Throat Protectors

Hey! I'm a pretty much beginning goalie and I was curious as to how important throat protectors are... I don't wear a goalie helmet, I just wear a regular old CCM one, so it doesn't have almost any neck protection...

You may get more replies if you post this question in the Equipment forum, but I'd say that it is pretty important if the players in your league can shoot the puck high enough or hard enough to get deflected into your throat. A shot in the throat would be bad news, needless to say. I guess it depends on the skill level in your league, but why chance it? I'm in Cali too. Where do you play?

I used to wear an old Cooper helmet and cage, I now wear an Itech Profile and in both cases wore a plexiglass throat protector.
Personally I find the dangling plastic shield not only protects me from flying rubber, but also from stick blades during that frantic flurry in front of the net as I am diving to cover. Mine has some pretty good scrapes on it already. Your call, but I highly recommend it.

[Aaron]

I never wore one for the longest time. Then on my first night of league play with a puck, I decided to put one on. (Just the dangler clear type) Sure enough during warmups everyone had stopped shooting and I was returning to my net. I picked my glove up from the top of the net and I was putting it on, and some guy rips one from the blue line and nailed me right in the throat.

I wear a helmet/cage (Hasek) now, and I am finding it difficult to find one that doesn't interfere with me tilting my head downward though. My Itech would push up into the cage and make it impossible for me to lower my head.

I've actually "caught" a few roller-balls with that Hasek cage. It hit just below the cage and I snapped my head down, pinning it between the c/a and my chin/cage Hey, at least there wasn't a rebound.

[Kuzma]

I've never worn one And unless you can prove to me that it won't come loose ala toe laces and that it wont be a hinderence to my game I won't wear one. That and I've see too many lights break to want anything that could shatter close to my throat.

I currently play in a recreation division, so its not that great. BUT- I practice and sometimes play for a women's traveling team and they are pretty good. (i.e. we have an Olympic Gold Medalist!). No one has really told me to or not to; but I've noticed not many other goalies wear them. Are 'goalie' helmets safer than 'Hasek' helmets? In reply to Albert- I play in Water City, what about you? (Water City is near Monterey)

[Bernie]

It won't shatter, Kuz. But your cartiledge in your throat just might! A guy last year almost died after taking a serious shot to the throat. He couldn't breathe because the internal swelling in his neck was closing his trachea. Luckily we have a medical office at the rink and an MD intubated the guy and surely saved his life.

Last year I was hit in the throat during a breakaway. I can tell you it was almost 10 minutes before I was up and breathing normally again, not to mention it was damn scary for me and the people around me. The worst part is, I was wearing a dangling throat shield but somehow the puck found a clean shot under it. Very rare I assume.

I would never play without a throat guard.

Bernie

I started with just the lexan hanging one but still managed to get a stick come up under it and catch me in the adams apple. (very painful)

We had a guy in one of our league games take a skate to the throat last year, cut him clean open, blood gushing. Fortunatly for him the ref was first aid trained and managed to pinch both ends of the jugular together. When the ambulance attendants arrived they took the player and the ref to the hospital. The ref didn't let go until he was in the operating room 20 minutes later and the docs sewed him up tight. He has since made a full recovery.


I now wear a kevlar throat gaurd as well as the clear Lexan one. Better safe than sorry.

Man, this is scary. I'm not sure if I want to play goalie anymore. hehe

Kuzma... try using zip strips to fasten your dangler (also called wire ties). You can get them in many guages and lengths... if you want, email me your address and I'll send you some heavy ones.

[Kuzma]

If a throat protector won't shatter why don't they make the glass out of the same stuff? If anyone can give an honest explination I'll give serious thought to getting one. But till then I'm not even going to consider it.

[Squealagig]

Lexan is expensive thats probably why.

I have always found that the clear plastic throat guards bother me. I went on to wearing just a Kevlar neck guard, but it really didn't do a lot of good the one time I did get hit in the neck. Fortunately for me the guy couldn't shoot too hard.

I'm going back to wearing the clear plastic one (probably with a kevlar neck guard) since my new Battram Upper Body pads leave a fair bit of room open in the neck. I'm using leather strings on the sides and front to keep it from getting in my face when I look down. Hopefully it won't bother me as much this time.

I remember watching Mario Gosslin play for the Quebec Nordiques years back. In the middle of the game he got hit in the wide open neck with a slapshot. He dropped to the ice unconsious. They rushed him to the hospital and he was fine, but I never did see him play in the NHL after that. I'm wondering if he lost his nerve.

Kuzma - Lexan doesn't shatter, but it's softer, and scratches more easily than glass. That's my theory.

Goaliegrrl - I play in Huntington Beach and Torrance, both in Southern California. I guess consensus says that you should wear a throat protector. Better safe than sorry.

[Kuzma]

You guys have convinced me. All I needed to know was that there was almost a 0% chance of the throat guard shattering. Now that I know not only that it's a small chace and why I'll start looking for one. Thanks to those of you who may have saved me some excrucating pain down the road.