Was big fan during mid 70’s. Remember when the goalies only wore Michael Myers face masks.
I recall when the grandfathered players who didn’t have to ware helmets. Lot of the old boys refused to wear them.
Those “Halloween” style masks provided some protection, but I knew a guy who wore them, and said it still felt like getting hit in the naked face that a puck.
I had a full cage, and even though I got hit once hard enough to make me wonder how I ended up on the ice, it provided pretty good protection.