Per the ECHL, Toledo Walleye goaltender Pat Nagle’s goalie mask won the ECHL’s “March MASKness Challenge”:
The March MASKness Final commenced on April 2nd and ECHL fans had 48 hours to cast their vote of which mask was more deserving of being named champion – either [Ty] Reichenbach’s or Nagle’s. Over 1,800 votes were cast in the final in which Nagle won 67% of the fan support to become the 2018 ECHL March MASKness champion.
Nagle shared additional details on the design process of the winning mask with ECHL.com. “Brad Thompson, the equipment manager in Grand Rapids, who I’ve known for a long time, he’s got the creative juices, as does the painter, Jason Livery. So to be honest, I’m not really picky with most things, so I kind of let them go at it and then threw in my two cents here and there as they started sending me drawings and coming up with ideas. It came out really neat – Jason did an awesome job painting it. It’s got a matted finish so it’s a little different than some of the shinier, glossier ones that you see guys wearing. It’s got a little bit of everything – they did a nice job coming up with the idea and then executing it. I don’t add a whole lot – there’s ‘Support the Troops’ on the back – I’ve had that for a while. I have a lot of family and friends that have served or are serving – you don’t hear a lot of positive talk all the time about what the troops do for us and for our country. So, being American, I think any time you can help them out and let them know you support them, that’s huge.
Nagle was quick to credit the Walleye fans for their support on and off the ice all season. “They’ve been great in all facets of the game. They’ve been really good to us at home – we’ve had a great home record this year and I think it’s largely attributed to them. It’s such a fun place to play and any time you’re in front of a sold out crowd that’s on your side it makes things easier. As far as the social media…obviously they’re on there as well and doing big things so that’s always fun for us.”
Here’s Nagle’s mask, via the ECHL:
Nice Mask by Nagle with some bias. I am starting to follow the Walleye a lot more. Most on the roster have reached the plateau but that is a lot higher than most aspiring NHL players.
Sprinkle in some possible GR players, fun to watch, good coaching some intriguing players especially with NHL teams affiliated with, that are very Deep in prospects.