The goalie helmet and mask worn by the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist at last Saturday’s Hurricane Sandy benefit game in Atlantic City has been sold in an online auction for $66,000, believed to be a record for goalie masks.
The proceeds of the sale will go to charities associated with Hurricane Sandy relief, according to Steven Costello, the vice president of SteinerSports.com, which conducted the auction.
Lundqvist, the Vezina Trophy-winning goalie currently idle because of the N.H.L. lockout, has not yet identified which organizations will receive the proceeds, Costello said.
Saturday’s game, called Operation Hat Trick, was staged by locked-out N.H.L. players, with proceeds going to the American Red Cross, Empire State Relief Fund and the Hurricane Sandy NJ Relief Fund. Lundqvist was the star of the game, making 56 saves in a 10-6 victory for a team made up largely of Rangers players.
The game, which drew 10,792 fans to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, has raised about $500,000 so far, according to Caesar’s Entertainment of Atlantic City, one of the organizers.
It was the first sellout for hockey at the arena since March 1, 1933, when 22,157 attended another Red Cross charity game, between the Rangers and the Atlantic City Sea Gulls of the Eastern Hockey League.
“It’s an amazing amount of money,” Lundqvist said in a statement announcing the sale of his mask. “This money will hopefully be able to make a real difference for some families who were directly affected by this storm.”
The winning bid was submitted by Molly Heines of New York. The previous record price for a mask sold at auction was believed to be the $24,655 paid for the June 2011 sale of Los Angeles Kings goalie Rogatien Vachon’s mask.
