Hockey Face masks

[Steve M]

In college games and in the state level high school playoff games, I have seen a number of umpires wear the helemt. I've seen two wearing a beanie under it and one guy wear a 4-stitch. The rest went bare-headed and got nailed on their evaluations. College ball, at least the associations I'm in, expects that a 4-stitch or longer will be worn. Pa high school expects that a hat will be worn - and Pa still accepts the beanie as a valid hat.

I'm still using a lightweight version of the "old" style mask. I've stopped using the 4-stitch and been using a 6-stitch for a while. Now I'm beginning to use the 8-stitch. Once I'm used to that, I'll be buying fewer hats each year.