Why do guys with half shields get mad

[zebra_steve 11]

The short answer to why we get P.O.'ed is that you yahoos with the cages seldom have enough respect for your fellow players to be responsible for keeping yer frigging hands down and sticks on the ice. We have multiple generations of players now that have never and would never play without a cage. They have never had to worry about keeping their hands and sticks down and it shows. They were never taught to throw A LEGAL BODY CHECK - which by definition does not include the use of hands and\or arms (not that it's ever really called that way when the hands stay "below the shoulders"). And in the instances where they accidentally high sticked someone in the face there were no consequences as the cage prevented it. I can remember way back in the 70's a teammate high sticked a kid accidentally... his dad was the coach and he triple shifted him til after several runs at him someone hauled him to center ice and whupped up him for it... He asked his dad later why he kept him out there til he got his a$$ beat and the response was so you'll learn to keep your stick down where it belongs.

As for "THE PROS".... well their checks frequently involve the hands, elbows and sticks - starting at the shoulders in many cases... no wonder they have issues with head injuries....

When I play, which is maybe three times a year these days, I either wear a shield, or nothing. But, I play with guys that respect each other and know that the stick is supposed to be on the ice...... Most are playing with shields or nothing at all and we get along just fine...

[cptjeff 0]

Accidents happen. I agree that you should be in control of your stick, but even the most conscientious player if going to make a mistake sometime.

I wear a cage because there is no good argument not to.

I really have no sympathy for those who decide not to wear a cage (or some type of facial protection) and get hurt.

You can prevent that injury EASILY. You can't guarantee a stick, or a puck, or a skate isn't going to go up.

Should the sticks stay down, yeah, ideally. But using that logic, you shouldn't need gloves, because nobody is going to slash you with a stick. You know what game you're playing, and to flip out on someone else for something that is part of the game is just placing blame on somebody else because you're too proud to protect yourself.

Also, I can't count how many times guys wearing visors or nothing have decided to give me shit for wearing a cage because I got under their skin. Every single time they get in my face about something, I'll take my helmet off and they tend to shut up really quick. For some reason, they think that because I wear a cage, I'm a pussy.

I'm not wearing my cage because I think I'm invincible. I wear it because I have to work the next day, and I'm not a huge fan of losing an eye or getting my teeth messed up.

This, especially the no sympathy part. Cry me a damn river. I try to be careful with my stick, but I wear a cage because I understand that things do happen, accidental or due to lack of care, and that I don't want to deal with having my face reconstructed. If you choose to be the tough guy, recognize that your face will get whacked by something on occasion, shit happens in a sport like hockey. You know the risks and you choose not to mitigate them, suck it up.

[Chadd 916]

Deflected pucks are one thing, some yahoo swinging his stick 6 feet off the ice is something else entirely. I've literally had chunks taken out of my visor due to reckless idiots. Not scratches, not little chips, but actual chunks taken out of my visor. That isn't hockey or an accident, that is someone that just doesn't give a rats ass about anyone else on the ice.

[cptjeff 0]

Deflected pucks are one thing, some yahoo swinging his stick 6 feet off the ice is something else entirely. I've literally had chunks taken out of my visor due to reckless idiots. Not scratches, not little chips, but actual chunks taken out of my visor. That isn't hockey or an accident, that is someone that just doesn't give a rats ass about anyone else on the ice.

And?

Just because that yahoo shouldn't be swinging his stick doesn't mean he won't. You know that there will often be that idiot, no matter how much you wish there wasn't, yet you still choose not to protect yourself. That's on you.

[usahockey22 0]

It's like trying to argue we shouldn't wear seatbelts while driving, because the increased comfort and decreased restriction helps our driving performance...and if we crash and get demolished, well, its the fault of the other driver, right? I mean why wear a seatbelt if we could just make everyone drive perfectly? Seems like a simple solution... If I'm driving, which I know is an inherently dangerous activity, and I get crashed into and thrown out of my car, yea the other guy may have been an idiot for hitting me, but I'm also the idiot for not wearing the seatbelt. It goes both ways.

I'm glad I wear a cage, because I always end up taking sticks and pucks and hits to my cage. It doesn't matter if you're playing with beginners or professionals, the game of hockey involves incidental contact to the face, and to the rest of the body. Especially if you are ever in a position to block shots, or if you actually fight hard in the corners, you WILL get hit in the face with something. So if you choose to skip out on facial protection because you're a tough guy, then be the tough guy that you are and don't bitch about something that you knew would eventually happen in hockey.

[sitzlejd 0]

And?

Just because that yahoo shouldn't be swinging his stick doesn't mean he won't. You know that there will often be that idiot, no matter how much you wish there wasn't, yet you still choose not to protect yourself. That's on you.

Bullshit. If we're talking about the original post and whether or not it's okay for "visor guys" to get mad if they get a high stick, it's certainly okay. If you read the situation and decide that the guy was being a jackass, by all means light him up. If I catch a stick in the face my first thought isn't going to be "Man, I guess I should've worn a cage." It's going to be "Why the f*ck did that moron have his stick up near my head." I shouldn't have to change my game b/c other people refuse to learn the game in the first place.

I also take exception to the cage wearer's mentality that by wearing a visor I was trying to be a "tough guy" and I should suck it up. Actually, I was just playing within the rules, even wearing more protection than required, as a precaution. I will suck it up, b/c I'm not a pussy, but any thinking that I "deserved what I got" because I was trying to be a tough guy is utter crap.

[tareatingrat 4]

And?

Just because that yahoo shouldn't be swinging his stick doesn't mean he won't. You know that there will often be that idiot, no matter how much you wish there wasn't, yet you still choose not to protect yourself. That's on you.

Exactly. I mean, the guy swinging his stick around should have his ass handed to him for sure. But to pretend that the only guys who do that are ones who wear cages is stretching it. I have no tolerance for those who use their sticks as weapons, but I'm not naive enough to think they respect me and the sport enough that I'll always come out of every game scratch free.

The short answer to why we get P.O.'ed is that you yahoos with the cages seldom have enough respect for your fellow players to be responsible for keeping yer frigging hands down and sticks on the ice. We have multiple generations of players now that have never and would never play without a cage. They have never had to worry about keeping their hands and sticks down and it shows. They were never taught to throw A LEGAL BODY CHECK - which by definition does not include the use of hands and\or arms (not that it's ever really called that way when the hands stay "below the shoulders"). And in the instances where they accidentally high sticked someone in the face there were no consequences as the cage prevented it. I can remember way back in the 70's a teammate high sticked a kid accidentally... his dad was the coach and he triple shifted him til after several runs at him someone hauled him to center ice and whupped up him for it... He asked his dad later why he kept him out there til he got his a$$ beat and the response was so you'll learn to keep your stick down where it belongs.

Unfortunately, my E divison beer-league hockey is faster and more dangerous than a lot of old-time hockey, would you play without a helmet anymore? I mean, damn, pucks rarely went above the waist because the goalies never went down. It's the evolution of the sport. Why not protect yourself?

And regarding no consequences about being high sticked with a cage on, what would you prefer? Somebody get their ass beat because they accidentally high sticked somebody, or nobody gets hurt because there was a cage? Two possible injuries versus none? There should still be penalties for high sticking, because the stick should stay down, but if you could prevent that injury, why wouldn't you do it?

I really doubt that 90% of the hockey players out there step on the ice and go, "Man, I am so going to high-stick somebody today." It happens. There is NO good argument to not wear facial protection, other than you don't want to.

So, that's fine, don't wear a cage or a visor, and I'll try my damnedest to keep my stick down. If I clip you, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, but if you want to complain over something that you could prevent virtually 100% of the time versus something I can only give you my word I'll try to do, really, what makes sense?

[tareatingrat 4]

Bullshit. If we're talking about the original post and whether or not it's okay for "visor guys" to get mad if they get a high stick, it's certainly okay. If you read the situation and decide that the guy was being a jackass, by all means light him up. If I catch a stick in the face my first thought isn't going to be "Man, I guess I should've worn a cage." It's going to be "Why the f*ck did that moron have his stick up near my head." I shouldn't have to change my game b/c other people refuse to learn the game in the first place.

I also take exception to the cage wearer's mentality that by wearing a visor I was trying to be a "tough guy" and I should suck it up. Actually, I was just playing within the rules, even wearing more protection than required, as a precaution. I will suck it up, b/c I'm not a pussy, but any thinking that I "deserved what I got" because I was trying to be a tough guy is utter crap.

Really? You've never been crouched low enough where somebody's stick at a legal height could catch you? I've played against guys who are 6'11" and when they hold their stick out at waist height it could easily catch me in the face if I were down low and skating hard.

I agree with you if somebody is just being a prick. That's a different issue.

Refused to learn the game? How many high sticking penalties get called in the NHL? It has nothing to do with learning the game. It has to do with accidents. In one of my pick-up games, two guys went behind the net, the guy without a cage or visor stick checked his opponent, and lifted his stick right into his own face. An inch either way and he easily would have had major damage to his eye, to his mouth, or would have broken his nose. He was down for a good couple of minutes. The guys were good friends. That had nothing to do with rules, respect, or learning the game. It just happened. It was an accident. Christ, there's a penalty for it because it happens often enough.

I'm really not saying anyone deserves to get hurt in hockey, just saying that you really don't have much of an argument if you get hurt and you could have easily prevented it.

[IniNew 53]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but I switched from a cage to a visor about 8 months ago... and to be honest, I got just as pissed when I took a stick to the face with a cage on as I do now when I get one with a visor.

And it all boils down the to the same reason. I shouldn't have to worry about people swinging their sticks around, keep it under control and everyone will be happy.

[dolomaster83 0]

I wear a cage because I have to because I am a minor. although there are times when I wear a visor because I hate cages and I know the responsibility that comes with it. and there are different thing you can do to protect your self. I.E. Putting your glove in front of your face to cover your chin to the top of your nose. also you can just be aware when people and how they control their self.

Also I hate when people with cages get all pissy when they swing their stick and you put your hand up and grab it to protect your self. they try to get a holding call

[rinkrat94 1]

I lost a few teeth last summer as a result of getting clipped with a stick. I was back checking and got tripped up and an opposing players stick hit me in the mouth during the backswing of his shot. My head was probably only a foot off the ice. Was it his fault? Of course not, he is not going to look behind him when he shoots to make sure nobody is laying on the ice behind him. He was not being careless with his stick, it is just one of those things that can happen in hockey no matter how careful you are. It was my fault for taking the risk. If you don't want to get hit in the face then where a cage. We all know the risks so don't bitch if you choose not to protect yourself.

[zebra_steve 11]

So let's take it the other way.... visor guy doesn't bitch to cage guy about his lack of stick control, he just figures "ok that's how we're playing today" and doesn't worry about where his stick is. Later in the game he clips cage guy under the chin and busts open cage guys chin 'cuz he has no J-clips and the cage is dangling loose.... but it looks cool and is more comfortable that way. Cage guy now bitches and whines about the high stick and visor guy calls him the pussy for whining about it while wearing a cage and he should pay attention to where his own stick is.... Maybe cage guys' high stick was accidental, maybe not, but his attitude was if you wore a cage it wouldn't matter and then gets pissed when that standard is applied to him. Visor guys' high stick may have been intentional (or at least intentionally careless) but then again, he knows where the hell is stick is and just reacting to the way the game is being played\called. And now we get to digress into fighting in beer league...

All comes down to the fact that we need to be responsible for keeping our sticks under control at all times. There is almost no excuse for catching someone in the face - and yes accidents do happen.... Those of us that don't wear a cage understand this and differentiate between accidental and reckless high sticks. There is no excuse for being careless or worse intentionally having it up.....

As for getting hit, I went for a loose puck one time in an adult league and got hit in the mouth with two sticks when the D-man lifted the forwards stick just as I tried to grab the loose puck.... I left a face off dot size blood spot in the slot and had to get 8 stitches in the chin and 15 in the upper lip. I could put my tongue through my lip! Got lucky in that they did good embroidery work and there is minimal scarring all things considered. A week later I had an Itech full shield on and had the chin opened up again by a careless cage wearing yahoo. The other side of it is that a cage literally saved my face in college when a goalie skated out to the hash marks on the side boards and cleared a puck while I was racing a fore checker to it. His follow through caught me square in the cage with the HEEL of his stick... damn near knocked me out and I probably would have lost many teeth, busted jaw, orbital bones, who knows what else if I wasn't wearing the cage. Left a hell of a dent in the cage.

[cptjeff 0]

So let's take it the other way.... visor guy doesn't bitch to cage guy about his lack of stick control, he just figures "ok that's how we're playing today" and doesn't worry about where his stick is. Later in the game he clips cage guy under the chin and busts open cage guys chin 'cuz he has no J-clips and the cage is dangling loose.... but it looks cool and is more comfortable that way. Cage guy now bitches and whines about the high stick and visor guy calls him the pussy for whining about it while wearing a cage and he should pay attention to where his own stick is.... Maybe cage guys' high stick was accidental, maybe not, but his attitude was if you wore a cage it wouldn't matter and then gets pissed when that standard is applied to him. Visor guys' high stick may have been intentional (or at least intentionally careless) but then again, he knows where the hell is stick is and just reacting to the way the game is being played\called. And now we get to digress into fighting in beer league...

All comes down to the fact that we need to be responsible for keeping our sticks under control at all times. There is almost no excuse for catching someone in the face - and yes accidents do happen.... Those of us that don't wear a cage understand this and differentiate between accidental and reckless high sticks. There is no excuse for being careless or worse intentionally having it up.....

I would dispute that second part. A lot of visor guys will bitch even if it's accidental, or read any stick contact as intentional even if they're laying on the ice when they get hit, or start bitching when a stick comes up and hits them on a follow through (which is not a penalty). Everyone having their sticks under control is a wonderful ideal. But expecting it is hopelessly naive, even the highest level pros can't control their stick 100% of the time.

And yes, you should be in control of your stick and cage guy would be wrong, but that does not entitle you to act like a prick when an accident happens and you're not wearing equipment that would protect you. That applies to Mr. Dangleymccool as well. As long as you call high sticks when the idiot with a visor whacks us guys wearing cages across the face too, then I have no issues with the standard. And yes, I have seen that quite a few times and had it happen to me- guys wearing visors getting away with high sticking guys because the guys they high sticked were wearing a cage. But the outrage doesn't last too long, becuase I knew that that kind of shit does happen for whatever reason, and I took steps to properly protect myself.

[adam14 182]

I dont know if I'm in the minority here, but this season was my first wearing a visor, and I found playing in a league where everybody wears a visor, I got clipped in the face area fewer times than when I wore a cage last season.

[furlanitalia 1]

I understand the risks associated with a visor and am not about to bitch about accidental contact. As stated earlier it just pisses me off when guys skate with their sticks at their shoulders. Or what really drives me crazy is guys with cages that are completely careless with their sticks, and their attitude is that I shouldn't be wearing a visor if I'm worried about getting hit. I actually had a guy in a cage chop me across the eyes last game because he said I hooked him earlier. So hook me back, or even better, beat me to a puck and score on me, don't take a swing at my face.

EDIT: Missed words due to extreme anger brewing inside me. Oh, and some spelling errors.

[mack 44]

Careless-with-their-stick guys hate it when I'm careless chopping at a loose puck and get their ankles or back of their calves.

[xrickyb86x 1]

I started wearing a cage when a puck hit me in the forehead. lol. It only gave me a bump but it was enough for me to throw a cage on. If anything accidental happened to me I really wouldn't like to see the medical bills (refer to the "I lost a tooth" thread). No thanks. Things happen. Some guys are careless but sometimes a stick lift can ruin your teeth. It's really not "visors guys are pussies" or "cage guys are careless". Things just happen and the best way for me to be safe is to wear a cage.

[phomp 0]

What about the tough guys with cages who like to get their hands up in your face or throw punches at anyone not wearing a cage? I think we should be allowed to kill them.

haha, I remember this guy I played against who wore a visor was a real douche. It is just adult league but he thought he was Avery or something, talking trash. Played dirty to, if losing would hit from behind and stuff like that. The game we eliminated them, he threw a hit from behind in the last minute so I came up behind him and face washed him and threw a punch right to the jaw. Him and his buddy (who came up from behind with no gloves on and ripped the cage/helmet right off my head) began calling me p***y for wearing a cage and only b*****s wear cages (though most of his team wore cages and they were all shaking there heads), he is no longer on the team.

I get what you are saying, but if the guy wearing the visor/nothing wants to rumble and beings jousting at a guy wearing a cage.....then I have no problems with the guy wearing the cage throwing to the face. Just because the guy chooses to wear a visor in beer league, does not give him some right of passage to throw punches to the head and not expect them back.

I used to wear a visor, but got a puck in the mouth, cost me to much money... so now I wear a cage.. lol. I was playing shinny last year, a guy took a snap shot to the eye (didnt even see it coming) and now will never have vision in that eye again, crazy imo to wear nothing.

[Bucky25 0]

I dont know if I'm in the minority here, but this season was my first wearing a visor, and I found playing in a league where everybody wears a visor, I got clipped in the face area fewer times than when I wore a cage last season.

I've gone back and forth from cage, to visor, to nothing and back and forth and on and off (you get the idea).

I had a freak puck deflect up and hit me in the cheek w/ visor on, that's all...ever. With the cage, I'd say I got hit in the face or head every two to three skates. Maybe its just our league but I think in general guys are bit more cautious when people don't have a cage.

I also tend to agree that guys w/ a cage are far more careless with their sticks. That said, around here the cage guys are not very good players and tend to have less body control. In the end I can usually tell right away who to go in the corner with and who to avoid.

[skyscrape 5]

On the topic of visors, is there anything that works to keep visors from fogging up?? I play without one and I am thinking about going to the visor as a lot of the guys I play with swing sticks like swords! :lol:

[furlanitalia 1]

I use a spray called "No Foggin Way" and it works pretty well, even if my visor does fog up on the bench in usually goes away by the time I hit the ice.http://www.hockeyshotproducts.com/Articles.asp?ID=150

[skyscrape 5]

I use a spray called "No Foggin Way" and it works pretty well, even if my visor does fog up on the bench in usually goes away by the time I hit the ice.http://www.hockeyshotproducts.com/Articles.asp?ID=150

Thanks! I will give it a try!

[KABAROV 0]

i use the Itech Anti - Fog spray and it works really well. After each use i clean the visor with the spray and buff it off. Cost about 7 bucks and has lasted me 2 seasons already and still going.

I wear a half visor and I get mad if someone wacks me in the face with their stick because they are not paying attention. I play mens league and shinny and I notice it's terrible at the latter because half these guys have no clue where they are putting their sticks. they will skate through the neutral zone with their sticks waving up and down parallel to the ice. it's ridiculous! put your stick out in front of you on the ice and skate you will go faster that ways anyhow. [/rant]

[skyscrape 5]

I got pissed tonight and let this guy have it! He was wearing a cage and thought he was the shit! What he didn't know was that no one got close to him because after catching three guys in the face with his follow through of a PASS and his violent stick lifting in corners we figured he could have the loose pucks! Not to mention his head high wrist shots from the slot!(and I am 6'7 without skates!) I may not have ever noticed any of this except I have been following this thread. AnywayI told him that if he kept taking uncontrolled shots like that I was going to stop controlling myself in the corners and the height of my slap shot(which I smoked the goalie glove side from just behind center ice tonight). He did it again and he quickly apologized and stopped after that.

After realizing when we were done that he was just playing hard, I explained if three guys in front of you are not wearing face protection in a pick up game it is just a common courtesy to not head hunt with your shots. He apologized again and promised he would remember that.

[Maximw61 0]

Alright, I got a few cents to place in this thread. As soon as I turned 18, I switched from a cage to a visor. Now granted, I bought the awesome mirrored itech straight cut visor, but does thhat make me not human? Haha.

Anyways, I have had a few issues with those crappy young highschool kids skating with their sticks sticking straight up in the air. I don't know what coahes are enforcing this but every kid in pickup that shows up skates like that.

One time, a kid was waving his stick upwards to begin this 'awesome and hip' new skating style, and hit me in mirrored visor. To which I responded by cussing at him in Russian because I know the language and use it instead of English profanity for discression purposes. So anyways, he instantly turns around and says, "oh! My bad ovechkin" in a very very sarcastic tone. When I got back on the bench, I asked everyone else if they had been clipped by this kid, and the general concesus was yes. We all decided I should hit him because he was skating in such a ludacris fashion and talking trash because he was in high school. So... I did what 'Ovechkin' would have done, and layed him out in center ice when he was skating by me and while he was still trying to figure out what happened I told him to keep his stick down, because everyone else he clipped was plannning on doing the same thing. He apologized and didn't even lift his stick high to call for a shot anymore.

I felt bad for hitting him but it was a 'neccessary' hit I guess.

For the record, I don't think I'm the S for wearing a flashy mirrored visor. I'm actually saving up for an aviator pro from bauer because i'm kind of tired of the 'Ovechkin' remark and such. So, please don't make us guys with mirrored visors a designated target. Because as far as shots, sticks, and 'witty' remarks, us mirrored visor guys take alot of heat haha. Call 1-800-im-not-ovi if you have this issue too. Haha, that's my two cents. Thanks for your time.