"How would you like it if you were sitting in your office and you madeone little mistake?" asks go altender Jacques Plante of the NationalHockey League's Montreal Canadiens. "Suddenly, a big red light went onand 18,000 people jumped up and started screaming at you, calling you abum and an imbecile, and throwing garbage at you. That's what it's like when you play goal in the NHL."The pressure. The rituals. The blood thirsty fans. Face it, to be a goalie inone of the world's most demanding and bone-crushing sports require spreparation, power, and stamina. Along with a historical look at the position, Guardians: The Secret Life of Goalies takes the reader behind-the-scenes to reveal the nature of hickey's most mysterious players, both on and off the ice. In Guardians, fans will enter the "secret society" to discover the philosophies, rituals, strategies, equipment, and physical requirements that set these gladiators of the ice apart from hockey's other players. From the unrivaled perspective of the net, goalies must know all and see all-which opponents to watch, each movement of the puck, and every offensive move of their teammates. Guar