Mask Madness Match-ups

/

Yes, I'll refer to it as Mask Madness every once and a while just for you guys. But here we go with the preliminary- and first-round match-ups for the 2008 NHL Tournament of Goalie Masks. I'm having a little bit of difficulty building the actual bracket. So until I figure something out, you'll have to deal with it in text format.

First, there will be the Preliminary Round, made up of 4 polls. They will start Monday and be as follows:
1 | TURCO (black) vs TURCO (white)
Here you'll choose between Marty Turco's home and road masks.
2 | RAMO (a) vs RAMO (b)
Here you'll decide on which of Karri Ramo's two masks goes into the full tournament.
3 | DENIS vs CLEMMENSEN
4 | HOWARD vs RASK

Then comes Round One. There are 32 polls comprising that group, divided into two sides. The first list is the group on the left side of the bracket.

1 | MILLER vs HALAK
2 | ROLOSON vs ERSBERG
3 | BRYZGALOV vs TELLQVIST
4 | KOLZIG vs GRAHAME
5 | BRODEUR vs THIBAULT
6 | HUET vs NORRENA
7 | CONKLIN vs HEDBERG
8 | EMERY vs RAMO
9 | TOSKALA vs ELLIS
10 | KIPRUSOFF vs HASEK
11 | LUONGO vs CLOUTIER
12 | JOSEPH vs VALIQUETTE
13 | FLEURY vs ANDERSON
14 | NIITTYMAKI vs HOLMQVIST
15 | LECLAIRE vs MASON
16 | THEODORE vs DENIS/CLEMMENSEN

And on the right side of the bracket is this group:

1 | BACKSTROM vs RAYCROFT
2 | WARD vs HARDING
3 | TURCO vs OSGOOD
4 | KHABIBULIN vs DUBIELEWICZ
5 | VOKOUN vs SANFORD
6 | GARON vs GERBER
7 | LALIME vs TOIVONEN
8 | GIGUERE vs AULD
9 | LEGACE vs WEEKES
10 | DiPIETRO vs HILLER
11 | LUNDQVIST vs BUDAJ
12 | BIRON vs SMITH
13 | THOMAS vs LaBARBERA
14 | PRICE vs SABOURIN
15 | NABOKOV vs BOUCHER
16 | LEHTONEN vs HOWARD/RASK

Remember, totally random!

When I get the bracket completed, I'll post it. In the meantime, get ready to start casting your votes! And do me a favor, start spreading the word around. Let's get as many people involved in this tournament as possible!

Another Goalie Masks Update

/

All right, I've been listening to you guys and I have some quick changes to make before announcing the match-ups for the NHL Tournament of Goalie Masks.

I'm updating the graphics for Grahame and Budaj who both have new masks which I didn't know about until today. So much for doing my research. Same goes for Cloutier who's returned to the Osgood-esque helmet. All of those updates will be made at some point this morning.

I'm keeping Holmqvist's mask the way it is because, first, he has yet to play a full game for the Stars and so has no mask painted for that team. Second, he carried the Lightning goaltending most of the season and that shouldn't go unnoticed. He played all year, so to drop him out now just because he got traded at the 11th hour isn't right, if you ask me.

I'm adding Ersberg today as well. He'll be replacing Fernandez, who hasn't played a game since October. I like Manny Fernadez and I hate to drop him, but somebody had to go. I'm not getting rid of Osgood and Cloutier just because their helmets are plain. That'll be for the voters to decide.

Otherwise I think that's everybody. So if you've noticed anything else that needs adjustment, speak now or hold your peace.

The Goalie Masks I Picked!

/

As promised, the unveiling of the rest of the masks that will be included in the tournament that begins in just two days! There are 34 more and here they are.






A couple of things I should explain. Karri Ramo switches off between two masks. Both will be in the preliminary round where you guys will determine which makes it to the main 64.

Johan Holmqvist, at this moment, does not have a mask painted for the Dallas Stars, the team for which he now plays. The one or two games he has played in, however, he's worn a black mask with a Stars logo on the chin. I've opted for his Lightning helmet since it's actually painted. (This doesn't apply to Martin Gerber because he intentionally wears a blank helmet.)

Brian Boucher has been backing up Evgeni Nabokov lately for the San Jose Sharks, yet he's been wearing his Philadelphia Phantoms AHL mask. That's the one I'm going with though at this point I understand he has a new one on the way. If either Holmqvist or Boucher — or any other goalie for that matter — changes his mask prior to his poll being posted, I will likely change the graphic to reflect that. If a change is made after the poll is posted, too bad.

My process here in choosing these 34 was essentially to get in as many if not all of the goalies currently seeing time in the NHL. There are a few exceptions but that's the way it goes. If you think there's been an injustice, feel free to say so. It's not necessarily set in stone until I post the bracket tomorrow. But make sure you present a good argument. No flakes allowed.

Now, as you'll see with the bracket, we'll be narrowing these 34 down to 32 in the preliminary round. I've already decided on how. The two polls will be Marc Denis vs Scott Clemmensen and Jimmy Howard vs Tuukka Rask. Really what it came down to was, in one case, two relatively veteran goalies who now see very little playing time in the league and, in the other, two very young goalies who don't play much but may have big futures (also, nice masks!).

I want to point out that I recognize that I'm leaving out guys like Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Dmitri Patzold, Erik Ersberg, Corey Crawford, Michael Leighton, Curtis McElhinney, Thomas Greiss and even Brent Johnson. But how much NHL action are they really seeing anyway? I know I'm leaving out other names, but I had to draw a line somewhere. They'll have their moment.

And for what it's worth, I'll let you in on some of my future plans. First, I'm already gathering pictures to do another goalie mask competition following this one. For that, we'll go back in time 10 years and judge masks from the 1998-99 season. In fact, I'm even considering a spinoff blog like ToHL that focuses solely on goalie masks. Trying to gauge interest. I'm also considering abandoning ToHL after the CHL logo tournaments. There doesn't seem to be a big interest there like there is here.

That's all I've got for now. Get ready to see the match-ups tomorrow. Remember, they'll be completely random!

UPDATE (3/23 11:08 AM): I changed out Fernandez for Ersberg up there. Enjoy!