Close call- thank god for cages

[Penguinsfanatic 0]

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.

or maybe that happened to you and it was nights out and you can't remember....lol

[TapOrSnap 0]

My take is that you tend to change your game with visors. You might go into higher traffic zones more often with a cage on etc etc. May not actually be directly noticeble though.

I've been wearing a visor for the last 2 odd years now after playing with a full cage for like 4 years from when I first started. I find that I'm more concerned about high sticks than flying pucks.

When I first started and for the first say 4 years I only remember having one puck rattle my cage and one high stick (and one slash to the throat from the same guy. You can't protect yourself against stupidity).

In the 2 years since I put my visor on I've taken a stick to the lip (ironically in my first game). High stick came about cos the opposition winger tried to hook my across the chest and water ski, missed and caught me on the lip. But that's been it. I guess I've been fairly lucky.

I ahve found however that the lower the level I play, the higher the sticks are. Inexperienced guys just a) don't know how to control their sticks and B) think with all that gear they're wearing, everyone else in invincible.

[rinkrat94 1]

I used to play with this Don Cherry type who used to make comments about players who wore cages being pussies. This was in a beer league, so you know this guy was all sorts of cool. About 6 months ago, he was in front of the net and took a puck to the eye. He lost his eye and his playing days are over. He is only 30 and now has to live the rest of his life with only one eye. All because he wanted to look tough. Pathetic. If I am a wuss for wanting to have 2 eyes my entire life, that is fine with me.

[GrafPro55 0]

Did you cheer? Say "I told you so"?

[Dangles919 0]

yea def put a cage back on after 2 yrs of beer leagues without one until i took a stick to the chin that cost me 4 stitches and a nice hospital bill, next day i was a the store bought a new jofa chrome cage and won't ever take it off unless im coaching best investment ever. another whos worried about going back to a cage def. look into the jofa chrome cage it is really easy to see through which i thought it was going to be hard to get used to and it wasn't in the least bit def love it.

[hamstercaster 2]

Now that I'm a goalie, no need to worry about wearing a cage or not hehehe. But when I was playing forward, I wore a visor in college hockey as it was mandatory. Then took it off to play in beer leagues and never got hit in the face by a stick or puck. The Bryan Berard lost an eye and up went the cage and I wore it right until last July when I switched to the goalie position. I have seen too many injuries since too. One guy I played with took his cage off and his first game playing without a cage, he lost 4 teeth... back to the cage. Two other friends of mine got hurt. One guy got hit near the eye so he put a cage on. Didn't like it, took it off and first game playing without the cage he got hit on the chin.. so onto the cage again. My other friend also got cut near the eye by a stick and now wears a cage. It's funny how people wait almost till it's too late for the sake of "seeing" the puck better or wanting to look and sound tough. You may be tough but an eye is irreplaceable...

[15yearsofhistory 0]

Eyes are definitely irreplaceable. Some kid though he would be a BMF and took his cage off for a drop-in game. About 10 minutes in a puck was deflected into his right eye and he lost about 60% of his vision in that eye.

[tjl_48 0]

I've worn a visor for the past 2 years. Only got hit in the face once. Someone took a shot, the goalie deflected high in the air, and one of the d-men swung his stick at it. Hit me right in the face. Luckily it was with his blade and it was more of a bitch slap than a hit.

[Neal 41]

Honestly, I don't think any of us are qualified to go without at least a visor. I think the only way to learn how to go bare face is to grow up doing it. And the leagues won't let you do that anymore.

I've been plunked a few times in the cage, the best was a spin around slap shot where the follow through hit me. The guy's blade was so beat up it sprayed tape bits and wood splinters at my face.

The cage isn't perfect though, I'm sitting here with a sore jaw because I got a stick up under the cage and into my jaw just below my ear Tuesday night. You still have to watch out and you can get complacent in a cage and quit doing that.

[Patrick67 1]

The guy's I play with that use cages are all douchebags that play extremely rough. High sticks, elbows and reckless play in general.

But they also use the cage to their advantage by throwing themselves at every attempted shot imaginable.

I play with a visor, becaue I can't stand the lack of vision (IMO) of cages. And our team insurance covers my teeth, but I still worry about my eyes due to only wearing a visor.

Would like to try the Itech titanium someday, or one of the other high-end cages.

Or maybe switch to a shield cage combo.

[Bmplam 1]

I wore nothing for the longest time, then last year had a run of bad luck. In 2 tournaments, I took a puck to the face and broke my nose and cut my cheek. Took a shoulder in the 2nd and loosened my front teeth and cut my lip and toung. So I put a cage on for the summer league and hated it. I compromised this fall with a visor and caught a stick under it and have a 3.5 inch scar below my left eye. Put the cage back on, and a few weeks later took an accidental stick across the cage. The guy that got me is a teammate at another rink and said "dude, I am soooo glad you have that thing on" ... Me too.

[N!! 0]

I took the cage off as soon as I turned 18 and took a stick through the top of the eyelid (on the bottom edge of the top of the eye socket) in the first game; it went from there up through the eyebrow. It was kind of grisly, but the cage went back on and hasn't come off since.

I still have a bit of a scar all these years later, although it's not what it once was.

[Bender 0]

wow... if any hockey association needs a scare campaign to try and get more people to wear cages, I think we should send them straight here.....

[bmclifford 0]

Wore a visor for the first time last night and because of this thread was quite frightened. Made it out unscathed, however, but will knock on wood. Anyone have any good stories about wearing a visor and not getting caught?

[oggy_3 0]

I wear a cage now because of HS rules but at Junior Tryouts wore a visor and when ever playing anything else i wear my visor and i find if it is a group of people with visors there less cases of sticks being around the face area. Compared to when you have a mix of cages and visors.

Also i do notice when i wear a visor i tend to either turn my head or cover up my face and i never dive forward.

So far i have never been hit with a stick or puck but i have had my helmet knocked off wearing a visor

[santiclaws 0]

I used to wear a visor in my adult league until about three games in a row I got clipped on the face - not hard, but just as a reminder that I'm vulnerable. I decided to take the hint and go to the full cage. About a week ago I got a shoulder to the jaw at full speed. Rang my bell a bit, but the cage took most of the impact. I'd still be lying there if it wasn't for the cage.

[danielb 0]

Lots of reasons for me, mostly personal (take with pinch of salt):

• First off I'm a gear freak so facial protection is another shiney gadget/item thing I can drool over, spec out and buy.
  
• I broke a front tooth in half at about age six in primary school and played water polo all the way through high school so the twice monthly trips to the dentist to get the cap replaced on my broken tooth have long made the novelty of dental injuries wear off for me, I'd imagine it would have worn off even quicker if I hadn't been in the UK and had to pay for the dental work!
  
• Also I started out as complete beginner in inline in just a helmet, it didn't feel safe (high sticks) so I bought a visor to protect my eyes but then I decided to upgrade to a cage as my most likely cause of facial injury is that I'll break teeth/face by falling over rather than getting hit/checked.
  
• I couldn't imagine playing without full facial protection even in the highest level leagues (NHL, IIHF etc), my vision is perfect and I want it to stay that way, as without it so many activities I love would be impossible.
  
• IMHOIt seems to me to be bad business to let expensive assets like players (which in the NHL cost millions a year)play without $30-100 protective items that would shield them from costly to both the team & player and potentially career ending injuries.
  
• IMHOGoalies wear cages, goalies have excellent reaction times and peripheral vision so wearing a cage can't effect your game that much?
  

As to whether to wear a cage, visor/cage hybrid or full face visor I am currently staying with a cage as I sweat allot and having to defog a fogged up visor would just annoy me.

[Reaper 0]

I wear a full cage because I'm not willing to take the risk playing without it. I wanted a visor for some time but after taking clearing attempts off the cage, errant sticks, wiping out because I'm a terrible skater and getting crosschecked from behind into the top of the boards I decided against it. I'm 34 and if I were to have a stick get up under a visor it would probably be the end of my career as a draftsman. Considering I don't have bags of cash laying around I'd look pretty stupid as "the one-eyed homeless guy who keeps mumbling incoherently about hockey."

[ean 0]

i grew up playing full cage just because that's how you're sposed to. when I came back to the game my old cage was too small, I got a visor just because it was a good deal. I really don't have any particular reason not to wear a cage, so I pray it doesn't come back to haunt me.

When I skated with the visor it was a somewhat "naked" feeling, and I noticed this caused me to be more conscious of my own stick. This is something that I think a lot of cage players lack because without ever knowing what it's like to be exposed in the face, they really don't consider the safety up there.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

i got whacked in the cage so hard i had to pop my jaw back into socket. definitely would have needed a new grille. of course no highstick call was made. The ref claimed to be watching the play, since the puck was down towards the net... Well, the puck was actually three feet away from me, and he was 6 feet away. yeah, he was watching the play.

[SuperMan3 1]

Hey Reaper do you play in the NCHL?

[lotus 2]

I got a sucker punch the other day from someone, cage saved me there I guess. Saved him on my retaliation too.

Kid was behind our net trying to do the Michigan. He was hanging (roller hockey, no offsides) and nobody picked him up. I'm coming down fast as I see this while the one defensemen back is coming around from behind. I'm thinking we're getting destroyed and he's been trying fancy double spino-ramas all game and it is about time he paid for doing something stupid. Before I even reach him my teammates cross checks him hard from behind.

I shouldn't have thought to try anything on the guy, but I was already angry from losing so badly, and the fact that he felt the need to try that...

Anyway, as I'm going down there I get tied up with his teammates and we go down next to him. As I'm getting up, this kid is already on one knee and he just throws a punch. I responded with a quick left knocking him down. cages prevented much but he hit me much harder than I got him.

Sorry, had to rant. I didn't even do anything >.< I mean, I was going to, but still he claimed that his fist 'fell into my face' which lead to me acting again haha. Ah boy that game went south fast. Cage saved me numerous times that night. Including a blocker punch from the goalie!

[ddbowdoin 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?

may seem like a stupid question but when you loose teeth whats the protocol for taking care of that

ive had a few close calls near my mouth and I'd like to know what to do

[Chadd 916]

I actually had a puck deflect up and catch me under the chin last week. First time that has happened in years.

[Bmplam 1]

I wore nothing for the longest time, then last year had a run of bad luck. In 2 tournaments, I took a puck to the face and broke my nose and cut my cheek. Took a shoulder in the 2nd and loosened my front teeth and cut my lip and toung. So I put a cage on for the summer league and hated it. I compromised this fall with a visor and caught a stick under it and have a 3.5 inch scar below my left eye. Put the cage back on, and a few weeks later took an accidental stick across the cage. The guy that got me is a teammate at another rink and said "dude, I am soooo glad you have that thing on" ... Me too.

Happened again last night ... goalie clearing attempt right into my cage. It would have been another miserable week with a busted up face. The cage is definately here to stay. <_<