When you’re a goalie you’re at the mercy of the game. Sure, once the puck gets to you it’s up to you what happens … but say, first scenario, most of the action’s at the other end of the rink. How frustrating is it to get only two shots in a period, both of them great scoring chances, and you let one or both of them in? Talk about annoying! Talk about letting yourself down; when I’m a goalie, only a shutout feels good enough, and sometimes even that doesn’t seem enough, though I may try to tell myself that certain goals weren’t my fault, or talk as if winning was the only objective.
And what happens, second scenario, if all of the action is at your end of the rink? You face a flurry of shots that starts when the puck drops and end either when you freeze the puck, your team ices it, someone takes a penalty, or it ends up in the net behind you. Sure you may have the opportunity to stop the other team from running up the score, but if your team doesn’t score, then how much impact do you really have. The aggravation level in this sort of situation can get very high, and I’m personally surprised you don’t see more goalies trying against all odds to skate up to centre ice and get a decent shot on goal.
There are little tricks that I guess seasoned goalies come up with to make themselves feel like they’re part of a game. But come on, you aren’t always the reason your teams wins. But you can be the reason. And there lies the rub. Most goalies would have to admit, the most satisfying experience is to be relied upon to make big saves, and then make them. If the dependency isn’t there, or if you don’t make the saves … well, in the first case the goalie would likely just be bored. However, in the second case, there’ll probably be some broken goal sticks, or maybe bruised shins (just a heads up … if a goalie’s having a rough game, it’s better not to stand right in front of them).
A goalie may be at the mercy of the game, but they can in some ways control the game. How often does it seem that as soon as the goalie at one end stands up to a barrage of shots, the play goes back the other way and a goal is scored? If your team is confident in you it gives them the feeling that they can take some risks, that the defense can pinch a little, that they don’t need to take a penalty to stop someone heading for your net. When you play out, as a forward or on defense, you don’t feel like the game lies on you shoulders, and nor should you. Goalies don’t usually have this luxury, unless your team is the 2004-2005 London Knights.
Now, I did not become a goalie because I wanted glory and recognition. In fact I find it embarrassing (albeit somewhat satisfying) when I play a good game and have teammates exclaim over how I “kept them in the game”, or opponents grumble over how I stoned them (or alternatively, how I, “Put that dog down!”) I became a goalie because the thrill of never knowing whether you will have to be a star, but always having to be on the edge, ready to pull out all the stops to prevent the puck to go in your net, always having the possibility of a perfect game, is exhilarating. Sure, there’s always the flip side, where a game just doesn’t go your way and it feels like you can’t see the puck well, you never know where it’s going to go, and you probably couldn’t stop a shot from the other end of the rink (not an intentional dig at Cloutier)
On superstitions: Before I started playing hockey I thought superstitions were silly, and anything beyond just a routine so that you can focus, was folly, and best discarded. Now that I’ve started playing a lot of hockey, I still feel that way. Absolutely. Don’t I? Sure, as long as I always put the left skate on first. But yeah, that’s just part of an aforementioned undistracting routine I have.
When all else is said and done, you can at least trust me in this: goalies get the most ice time, have the coolest nicknames, the coolest equipment, and the best seat in the house to watch the best game on earth.
If you’re reading this and can figure out where the heck it’s coming from, don’t despair. If you’re not a goalie, you just can’t understand. Goalies are a different breed: if you’re a goalie then you know what I mean, and if you’re a goalie and you don’t know what I mean, then you’re just fooling yourself and you’re not really a goalie… Just ask Marty Turco or Adam Dennis. ;)
By the way, if you actually read all of this, congratulations! I myself found it repetitive and unnecessarily verbose…
This is the version of my mask (ITECH 1400 - Dragon) that is for sale ... mine has a blue background instead of the red, as I bought a demo version (apparently it's one-of-a-kind) ... it's my favourite piece of my goalie equipment (I even named the dragons) :)
