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Mike Smith’s Throwback Mask Kinda Rocks

By Catherine Silverman

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Mike Smith hits a home run with Throwback Mask

Mike Smith is having a tough season; there’s no way to avoid it.

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    • Regression sucks, and rebuilding a team is difficult enough — so put together, it’s easy to assume Smith may want to put this season behind him as quickly as possible.

    Despite his tough year, though, the Coyotes netminder — faithfully starting for the team since 2011, pushing through the ups and downs and never offering harsh responses to league-wide critics — won’t let the fans down when it comes to throwback night.

    Known for his unique, fun mask designs, Smith is the ‘Wil E. Coyote’ goalie the world both needs and deserves. For once, though, he’s taking a step away from his usual mask pal for Thursday night’s game; instead of the iconic cartoon character he’s made a mask staple, Smith has paid homage to the team’s history:

    The design itself follows the Kachina theme of throwback night, where the desert dogs will skate out in the jerseys worn when the team first arrived in Arizona. It’s also got the kachina coyote present on the front of the throwback jersey design, marrying Smith’s ever-present Coyote on his masks with the cartoon so important to his team’s history.

    He’s gone beyond that, though; in tribute to a legendary Arizona native, Smith has opted for a caricature-inspired portrait of Alice Cooper on the back. Once again, he’s marrying a goaltender tradition — it’s customary for netminders to host an ‘extra’ set of eyes on the back of their mask for good luck — with the theme of throwback night; not only is he honoring goaltender superstitions, he’s displaying a piece of the team’s history. Cooper, a known Coyotes fan, has been a public supporter of the team for years — Smith’s recognition of this is both touching and fun.

    Fans will get to see the mask when the Coyotes take on the Vancouver Canucks Thursday night.

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