The man behind NOT MANY people can say they have been able to combine hockey with art. By Anna Marie D’ Angelo News Reporter But for North Vancouver's Sohn Pothitos it was a logical mix. An artist and recreational heckey player, Pothitos has been making customized hand-painted, two-piece Fiberglas cage goalie masks from scratch for hockzy and lacrosse players for three years. So far, Pothitos, 32, has created 54. masks for’ customers throughout Canada and in the ‘How I got starred was when I played minor hockey in Calgary, I used to paint my own goalie mask. And people that watched me or played against me requested that I paint their masks too,”’ said Pothitos. Pothitos said when the two- piece mask came on the scene, he and a friend did some experimen- ting at che recCentre Lonsdale. “My friend fronted me some money, and I made my first mask. ’ Then we just went out on the ice and he let me take shots off his forehead (while he was wearing my mask),”’ said Pothitos. ‘He volunteered for it, and I ‘wasn't taking slaps, they were just wrist shots. Half of them hit him, half missed,’’ said Pothitos. The brave soul who received Pothitos’ first mask and volun- teered to try it out was Al Baum- brough. Baumbrough used the mask for 11/2 years before returning it to Pothitos for ‘‘sentimental reasons.”’ Baumbrough now wears another Pothitos mask when he plays in the Coquitlam/Burnaby area. “After the first one was made, it was like a chain reaction. Another friend saw it and wanted me to make one. And then a the masks + photo Neil Lucente CUSTOMIZED GOALIE mask maker Joha Pothitos holds two of his creations which are being used currentiy in hackey action. Pothitos takes 30 to 40 hours to make each goalie mask for heckey and lacrosse players. Creating each goalie mask requires a practical knowledge of safety materials and fit along with a dimension of artistic talent. sports store in Burnaby wanted me to make one and then away it went,”’ said Pothitos. Pothitos now puts 30 to 40 hours of work into each mask. He ‘charges about $800 for a plain white customized mask. He makes the masks for adults only, taking moulds of faces and then adding the moulds to pre- made plaster base moulds. Pothitos also adds ‘‘patterns’’ such as ribs on the top of the masks and flared-out sections. Fibergi!as and _ bullet-proof Kevlar (by Dupont) material is eventually added to the masks. They are then primed and painted Cap Blues defeat CAPILANO BLUES Varsi- ty Men’s basketball defeated Cariboo University of Kamloops this past weekend 79-72. The Blues took an early 10-3 lead on the strength of forward Axel Christiansen’s five for five from the floor. Christiansen went down with an ankle injury im- mediately afterwards but the Blues bench rose to the occasion with forwards Craig Chubb and Ken Marchant displaying strong defen- sive play. The Blues were led by Frank Fedorak, who notched 17 points on the night, and the strong freethrow shooting of Jeff Winslade down the stretch, who tallied 14 points on the night. On Friday night, the Blues posted a defeat as Douglas Col- lege came away the winners 97-67. Meanwhile on Jan. 18, the Blues put together a consistent ef- fort to defeat Fraser Valley Col- lege 114-106. The victory was led by the strong second-half play of Chris- tiansen, who scored 26 second- half points, and the solid foul eS CAPILANO COLLEGE , SPORTS shooting of forward Winstede, who notched eight points in a row down the stretch, The Biues took an early lead in the first quarter, leading 7-3 and 33-21, before foul trouble beset forwards Christiansen (2) and Derek Smith (3). The Blues bench ied by Mitch Vickers, Chubb and Marchant enabled the Blues to maintain a seven-point lead (50-43) at the half. Blair Hokanson, starting his first game for the Blues, notched 10 first-half points and was a solid performer at both ends of the court throughout the game. Blues coach Ken Sherk adjusted his starting lineup in an attempt to Procure more first-half points because in two previous outings the Blues had been playing cat- ch-up basketball in the second half of play. The Blues, with Christiansen back in the lineup for the second half, worked this ball inside to the 6°5"" forward who proceeded to notch 26 second-half points. before the cages are mounted. Chin cups and back plates are also attached, along with foam material. “I learned some of the tech- nique from a friend of mine who has a company that does special effects. for movies, and we both took arts at Carson Graham. He does moulds of body and faces and things like that,’’ said Pothitos, who also spent a year studying art at Capilano College. Pothitos’ other artistic endeavors involve graphic arts for advertising. He is currently working on six masks and repainting two others. Cariboo Fraser Valley, in an attempt to stop Christiansen, doubled up and that is when former Richmond forward Derek Smith, playing his most solid game of the year, took the opportunity to go to the hoop, notching 15 points by game's end. **We finally got consistent play from some key members of our team. Christiansen, Smith, Hokanson and Mark Bunting ali turned in strong performances. This team is young and has been prone to mistakes under pressure,”’ said Sherk. The team, while holding an 86-70 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, led by only 10 points (100-90) with five miautes left in the game. Fraser Valley scored five three-point buckets in a row down the stretch, one bucket from weil beyond the NBA three-point line. The Biues in turn responded with baskets or free-throws at the other end on each occasion. High scorers for the Blues were Christiansen with 27 points, Hokanson ' with 20 points and forward Bunting with 17 points. The Blues host VCC at Sportsplex on Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. the “i am painting two masks for guys in Parry Sound, Ontario, where Bobby Orr is from. One guy wants a medieval dragon and the other guy wznts a medieval lien, and they both want their Scottish coat of arms on them,” said Pothitos. ‘They are personal masks fcr these Scottish-Canadians who want their names on them ioo: McKuen and McGarvey. Boy, you North Shore should see the one guy, he is 5’6,"" 260 pounds. I’ve never seen a face so wide,"* said Pothitos. He said bigger masks are easier to make because they require less sanding than smalier ones. A customized mask should last a player’s career. Pothitos’ customers range from pharmacists to priests to lawyers, and also include people like Portland Winter Hawks’ : starter Joaquin Gage and goalies playing for the Western Junior Hockey League’s Moosejaw Warriors. The ‘‘granddaddy’® maker of the two-piece Fiberglas customiz- ed goal mask is Toronto’s Greg Harrison who invented the protec- tive wear. Pothitos said most NHL goalies sport Harrison masks, adding that there is currently a one-year wait for a new Harrison mask. Despite Harrison’s popularity with NHL goalies, Pothitos would still tike the chance to make a mask for a professional player in Canada’s top sport. Pothitos said there are a hand- ful of people in western Canada who make customized goalie masks similar to his. He said goalies usually come to him with nelmet/cage combos and complain about movement and persistent vision problems. Customized masks fit exactly to the face and provide comfort and protection, said Pothitos. “After a mask leaves the house, I do notice something. I guess it is like a painting, when it is sold, an artist who has created it never sees it again, but there is satisfaction too,’’ said Pothitos. Pothitos’ company is called JP Customized Goalie Masks for Hockey and Lacrosse. Anyone wanting more information may call 986-7015. teens shine in Clearly Canadian meet NORTH SHORE skiers, hailing from two local mountains as well as Whistler and Blackcomb showed their strength over the last two weekends in juvenile ski races sponsered by Clearly Canadian. On Jan. 18 and 19 in a J2 Super G race for 13 and 14 year olds, Caroline Day and Bave Barr, skiing for the host Whistler Mountain Ski Club, each posted gold medal vic- tories on both days. Whisiler’s Sofia Oberti and Jonathan Awde, who live in West Vancouver, brought home a silver medal each oa separate days. And North Vancouver’s Aimee-Noel Hartley, skiing for ' Grouse Mountain Tyee, cap- tured bronze medals on both Saturday and Sunday. This past weekend Clearly Canadian sponsored a J2 giant slalom race at Whistler, hosted by Tyee along with a J3 slalom race for 11 and 12-year-olds hosted by the Seymour Ski Club. Qn Mount Seymour North Shore skiers swept all but one medal with Whistler’s Erika Gibbons and Lisa Yeates tak- ing gofd and silver respectively, each day and Grouse Tyee’s Ryan Johnson and Tom Jan- tunen also capturing the gold and silver both days. By MaryAnn Hartley Centribuiing Writer Jane Emerick and Jonathon Coleman from Whistler and Tyee Katie Bruce cach took a bronze medal on one day. Meanwhile at Whistler, Whistler’s Monica Meier of West Vancouver posted gold and bronze medal finishes, Katie Duan, a North Van- couver racer skiing for Blackcomb, won both silver and bronze Clearly Canadian medals and Tyee Aimee-Noel Hatley received a silver medal. On the boys’ side, Whistler's Jonathan Awde, who lives in Lions Bay, captured a silver medal while teammate Dave Barr and Blackcomb’s Alexis Vagelatos each brought home a gold. The coast zone now sends a strong contingent of 32 racers off to Todd Mountain in Kamloops to compete in the Clearly Canadian J2 Super G Provincia} Championships on Feb. 1 and 2.