Close call- thank god for cages

[houk 0]

Yesterday i was playing in a tournament and it was a very fast flowing game. One of their defensemen took a slap shot and it deflected off one of our players sticks and hit me right between the eyes on my cage. Thank god for cages because I would have broken by nose and probably lost an eye. Earlier this year i was playing with just a visor and lost a couple of teeth while playing. I ho and humed about putting on a cage but i'm glad i did it.

Has anybody else had any close calls like this? Did you stick with a visor or a cage?

[fatwabbit 93]

way back when I was still in HS, I went to the LHS to get some gear. Had to pay for everything myself. Bought a helmet as well, and thought about getting a cage. Told myself that I wouldnt need it and that it was some money not needed to be spent, left the shop only to return half hour later to get a cage.

Next 3 hockey sessions I got hit smack in the cage each time... and everytime from then on I put a small sticker on the helmet to remind myself that I got hit (similar to the NFL guys who put a sticker for every sack they do). 3 months later I had the helmet full of stickers... didnt have to think twice about it ever again.

The cage has saved me numerous times, and with the visors always fogging up, its a much better alternative.

[greech 4]

I once hit a kid (prolly the only hit of my career :P ) and his skates came up in the air, and ended up hitting me in the chin cup. It was perfectly perpindicular to the cage, and there was a mark where you could see the 2 edges of the blade. I still wonder what my face would've looked like without my old, trusty Jofa 480.

[chef_ducky 0]

I was at a Jr.B game a couple weeks ago. The Captain was waiting at the blueline for a pass on the penalty kill to dump the puck down. The other team stole the puck, so the only thing that the defense was trying to do was get it out. He wired a slapshot down the ice and nailed the captain right in the head. Had he not have the full sheild on, he would have easily had a broken nose, and dislocated jaw.

Last night samething happened at the Jr game. Shot wasn't hard, just a flick up in the air to clear. I guy got it off the cheek and had a little cut. Nothing major. It should be a rule that all Junior players have to wear visors i think anyway>

[Penguinsfanatic 0]

I have always had a cage playing inline, and I hated it. I felt claustrophobic in it with my mouth and well its weird lol....Well anywho I bought a visor one day and put it on and the first game I had it on someone let a wrister go and ricocheted off my teammates stick right into my mouth. My mouth had gotten swollen along with being three different shades of blue and green on the inside and a nice bruise on the outside

[TBLfan 25]

There was a time where in 3 consecutive games I took a high stick while wearing a cage. Really weird, hasn't happened before or since(the consecutive game thing).

My buddy has a few nice scrapes and a chin cup that is blood red now, he took a high hit and the cage mounts broke. Cut him up pretty good but he was back on the ice 3-4 days later.

[Rustpot 1]

My buddy had always worn a cage and decided to go without for late-night pickup. Ended up breaking his nose.

Before that a bunch of guys decided they didn't need cages for our friendly midnight pickup. I waffled on it, kept it on. That night my helmet was pulled off via the chincup courtesy of an accidental high stick.

[GrafPro55 0]

Nobody here over 18 wears a full cage. Well, a few do. They are more worried about their pretty faces than playing hockey. I find the guy wearing the full cage runs his mouth the most. I don't think they realize how fast a cage can be ripped off a helmet. Especially with the plastic clips these days. My league has a visor rule, as well as the last league I played in, so I am used to it. The eyes and orbital bone are very important to protect.

[ShootsNScores93 0]

I wear a half visor (smoke colored Itech HS22 aviator) I think in the past year Iveo nly been clipped twice in the visor and thats it ( thank god) I know ive mainly been lucky but I think when guys wear cages they tend to play with a little more reckless abandon than others.... In pickup games I try to avoid fighting along the boards or battling in front of the net with those guys..

[moose77 0]

I'll admit I still wear a cage when I play. My feeling is when I make the NHL I'll take it off. Until that day comes, I can't risk an eye injury or something that wouldn't let me go to work and support my family. It has nothing to do with being a puss, it has to do with being responsible for my family's well being and making sure they have a place to live...stuff like that. That being said, my stick is ALWAYS on the ice and I pretty much just mind my own business while I'm playing.

[RadioGaGa 162]

Not my close call, but a couple weeks ago, Defenceman went to fire the puck off the glass and out, but he missed and it went right into his bench. Got a guy right in the side of the head. The guy wears a full cage, but the stepping ont the bench at the time only has a halfer...JUST missed his head as well.

Another D-Man (wearing a half) put his stick in front of my shot. It rode right up his stick and caught him on the chin. Opened him up, I think he needed 3-4 stitches.

[english15x 3]

just started playing cageless in adult league in ice. got a stick across the mouth from a falling player. ... put the cage back on.

[cxo 0]

Just earlier this morning at pickup I decided that I didn't feel like wearing a cage, and I now sport a nice 3/4" cut along my jaw line. Not wearing a helmet of any kind at pickup is normal, but it's cut my day short and I'll never not wear one again.

[GrafPro55 0]

But you'll have a sweet scar. :D

[cxo 0]

Were I not a girl, I probably would be happy about that. Plus, I have a nice white scar spot over my left eye as it is. At least I match now.

[Fletch 219]

I used to not wear anything, then I switched to a visor, then a few years ago switched to a full cage (480). About a year and a half ago I was playing pickup and I had the puck, a guy went to to try to lean into me and got his stick up, it hit me so hard my head shot back a bit and one of the bars was dented inward about a half inch. If I hadn't been wearing that cage it would have knocked about 3 or 4 teeth out, guaranteed. I'll never go without full face protection again.

[brettlynch11 0]

i know that if i play with a visor ill most likely end up playing a little less agressive just to protect myself. its not that im worried about my pretty face (which it is far from anyways), it just that id rather not go through the pain of the dental work or whatever else it is. with a cage on i know ill still be agressive, so ill stick with that instead of wearing a half which will probably end up hurting my game.

[gxc999 7]

Let me start by saying I'm a pretty crappy player and I think I play with a lot of other crappy players. Playing inline pickup games (not as bad during this season but still happens), I've taken 2 or 3 elbows/sticks to the face in the same game, and it wasn't intentional, the other players were just careless idiots. Thank god for my full visor, or I'd look like a worse version of Dany Heatley. Would I wear a half visor down to my nose and a mouthguard? Well, yeah, if I played with better players, sure.

[Inlinepro77 0]

I took my cage off for a drop-in session of roller a couple years ago. Some clown took a slapper into traffic, about 2 feet above the crossbar and broke my nose in three places. Ive since moved to a half-shield. Which as let to another broken nose from a stick underneath, a stick underneath my jaw that never healed properly, and a badly busted lip from a collision with a kid with a cage on.

That is why I'm anxiously awaiting the Bauer 9500 Cage.

[CapsFan 5]

My cage has saved me more times than I can count. I would have had my nose broken, a few missing teeth, and who knows how many scars without it.

[malcb33 97]

I find when I wear a cage I get hit in the head/cage more often as it sticks out more. Also I get hit in the face/head way more often in shinny or lower grade hockey than I do when I play higher. Maybe people are more in control of their stick, I don't know? I wear a visor and a custom mouth guard as I do feel some protection is a wise idea, but hate the feel and lack of vision with a cage. Its all PP

[cxo 0]

Most likely more in control of their stick, and hopefully playing with a bit higher level of respect if they're taking it seriously.

Also took a soft puck to the mouth and cut my hand playing in the driveway with my little cousin a bit ago. Today is not my day.

[big_bt 0]

I am really contemplating a cage, rec hockey + old old men can really take a toll on your face.

I am carrying up the puck and I went past one guy, and one more guy to beat along the board until I am home free on a break away, and as I am going buy he goes for a stick check and totally misses, and his stick slides up mine and I get clipped under the visor above my left eye.

The worst part, old man had a shitty sherwood stick that had split open and I had to get someone to tweezer out the wood chips in my eyebrow.

And my visor gets a beating, the marks on my visor make me wonder if I had never worn a cage what my face would end up looking like.

[Viking 1]

I have an old cage sitting in my closet with a HUGE dent on the front of it. I don't even remember what happened, but obviously had I not been wearing it when whatever it was that did that happened, I would definitely remember it. I have a missing tooth from an errant puck that hit me during practice when I was coaching 8 year old kids, so if they can knock out my teeth, I don't want to find out what adults will do to it. I have no problem wearing a cage.

[lotus 2]

Last roller season I had this one gigantic guy, 250+ pounder going down on a break through the slot with myself bothering him close from behind and another teammate tying up his stick. As the guy goes to get his stick free, his elbow goes flying up in my direction and that's all she wrote for me. I got up pretty fast but it took me a while to realize what happened, and re adjust my helmet which was probably backwards.

My nose and teeth would be 3 inches higher than they should be if I had no cage. >.<