Illinois hockey forward Mario Pacheco came to a hard stop near his vociferous bench, splashing ice shavings onto the thick wall dividing the active players from those awaiting their line to be sent into action. Firmly planting his left skate into the ice, he shifted his weight to his right side as he swung his leg over the divider, something he has done many times before in his playing career. But his next ritual is one that no one else on the team performs — cleaning his fog- and sweat-covered visor.

Pacheco is the only member of the 28-man squad, goaltenders aside, to wear a clear face shield opposed to a cage-style mask.

“I was just hanging out with my brother and we saw the visor over at a hockey shop and … I decided to get it and try it out,” Pacheco said. “I’ve used visors before and you see the game differently … obviously there aren’t the bars in the way and stuff, but it fogs up a lot, so between shifts, I’m getting the water off the visor.”

Unlike the NHL, ACHA rules stipulate that players must have their entire face covered during the games, and the most common choice among the Illini is the cage.

“I think it’s just personal for me, I never wore a bubble,” center Austin Bostock said. “The cage, I feel like it’s a little more sturdy. I like when you feel the wind on your face, the bubble, you don’t have the lines, the bird cage feeling. You get the clear vision like when you’re wearing a half-shield or no shield at all. Mario’s always cleaning his off, though I feel like that might get a little annoying”

While Bostock takes pleasure in feeling the cold ice arena air flow past his cage and through his often quirky-styled facial hair, others, like Pacheco, use the full mask to their advantage.

“I don’t like having the air hit me in the face a lot,” Pacheco said. “I have contacts on, and I feel like, when the air hits me in the face, it can … make your eyes water up a little bit, and it’s almost like a barrier. Things get a little more quiet. It’s almost like soundproofing, and I think I can focus up a little better with it.”

While the merits of the cage and the “fishbowl” — a name that is commonly used to describe the full clear face shield — can be debated, the one type of facemask that is not seen on the Illini’s bench is the ACHA-outlawed half-shield. But that doesn’t keep it from the discussion among the team.

“I know it’s been a debate for years. Personally I think it would be better to go with the half-shield,” former Illini assistant coach Chris Peter said. “There’s pros and cons to both having a full mask as opposed to having a three-fourths shield or a half-shield and you see different kinds of injuries, but nowadays you look at sports and the biggest issue is with concussions and brain damage.”

The full cage’s benefits are often the guarantee of keeping errant sticks, pucks and pads out of the faces of the players, providing credence to the “more coverage, the better” side of the debate. But Peter says that when everyone is skating with the half-shield, players will be more conscientious of their opponent’s cranial integrity.

“It is almost a way of governing the game itself. Players out there are much more aware of controlling their sticks and controlling their hands,” Peter said. “You’re gonna get more facial lacerations … but ultimately you’re going to stop the head contact, which is really what they’re trying to get rid of. In the long run, you can get stitches. I’ve had stitches 12 times on my face through my time playing hockey, it’s not a big issue. But you only have one brain, the one thing about a brain is doctors know they can’t fix them.”

For Bostock, the potential switch would have to be all or nothing.

“My face is already getting cut up with a full facemask on, but if guys are looking to go play pro hockey after the ACHA, which is becoming more common and more common with our league… I think it would be a good move for the league. … It can’t be an option like in juniors.”

This debate is sure to wax and wane for years to come. Even though it is uncertain if the league will ever change its policy, there is one guarantee: Pacheco won’t hear the end of his decision to switch from a cage to a bubble.

“They always got their insults like, ‘Are you looking for Nemo?’ because it’s called a fishbowl,” Pacheco said.

While he may get picked on for his leap into the relatively uncharted equipment realm, the California native may have company during his projected junior and senior seasons with the Illini.

“Every team has one or two (fishbowls), I think that we should have a few more, honestly,” Bostock said. “He’s kind of alone there, and he’s the only one who gets chirped so I think we should have a few more … definitely next year you’ll see a few more of the younger guys wearing them.”

Patrick can be reached [email protected] and @_patrickkelley_.