooded with.
>
> My take on th cats-eye (which is the goalie mask prevalent in the NHL in
> which there are two larger opening outside of the eyes in which the
> butt-end of a stick is able to get through which causes the danger) is
> that it helps with my vision on the ice and while there are some dangers
> with it, there are more benefits for the small risk. When I was
> under-18, I signed the waiver, not because 'it's my body I'll do what I
> want' as one person put it, but beacuse I weighed the advantages and
> disadvantages and made my best informed choice.
 
How can you make an informed choice without any data?  All you're doing then is
guessing based on your own limited experience colored by non-safety related
preferences.  What benefits does the cat's eye mask provide and how do you know that
they in fact outweigh the drawbacks?  What we're trying to present actual comparisons
on whether your safety really is improved with the half-shield over the full-shield
based on actual numbers of injuries sustained under the different conditions.  It's
perfectly possible to state that the studies conducted so far really aren't
conclusive since they aren't widespread enough or detailed enough to give a good
picture.  Based on what's been presented so far, I'd tend to agree with this.  But I
simply can't fathom why you express so much hostility to the whole concept of trying
to research this question.  Wouldn't the players be better off having this kind of
information so that they can make a truly informed choice rather than just guessing
about which is safer?
 
> I've been skating all spring with college and junior players who almost
> all agree with the half-shield. If you see college players in the
> off-season, whether in pick-up games, or in summer leagues, or camps,
> they put on half-shields. And no, in 20 years of hockey, I have never
> seen a serious injury caused by a half-shield, especially the weak
> 'speculatory' injuries such as having the half-shield itself cut your
> face.
 
I don't know whether you want to consider it serious or not, but I saw exactly this
happen a week ago to Jere Lehtinen of  Dallas, so I guess players don't always have
the best perspective on what the dangers are.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.