Sitting at 14-1-0 for his first season as a North American pro, maybe Rochester Amerks goalie Alexander Salak has earned a right to some cockiness.

And down 0-6 to the Amerks this season, maybe the Syracuse Crunch are due to be a little aggravated.

But the two conditions came to a head today when the Amerks put a 7-4 hurting on the Crunch in front of their home crowd, and Salak left modesty and reserve at the door.

Salak vs. the Crunch earlier this season – Photo by Keith Wozniak/Let’s Go Amerks

I won’t do a recap of a recap of a recap, but I’ll point you to stories from both sides:

• The Crunch are covered by beat writer Lindsay Kramer, and here is his initial blog report with some pretty heated reaction from the Crunch locker room, as well as Salak’s reasoning. Then a follow-up blog with his own thoughts on the matter.

• And here is, essentially, the rebuttal from Keith Wozniak, who covers Rochester on his blog, Let’s Go Amerks.

On the surface, it’s great theater. Salak wiping off the glass for the goal judge, an exuberant win celebration in a hostile barn, the “watch it now, kid” stuff coming from the Syracuse room.

Obviously, you don’t want hockey to be too much about showboating and cocky goalies and antics, but you won’t ever convince me that the occasional spicy goalie is bad for the game, especially when they play as well as Salak does, by almost all accounts.

Where’s the line between cocky goalie and confident goalie or between bad sportsmanship and showmanship?

Goalie Mask, Matt Zaba

During the Wolf Pack pre-game warmups a couple of weeks ago, I was able to get some mask shots of Hartford Wolf Pack goalie Matt Zaba. His mask appears to be a tribute to Ranger goalie greats Ed Giacomin and Mike  Richter.

Zaba, in his second season with the Wolf Pack, was signed by the Rangers in August 2007 after being drafted by Los Angeles in 2003. Currently sharing goaltending duties with Chad Johnson, Zaba has played in 5 games so far this season, and currently has a 1-1-1 record with a 3.48 GAA.

(Click on Goalie Masks to view more masks.)

Goalie Mask, Alex Stalock

Before I post my shots of Worcester Sharks goalie Alex Stalock, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Rookie goaltender Alex Stalock, drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 draft, came to the Worcester Sharks from Minnesota-Duluth, where he lead the nation in minutes played (2534), and was a 11th in the nation in GAA (2.13).

So far this season, Stalock has a 9-6-1 record in 16 games with a GAA of 2.49 and a SV% of 0.908.

Stalock’s mask sports a California beach theme along with the requisite sharks.

(Click on Goalie Masks to view more masks.)

It’s American Thanksgiving today (I have enough Canadians in my life now that I must make the distinction), so I’m going to break from the norm a little and take a look at which teams have the most to be thankful for between the pipes as the first quarter of the season winds down.

#1 Texas Stars.

Not only are they at the top of the league due to their fantastic play at both ends of the ice, they have two of the top 6 goalies in the AHL manning the crease for them.

Brent Krahn has a mind-blowing 1.41 GAA and 0.958 save % with a 10-2-0 record. He’s got 3 shut outs, while his partner Matt Climie has 2 and sports a 1.95 GAA and an 0.936 save %.

Here’s a look at the Texas Stars by Dallas Stars beat writer Mike Heika, who gives a great perspective on how far Krahn has come in the last few years to become the best goalie in the league.

#2 Houston Aeros.

Houston is a team struggling mightily to find the back of the net. We’ve joked among ourselves that goaltending will have to be perfect for them to have even a hope at the playoffs, but Anton Khudobin gets the last laugh, having been perfect more often than any other goalie in the league with 4 shutouts.

Khudobin is currently second in the league and tops among rookies with a 1.49 GAA and 0.938 save %. He’s worked hard to fix some problems in his game in the off-season, and it’s showing in his rebound control and puck tracking in close, both of which are areas that have improved tremendously.

Here’s last night’s game report from his 4th shutout at The Third Intermission.

#3 Rochester Americans.

With the best win record in the league at 12-1-0 and an exciting, unusual style, Alexander Salak gives Amerks fans a lot to be thankful for. And that’s in addition to their 31 points as a team, which puts them at #2 in the league after years as an also-ran.

Let’s Go Amerks takes some time to express gratitude for the man between the pipes, and provides video of one of his incredible saves, as well as some game action. Check it out here.

Alexander Salak – Photo by Keith Wozniak/Let’s Go Amerks

Goalie Mask, Tyson Sexsmith

After spending the last couple of weeks shooting a number of hockey games, I’ve accumulated quite a few  goalie mask shots I need to publish.

I’ll start the week off with Worcester Sharks goalie Tyson Sexsmith. Sexsmith, in his first season with the Sharks, has played in seven games to date with a 2-4-0 record. His GAA stands at 4.06 with a SV% 0f 0.856 in 315 minutes of playing time. Prior to playing for the Sharks, he spent 5 seasons playing for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL , where he compiled a 120-35-6 record in 178 games.

Last week I said I would have some shots of Dwayne Roloson’s mask. Unfortunately I forgot to load those specific pictures on my laptop before I left the house for a week on the road. I’ll have those pictures posted early next week when I get back home.

(Click on Goalie Masks to view some prior masks)

Islanders’ franchise goalie Rick DiPietro is rounding back into shape as he comes back from a difficult knee injury. Today he completed his first full practice and spoke with reporters after. Rick spoke for a good length of time – despite seeming more than a little bothered by having to speak about his injury for so long.

In the interview he spoke to the pressures of being injured with a big 12-year contract, the way his replacements in goal, Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron are performing, and of course how he has handled the rehab and long layoff.

RSS readers click through for the video, please.

Here we go – another round of inspiring work by the games’ best goalies. Great lateral movement, remarkable glove saves and the classic hands first dive to deny the wide open man – this week has them all. Of course there’s also the glove save with an A-plus acting effort to inspire his team – take a bow Marc-Andre Fleury!

Turns out, rookie goalie Braden Holtby’s chocolate bar-themed mask (shown below) was delicious and appropriate for the Hershey team he’s been on and off of all season, but not exactly legal according to copyright laws.

John Walton, the radio and TV man for the Bears, got some footage of the new mask (which you can hear Braden say he like’s the other one better, but what can you do?) and talks to Braden about how his season is going.

Check it all out here at John Walton Hockey.

Braden Holtby Photo by CapsinPictures

Goalie Mask, Tuukka Rask

Earlier in the season, I tried to get some close up shots of Tuukka Rask’s mask while shooting a Bruins practice. Unable to get what I wanted at the time, I decided to wait until another opportunity presented itself. That opportunity came this past Monday at the Bruins, Islanders game. During a second period timeout, Rask skated over to where I was shooting and I was able to finally get the shots of his mask I wanted.

Later this weekend I’ll put up some shots of Dwayne Roloson’s mask.

I don’t know Mikka Kiprusoff at all but I’m beginning to think he has a closet full of clothes and a serious sense of fashion.

Just a few weeks after we debuted the photos of his Flames’ 30th anniversary mask by David Arrigo – his second mask of the year – tonight we bring you the first shots of another new mask. This one is by his traditional artist Todd Miska of Miska Designs.

This is another great take on Kipper’s trademark look, and it’s nice to get a glimpse of the artist himself in action as well!