NCAA mask rules

[shooter27 116]

Lately I've seen a handful of NCAA goaltenders (both d1 and d3) wearing masks with pro-style cat-eye cages. I could be mistaken, but I was always under the impression that NCAA goalies had to wear certified style masks, so I was wondering if I've just always been mistaken or has there been a recent rule change allowing the pro-style cat-eye at the NCAA level?

[Law Goalie 147]

It's fairly murky. The NCAA rulebook "recommends" a certified mask, but stops short of requiring it; this leaves it up to leagues and even in some cases *teams* as to what their goalies can use, which is generally dictated by insurance requirements. Most have historically required a "certified style" mask, which implicitly requires a cage that would pass certification (ie. not a pro cat-eye) but still allows goalies to wear custom moulded or fitted masks which, by definition, cannot be certified; some did require a fully certified mask, like the OHL/CHL, which generally meant an Itech 960/9600.

I actually quite admire the way the NCAA handles the mask issue. It allows its goalies to use the best possible protection (custom made masks) with a fair degree of flexibility while, generally speaking, maintaining the illusion for watching kids that certified masks are still being used at a very high level. This is a much better system than in Canadian Junior hockey, which has shoe-horned goalies into stock masks whether they fit or not; Carey Price, for instance, spent his first few years in the NHL wearing a laughably misfit mask that was a holdover from the WHL and which, for all its comic value, could have put him in serious trouble if he'd been hit the wrong way.

Creating a system that allows custom made masks while encouraging the use of certified cages is the best policy possibly. There's a pretty long track-record of ocular injuries in cat-eye cages (even really good ones) -- not a high frequency, but a distinct possibility -- to the point that even now I won't wear one. I'm dithering about getting a Melanson/Thomas 'cheater' cage on my next mask, but they usually have weird attachment points that aren't compatible with certified cages.

[shooter27 116]

Wow, had no idea it was that complicated. Thanks for the education.

[Harv 86]

It's fairly murky. The NCAA rulebook "recommends" a certified mask, but stops short of requiring it; this leaves it up to leagues and even in some cases *teams* as to what their goalies can use, which is generally dictated by insurance requirements. Most have historically required a "certified style" mask, which implicitly requires a cage that would pass certification (ie. not a pro cat-eye) but still allows goalies to wear custom moulded or fitted masks which, by definition, cannot be certified; some did require a fully certified mask, like the OHL/CHL, which generally meant an Itech 960/9600.

I actually quite admire the way the NCAA handles the mask issue. It allows its goalies to use the best possible protection (custom made masks) with a fair degree of flexibility while, generally speaking, maintaining the illusion for watching kids that certified masks are still being used at a very high level. This is a much better system than in Canadian Junior hockey, which has shoe-horned goalies into stock masks whether they fit or not; Carey Price, for instance, spent his first few years in the NHL wearing a laughably misfit mask that was a holdover from the WHL and which, for all its comic value, could have put him in serious trouble if he'd been hit the wrong way.

Nailed it.

Seems a little backwards that it doesn't require certified cages for goalies but still has it's players in full cages. And the CHL is the other way around.

[Law Goalie 147]

Frankly, I think it's in the certification itself that rationality goes out the window.

I'm coaching a kid who underwent major cranial reconstruction when he was very small, and still has steel plates in his head. I had to explain to his parents that they would probably have to go to three or four hockey shops to try every decent junior/small senior composite mask available, in the hope of finding a satisfactory fit, end up 3-4x over their budget (which was so optimistic it broke my heart.), and STILL have to live with the knowledge that they were attempting to put an unusual head into pre-made shells and foams. They could, however, spend $300 on a custom-fitted, NHL-calibre mask from Michel Doganieri at Protechsport, know that their son's brain is as protected as it can be, and that the mask can be re-fitted whenever they want -- but risk having him thrown off the ice for not wearing a certified mask, and disqualifying themselves from the league's insurance policy.

Certification is a good and necessary thing for ensuring a universal minimum standard of protection; in this case, however, it also actively discourages the most cerebrally at-risk players in the game from seeking the highest standard of protection, and hand-cuffs the major manufacturers from offering custom-fitted masks. I'm sure Bauer would love to offer custom-fitted (if not custom-moulded) 960s or even 940s to any kid who needed one, but they'd be in HUGE trouble, not only with Hockey Canada but with Health Canada, and that is a kind of trouble that nobody wants. If HC can take on major US pharmaceuticals over generics and win, they would have no compunction about burying Bauer or anyone else for circumventing their certification process. (Well, the certification process they approved...)

I'd say I'm getting tired of this rant, but really, I just feel like Larry Campbell (aka Dominic Da Vinci) shouting into the wind about safe injection sites and red light districts: not because I think it's going anywhere, but because I'm convinced it's right.

[shooter27 116]

Has there been some kind of change in the NCAA rule recently? It seems like goalies wearing the cat-eye in college is significantly more prevalent this year than it was in the past. Used to be one or two guys a year, now they seem to be all over the place.

[forbs02 20]

Has there been some kind of change in the NCAA rule recently? It seems like goalies wearing the cat-eye in college is significantly more prevalent this year than it was in the past. Used to be one or two guys a year, now they seem to be all over the place.

It was a change in the most recent rule book that changed it from a HECC certified "requirement" to "recommended". Basically one team read that, started using the cat-eye, other teams saw it, and now everyone is switching.