Air Force’s goaltenders are seen but rarely heard from. Fortunately we have their masks to provide some clues as to what they’re all about.
Three of the four netminders on the Falcons’ roster have custom-made masks, with each of senior Billy Christopoulos, sophomore Zach LaRocque and freshman Alex Schilling working with designer Jason Livery at Head Strong Grafx come up with a design that emphasizes several items of importance to each.
Here’s a closer look at the trio’s masks:
Among other things, senior Billy Christopoulos pays homage to Air Force jets and the two cities he grew up in. Photo montage by Chris Bayee
Billy Christopoulos
Home is never far from the senior’s mind – quite literally. On game nights (the Falcons’ goalies wear plain masks for practice) his main mask pays homage to both Chicago and Raleigh, N.C.
“I’ve got the left side I’ve got the Chicago skyline because I was born there and I lived there for a while and all my family’s from there,” Christopoulos says. “On the right side I’ve got the Raleigh skyline because that’s where I lived the rest of my life and grew up playing there.”
Playing for a service academy offers plenty of opportunities to incorporate military themes, and Christopoulos hits that out of the park with his mask.
“On either side I’ve got planes, which ties in with Air Force Academy,” he says. “At one time I was heavily considering being a pilot. Either way it’s just a cool thing. You’ve got to have some fighter jets up there.”
The back of his mask offers an even more personal glimpse, but some of it is obscured by the style of straps that keep him protected.
“On the back plate I’ve got a cross and wrapped around that is a breast cancer ribbon because my mom actually had breast cancer when I was playing juniors,” Christopoulos says. “That was a tough couple of years, but she won her battle against breast cancer.
“I’ve always had that on all my helmets, kind of a little tribute to her and everything she went through.”
Goaltender Zach LaRocque leaves little doubt about the importance of his Christian faith to him on the back plate of his mask. Photo montage by Chris Bayee
Zach LaRocque
The sophomore is the lone goalie on the roster who is from Colorado, and he pays tribute to his beloved home state with mountains. In terms of the overall scheme, he also capitalizes on the Academy’s vibrant colors.
“My favorite colors are blues, so I was pretty lucky to come to a school with all of the blue. I was excited about that,” he says. “I put the AF logo on there because it’s one of the classic pieces. The mountains are in the background because being from Colorado the mountains have always been an important part of my life.
“On the chin I have my number and also the mountains in the background.”
LaRocque is one of the Cadets who is strongly interested in becoming a pilot, so it stands to reason what else he’d want on the mask. And he weaves in another Academy landmark.
“On the left side I have an F-35 fighter jet, mainly because I’m looking into being a pilot after I graduate,” he says. “I also have Cadet Chapel in there, it kind of relates to the back plate of my helmet because I’m pretty religious.
“On the back plate I have (Bible scripture) Joshua 1:9 – be courageous and Psalms 23:4 – fear no evil. Those are verses I’ve lived by through my whole hockey career. That’s why I chose to put them on my helmet.”
LaRocque also pays tribute to a couple of his closest friends on the back plate.
“I have my (youth hockey) buddies’ initials on my helmet because it’s always good to keep your friends close,” he says. “One of them is in pilot training now. He wasn’t in the Academy but he went ROTC. The other is his brother. We all have this friend circle and have been buddies for a long time.”
LaRocque said he likes to change things up on his masks, so when he gets a new one next year (Cadets get a new one every two years) he’ll switch things up.
Freshman Alex Schilling pays tribute to his home state of Minnesota as well as Colorado and his faith on his mask. Photo montage by Chris Bayee
Alex Schilling
The freshman says he put weeks of thought into his mask over the summer, and the result is a mask that has a lot going on but in a well-organized fashion. The anchor of it should surprise no one.
“I wanted to get the basic AF logo front and center and be the main thing of the mask,” Schilling says. “(The artist) put these wings coming off the side, just tremendous detail. The lightning bolts represent the Air Force brotherhood. The detail with the honeycomb and the sparkles on the top is pretty cool.”
The Minnesota native wanted to make sure he paid tribute to his home state, but not at the expense of where he lives now. He accomplished this in a similar manner to Christopoulos’ approach with his two hometowns.
“On the side I wanted to do a tribute to Minnesota and then transitioning to Colorado,” he says. “So I have the pine trees and the birds representing the outdoors life in Minnesota and switching over to the other side with the mountains.”
He also added a nice touch around the jawline as a nod to a legendary piece of Air Force history.
“I have the Flying Tiger as a tribute to the fighter squadron. I like that fierce look.”
His back plate contains one of the two scripture references that LaRocque has on his mask and another jet.
“The Joshua 1:9 verse on the back, I like to keep that wherever I go, and I had a fighter jet to finish it off,” Schilling says.
“(The process) was something you have to sit on. You can’t just put all of your ideas on paper at once. I looked at a lot of images and did some brainstorming. It turned out really, really nice. All of the guys’ are really nice.”
©First Line Editorial 2017-19
