The Meaning of the Mask

There are people that show emotions on their sleeves. Then there is the hockey goalie: Long known as one of the quirkiest and most unusual athletes in all of sports, who show their emotions on their mask

by Dan Myers
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Womens and Mens Sports

You can learn a lot about a goalie by looking at their mask.

For some, it is a way to express themselves. Others pay homage to history, their heroes or loved ones.

For some, its just a piece of equipment.

But one thing is for sure: the art that dons a goalie's mask is as unique as the goalie themselves.

Creating the artwork on the masks of goalies is the job of Todd Miska of Stacy, Minn. Not only is he well known for his work with Miikka Kiprusoff, Ed Belfour and Manny Fernandez of the National Hockey League, but Miska is the mastermind behind the masks of MSU goalies Dan Tormey, Mike Zacharias, Chris Clark and Britni Kehler.

And although the mask is not big in size, it takes great time and care to create the perfect masterpiece.

For a mask like Tormey's, which has a tremendous amount of personal substance, the time and effort is much greater. The mask he wears is not just a piece of equipment. It's a tribute to his heritage as well as his late mother, who passed away after long battle with cancer in May of 2004. The chin plate spells "Judy" - his mom's name - in Chinese.

"It's like a shield," Tormey said. "For protection."

Above each eye is another Chinese symbol - one meaning tranquility and the other meaning warrior.

"Kind of like yin and yang," Tormey said.

Over both ears is Buddha, which Tormey says frees his mind.

"You just have to remember to be happy with what you are doing," Tormey said.

On the back of his helmet is perhaps the most poignant tribute to his mom. Last season, Tormey had a picture of the Great Wall of China. But after finding out the photo was copyrighted, he changed it to a picture of him and his mom on top of the World Trade Center, just a year before the attack of September 11 brought it down. There is also a smaller photo of his mother.

"She is a big part of my life," Tormey said. "She'd probably be a little embarrassed by it, but I think she would appreciate it.

"Anything for her."

Like Tormey, Kehler's helmet is a tribute to her family.

On one side is a picture of her and her dad, while on the other is a photo of her and her grandpa. On the back are various photos of the women in her family including her mom, grandma and sister. Also woven into the design is an American flag which cleverly leads into the flag of her native Canada. Under the Stars and Stripes it says "US" and under the Canadian flag it says "EH."

"It's the people who have helped me in life and supported me in the things I have wanted to do," Kehler said. "It's all those people that I remember when I am having a hard time."

Clark also has a unique mask.

For his first three years, the senior donned a simple gray mask that had his name and the MSU logo on it. But after the passing of his good friend Anthony Ford last spring, Clark decided it was time for a new look.

"He was such a big part of my life," Clark said.

Clark memorialized Ford on the left side of his helmet with a photo of him and Ford taken after a game last season.

"I like the photo because it's the last one we got to take on the ice together."

But Clark - known for his unique personality and sense of humor - boasts one of the most unusual designs over his right ear. Emblazoned on his helmet is a picture of Will Ferrell in his famous "Cowbell" skit from Saturday Night Live. The cowbell has become a new tradition at all Maverick home games.

But the Tinsel Town theme does not end there.

Clark also has the Hollywood sign on the top of his helmet.

"It'd kind of my smart-ass side," Clark said. "I like to be an idiot sometimes. The Hollywood thing … it's a nickname some girls gave me a long time ago and it stuck, so I figured I had to get that on there."

It helps, too, that Clark is a California native, which makes mask's design even more of a fit for him. The U.S. flag and the state flag of California are on the back, as well as a cross and a tribute to his late Grandma, "Nana."

"I was very close to her," Clark said. "She was a great inspiration in my life."

Zacharias, meanwhile, chose to go in a different direction.

His mask doesn't boast any special meanings, as he has only a pair of Maverick logos as well as the old "M" logo with "Mavericks" in the middle.

"I don't really have any special things I like to put on there," Zacharias said. "I just like to keep it simple. I have my nickname in silver on the chin and my number on the back and the logos."

No matter what a goalie chooses to put on their helmet, one thing is almost virtually certain: a goalie's mask is a way for the netminder to express themselves.

"It's a way to get to know the goalie, without getting to know him," Clark said.

Long believed to be more peculiar and superstitious than the other skaters on the ice, the goalie's mask is just another way for a goalie to show their personality in a way that other players can't.

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Robert Esche has rock guitarists painted on his helmet. Belfour has his traditional bald eagle painted on each side of his. When Steve Shields played for the Boston Bruins, he had Miska create a tribute to old Bruin Gerry Cheevers - who played when goalies had the old "Jason" style masks. Shields' helmet featured the old style mask on the front, and made it look like it was covering a real head. The mask even had ears and hair painted on, and looks very much like the mask of current University of Minnesota goalie Kellen Briggs - another Miska client.

But these masks are a lot like snowflakes - not any one is the same as the other. Kind of like goalies, who admittedly are a bit different.

"Goalies are a little weird," Tormey said. "It's just another way to express yourself, and the mask is a perfect way to do it."

Dan Myers is the Reporter Sports Editor