Goalie Crease Network

Jock

kneepain — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:45:12 GMT

I'm getting back into playing hockey again and I'm looking for a new jock. The last one I had I bought 15 years ago. Any info would be great. I will be playing men's pick-up hockey.
Thanks

Jimmy Howard's New Mask

Vigier — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:58:39 GMT

Favorite goalie prospects

flyphresh35 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:52:32 GMT

Since we have a thread about the current goalies, why not take a glance into the future?

1. Chet Pickard
2. Igor Bobkov (Gotta love dem Russian goalies)
3. Dustin Tokarski
4. Jonathon Bernier
5. Timo Pielmeier

"Adorable" Mask in the KHL?

mrsvalden — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:07:04 GMT

I ran across an article on PuckDaddy today about masks in the KHL. And here's an article about the CUTEST one. ;)

Now I'm usually all about the fierce, vicious, scary, maybe even evil-looking masks. But I am still an animal lover, and a girl, and I love kitties. So this one struck my fancy.

Kittens: The key ingredient to any intimidating KHL goalie mask - Puck Daddy - NHL* - Yahoo! Sports

Laugh if you must, but come on!! The guy has some balls to put this kitten on his mask! It explains in the article that it was supposed to be a tomcat, but came out more like a kitten. And he "took a liking to it" so decided to keep it. He even named it. Awww....he says it's very bored having to be on the side of his mask all the time. I love this guy!

Fri Sep 03 07:52am PDT
Kittens: The key ingredient to any intimidating KHL goalie mask

By Greg Wyshynski
While we believe the KHL would be much cooler if all of its goaltenders wore Alexandre Dumas-inspired iron masks, the Russian league doesn't suffer from a lack of artistic achievements on its goalies' noggins.
Hot Ice, a Russian hockey site, featured the Top 20 goalie masks in the KHL, and some of them are simply awesome: No. 16 Vitaly Kolesnik (Salavat Yulayev) looks like the Crusades by way of The Matrix; No. 15 Martin Prusek (Dynamo Riga) has one that honors U2. But No. 1 on the list ... well, just look at it:

A kitten.
A sweet, loveable kitten on the side of Vasiliy Koshechkin's mask.
Koshechkin, currently with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL and a 2002 draft pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning, is a 6-foot-7, 231-pound man-mountain that nearly dwarfs the goal cage. So basically the last guy you'd expect would have kittens on his mask.
What's the deal with the cat fancy? Well, from the looks of things, his nickname may in fact be "The Cat," unless his mask signifies a personal achievement in spelling. But KK The Mook solves the kitten mystery via this info graphic created for yet another kitten mask he wore with the Russian National team:

Just so we're all clear here: He named the kitten on his mask, and believes it has feelings. Nah, goalies aren't a different breed at all, why do you ask?
Goalie masks can be intimidating, whimsical or odd windows into a goaltender's soul. Or they can look like a box of kitty litter. One of the two. Assuming he's still rocking the feline on his mask, we wish Vasiliy Koshechkin the best of luck in the 2010-11 KHL season ... until shooters figure out they can beat him cleanly by rolling a ball of yarn or a felt mouse through the crease.

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old picture

Bill — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:46:36 GMT

My father was going through the old family photos (something you do when your old and retired it seems) and he found an old picture of me in my early hockey years. I am the one with the Canadians sweater on, check out that old school helmut....funny.

This picture would have been taken around 1974-1975.

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Antti Niemi - San Jose Sharks

Goalie News — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:31:36 GMT

SAN JOSE -- The San Jose Sharks are set to sign former Chicago Blackhawks cast-off goaltender Antti Niemi to a one-year, $2 million contract, according to multiple reports in both cities.

The cash-strapped Blackhawks let Niemi walk rather than pay an arbitrator's decision to award the Finn a reported $2.75 million contract for the 2010-11 season.

In an unusual aftermath, the 27-year-old Niemi became an unrestricted free agent less than three months after leading the 'Hawks to their first Stanley Cup since 1961.

He split time during the regular season with Cristobal Huet and was 26-7-4 with a 2.25 goals-against average, seven shutouts and a .912 save percentage -- then went 16-6 with a 2.63 GAA and two shutouts in the playoffs.

The Sharks, meanwhile, needed insurance against the loss of veteran Evgeni Nabokov, who signed to play in Russia. San Jose signed fellow Finn Antero Niittymaki to a two-year contract in July and holdover Thomas Greiss is also in the mix.

I need two goalies Friday night at 9:30... Burnaby 8 rinks

ItechWarrior — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:50:09 GMT

Anyone able to make it?

Happy Birthday jmkeeler, brandonv

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:03 GMT

2 members are celebrating their birthday on 08-31-2010:

-jmkeeler (born in 1982, Age: 28)
-brandonv (born in 1995, Age: 15)

Happy Birthday!

Reaction Training

ItechWarrior — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:32:41 GMT

Show off your Butterfly Picture

ItechWarrior — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:58:19 GMT

Lets see a shot of everyone's butterfly.

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Moments on Ice: Ron Hextall

ItechWarrior — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:09:05 GMT

If Oilers goaltender lands in jail, will club try to void contract?

Goalie News — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:39 GMT

GM Tambellini likely to stand by veteran rather than shuffle the deck

EDMONTON - Edmonton Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin will learn his fate this afternoon in a Scottsdale, Ariz., courtroom when Judge B. Monte Morgan hands down his punishment for two impaired driving charges.

The minimum mandatory sentence is 30 days in jail for extreme drunk driving, but he could be imprisoned for up to six months. The 37-year-old Khabibulin was found guilty last Friday afternoon of two impaired driving charges -- one for exceeding a blood-alcohol level of .08, the other for being over .15 -- and an excessive speeding charge.
If Khabibulin goes to jail, that would muddy the Oilers goaltending situation even more. As it is, hockey conspiracy theorists are having a field day.

There has been rampant talk that the Oilers could use Khabibulin's sentence against him -- as a way of getting out of their four-year, $15-million US contract with the veteran netminder for failing to report to training camp next month. There is talk that former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi is waiting in the wings to be signed.

But would anybody be saying this if Khabibulin had played 60 games last season and won 35 of them, rather than just 18 games after requiring back surgery? Probably not. Chances are the Oilers will stand behind Khabibulin, regardless.

General manager Steve Tambellini was a huge booster when he signed him as a free agent in July 2009.

On the surface, this is a different scenario than the one involving former NHL winger Mark Bell a few years back.

Bell was convicted of drunk driving in 2007 after his rented Toyota Camry rear-ended a pickup truck in California, plowing that vehicle into a telephone pole. The truck driver was injured in the accident over the Labour Day weekend in 2006. Bell was subsequently suspended by the NHL for 15 games.

Bell, who took a breathalyzer that registered .21, was sentenced to six months in jail, but only served six weeks behind bars.

There was personal injury in the Bell accident. Nobody was hurt in Khabibulin's case.
"I don't think so," said longtime agent Steve Bartlett when asked if the two cases are similar.

"It's a pretty slippery slope (trying to void a contract) and I would imagine the NHL Players' Association would come out with guns blazing," said Bartlett. "Clearly, if (Khabibulin) were to miss time because of incarceration, he would pay a price (decreased salary) but whether you could use that to void a contract, I think that would create a battle.

"No doubt this raises a lot of questions, but where is the line drawn?"

If a player is signed to a contract and is at least 35 years old, and he retires or he's injured and can't play any longer, his $3.75-million salary-cap hit remains until his contract runs out.

But if his contract is voided by the team he plays for, what then?
"That would put a different twist on it," said Bartlett.

Oilers assistant GM Ricky Olczyk, was in the courtroom for Khabibulin's trial last Friday, and may be back in Arizona for today's sentencing.

PRENDERGAST ON THE HUNT
Former Oilers assistant GM Kevin Prendergast is definitely keen on the Hockey Canada chief scout job opening, but they aren't going to seriously look at the replacement for Al Murray, the new Tampa Bay Lightning head scout, for a short while.

"I had a brief conversation with them to let them know I was very interested. It would take me back to my roots," said Prendergast, who got his start with the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau and is owed another year on his Oilers contract.

"If he's being considered, I would have no problem granting permission (for Hockey Canada to talk to Prendergast)," said Tambellini.

Other names possibly being considered include Jim Hammett, who worked for Hockey Canada in 2006 as national junior teams head scout, then went to work for the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay; Tom Thompson, who headed up the amateur scouting with the Minnesota Wild; and Mike Sands, who had the same role with the Calgary Flames.
Ironically, Murray replaced Hammett at Hockey Canada in 2007 when Hammett took a job with the Rangers.

GAGNER HAPPY DEAL IS DONE

Sam Gagner was hoping to get a new deal with the Oilers prior to Sept. 1 because he was flying from Ontario on Monday to start conditioning at Perry Pearn's 3-on-3 pro camp today.

"Sam's an evolving hockey player who didn't want a long, drawn-out affair in the public.
"We reached a fair resolution before he came back to Edmonton," said agent Ian Pulver. "The Oilers want Sam to explode (offensively) and so does Sam."

Gagner trained the last two weeks with two other Pulver clients, Michael Cammalleri and Scott Gomez in Toronto, and is looking leaner.

"As Scott likes to say, 'Game on' (with Gagner)," said Pulver. "There were ebbs and flows (in negotiations), but look at all the other (Group 2) free agents not signed around the league ... (Carey) Price, two guys in Dallas (James Neal, Matt Niskanen), (Martin) Hanzal in Phoenix, (Marc) Staal," said Olczyk.

SOURAY CAN ATTEND CAMP
The Oilers might not want disgruntled blue-liner Sheldon Souray at training camp because he could be a distraction if they haven't traded him.

But they can't duck the situation by sending him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons, because he has cleared NHL waivers, not until 12 days before the start of the NHL season, which is Sept. 25.

If Souray wants to attend Oilers camp to stay in playing shape, he has every right with a guaranteed contract.

ON THE BENCH: Centre/winger Mike Comrie, freshly married to actress/singer Hilary Duff, is out of work, but he isn't pulling his hair out. He's fully prepared to: (a) play for low money; and (b) hopefully get on with a contender. The Oilers don't want to bring Comrie back because they have younger people they want to look at. But Comrie, who did a nice job last season (13 goals in only 43 games) might be in the same boat checking forward Manny Malhotra was in last year. Malhotra took a lot less money than he's accustomed to -- $750,000 with the San Jose Sharks -- a month into the season, then had a good year and secured a three-year, $7.5 million deal with the Vancouver Canucks ... Pearn, a former Ottawa Senators assistant coach who's back with the Montreal Canadiens as an assistant coach this upcoming season, has anxiously been following the fate of Senators team doctor Donald Chow after he was badly injured when his motorcycle hit a car this past weekend. The orthopedic surgeon told Pearn he had hip issues and not a groin problem when he was limping badly while working for the Senators. Pearn eventually needed hip surgery.

jmatheson@thejournal.canwest.com
� Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Man invents machine to convert plastic into oil

ItechWarrior — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:39:59 GMT

Imagine if we recycled properly.

Goalie Gear with Gurn - TPS, Sher-Wood, and Warrior

ItechWarrior — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:03:28 GMT

18-August-2010
Hey guys, it�s Gurn again and I�m back again to talk about the last few companies we have in NHL 11 which are TPS/Sher-Wood and Warrior. Before we get the pads here is a question that I�ve seen floating around on the forums.
Q: Could you please show us some updated masks?
A: Yes, but to clarify as I think I may have missed this in my previous blog, we only updated teams that needed to be updated like Buffalo and Edmonton and a few other teams like Ottawa and Pittsburgh. On the plus side, we did create CHL goalie mask art for each team.

With that said, here are the new sets in the game this year:
Martin Brodeur in his MB30�s

Pascal Leclaire in his PL33�s

Craig Anderson in his TPS R12�s

Dwayne Roloson in his Warriors Messiah�s

Hope you enjoyed all of my blogs and thanks for all the questions and feedback. I hope all gear heads out there liked the blog, and keep posting pictures of goalie equipment (and goalies in their sets) on the forums it was a huge help to us this year. Thanks for reading my blogs and hope to talk to you guy�s soon.

-Gurn
PS. Look out for a Players Gear blog coming in the future!

The Future of Goalie masks

flyphresh35 — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:44:11 GMT

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Instead of a cage, Tornado Proton (a mask brand made in Switzerland by Alec Voggel I think) is going bold with a visor.

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