How did the goalies ever play without masks??

[Tomas]

QF of Czech Extraleague (Sparta Prague @ Steelers Trinec). The shot was deflected, and the guy still got his orbital eye bone and a nose broken. BTW, the shooter got a 3-game suspension from the Czech Ice Hockey Federation for it (unsportsmanlike conduct):

[Idoit40fans]

They just didn't put one on.

[JoseCuervo]

I know if it's true or not, but I hear most players didn't shoot as high as often. Seeing as most of them were stand up goalies and would rarely go down, they didn't get hit in the face as much. Same for players without helmets. If you know somebody isn't wearing a helmet, you are much more likely to control your stick. No respect these days.

[mikey287]

I know if it's true or not, but I hear most players didn't shoot as high as often. Seeing as most of them were stand up goalies and would rarely go down, they didn't get hit in the face as much. Same for players without helmets. If you know somebody isn't wearing a helmet, you are much more likely to control your stick. No respect these days.

This is pretty much on point.

[relantel]

wow. I didn't see the puck until midway through the vid. At first, I thought the call was on the guy who bowled over the goalie.

[meow]

I've had two concussions because of being hit in the mask with a puck. I'm fairly certain both would have killed me if I didn't have a mask on. Plus, back in the day, guys didn't shoot as hard and they didn't have curves on their blades. That helped keep the pucks down. And the whole respect thing. That plays a huge role in it.

[Matthew Monstar]

While this is terribly unfortunate and quite painful, I can't assume the shooter was fully aware of the goaltender having no helmet, as it looked like the shooter's head was turned away and he was trying to shoot it on net and missed. I can't be positive. Either way, unfortunate.

[Matthew Monstar]

As meow stated, I can't imagine....even in Beer League Hockey games not wearing a helmet as a goalie. I've faced some guys that have heavy slapshot's and not to mention the curves that raise the puck, sometimes quite unpredictably.

I've taken a lot of pucks off the head when I'm hugging the post and guy's shoot from the goal line, coming out of the corner.

I can't imagine.....

[Sigwolf]

Stick blades were largely straight. Slapshots were virtually nonexistent. Goalies played a 'stand-up' style. It was a whole different game when goalies had no mask. Despite all that, injuries like this one were not completely unheard of during that time, when the goalie did end up on the ice or the puck came up.