After being struck in the face with a hockey puck, Jacques Plante played the rest of the game wearing a face mask, now mandatory equipment for goaltenders in ice hockey.

A hockey puck is either an open or closed disk used in a variety of sports and games. There are designs made for use on an ice surface, such as in ice hockey, and others for the different variants of floor hockey which includes the wheeled skate variant of inline hockey. They are all designed to serve the same function a ball does in ball games.

Joseph Jacques Omer Plante was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963; during his tenure, the team won the Stanley Cup six times, including five consecutive wins. In 2017 Plante was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.

A goaltender mask, commonly referred to as a goalie mask, is a mask worn by goaltenders in a variety of sports to protect the head and face from injury from the ball or puck, as they constantly face incoming shots on goal. Some sports requiring their use include ice hockey, lacrosse, inline hockey, field hockey, rink hockey, ringette, bandy, rinkball, broomball, and floorball. This article deals chiefly with the goal masks used in ice hockey.

In ice hockey, the goaltender wears specialized goaltending equipment to protect themselves from the impact of the puck, and to assist in making saves. Ringette and rinkball goaltenders use the same equipment with some exceptions. This article deals chiefly with the sport of ice hockey.