BANNERMAN!!! Nothing for Blackhawks fans to be scared of...

Blackhawks play-by-play man Pat Foley made the scream "BANNERMAN!!!" famous in Chicago for his call on a save goalie Murray Bannerman made against the Minnesota North Stars in a heated 1985 playoff game. But before that, Bannerman's mask alone was worth a shout in The Hockey News.

"BANNERMAN!!! Did it again!"

The masked man was nothing for Chicago Blackhawks fans to be frightened about.

Longtime team play-by-play man Pat Foley made that scream legendary in Chicago hockey history for calling a save goalie Murray Bannerman made against the Minnesota North Stars in a heated 1985 playoff game. See the link at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyrt3F1-9k8

But before that, Bannerman's mask alone was worth a shout on the cover of The Hockey News on Nov. 4, 1983.

See the cover and a story summary from The Hockey News Vol. 37 Issue 6 at https://archive.thehockeynews.com/issue/585404/615206?t=DON%E2%80%99T%20BE%20SCARED. An assist to Adam Proteau here.

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Here's the summary of the Bannerman mask THN cover shot:

Given slasher-flick icon Jason Voorhees first donned his signature goalie mask in 1982 "Friday the 13th Part III," perhaps the horror-movie aura emanating from this November 1983 shot of Murray Bannerman is intentional. 

Regardless, the Chicago Blackhawks goaltender’s piercing blue eyes staring out from behind his mask makes it feel as though he’s looking right at you.

But while this cover suggests goalie-mask art was on the rise, the concern was the opposite.

Editor-in-chief Bob McKenzie wrote that the emergence of the helmet-and-cage combination threatened “to bury what has been one of the most colorful, interesting eras” in NHL history.

Undeniably, the first shift away from fiberglass face coverings meant less design opportunity – the cage era simply didn’t lend itself to eye-catching artwork. 

But as the evolution of goalie helmets continued, keepers began to use the increased real estate on their lids, which has led to the heyday of mask design. An industry has risen up around keeping goalies outfitted with creative helmets. In the end, it wasn’t the “dying art form” that some feared.

Bannerman played seven seasons with Chicago, basically as bridge in nets between the eras of Hall-of-Fame goalies Tony Esposito and Ed Belfour. The Blackhawks teams in front of him were mostly exciting with the likes of Denis Savard, Steve Larmer, Al Second and slick defenseman Doug Wilson.

The problem: The Blackhawks could never get past Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs during the 1980s.

Bannerman arrived as Esposito's backup in 1980-81. He split the workload with "Tony-O" in 1982-83 before becoming Chicago's main man in goal for three seasons.

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