PWHL Montreal goalie Elaine Chuli pays tribute to Ken Dryden, Carey Price with new mask

Elaine Chuli never saw Ken Dryden play.

The 29-year-old can still appreciate the Hall of Fame goaltender's exploits between the pipes for the Montreal Canadiens.

And that's despite growing up a fan of the archrival Toronto Maple Leafs.

The backup netminder for Montreal's Professional Women's Hockey League team, Chuli is paying tribute to Dryden — and fellow Canadiens great Carey Price — with her new mask that arrived this week.

Chuli, who grew up idolizing Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph, had to get creative on the design with little to draw from in the early stages of the PWHL.

"I went with kind of a Ken Dryden theme," the native of Waterford, Ont., said Friday at Verdun Auditorium in Montreal. "We didn't have a logo and we didn't have a team name, usually that would kind of be what your mask would be based off of.

"I thought, 'Perfect.' [Dryden] played in Montreal, so I thought it would be a cool idea."

The mask, designed by Mississauga, Ont.-based company Mask Wraps, features blue and red circles around it — much like the cage Dryden wore during the Canadiens' dynasty of the 1970s.

It also has pictures of Dryden and Price on each side, PWHL logos, her name and old Montreal buildings printed on the back along with her favourite Bible verse.

The matte finish helps hammer home the retro look.

Chuli wore Dryden's No. 29 throughout her career, which includes stops with the NCAA's University of Connecticut and the Premier Hockey Federation's Toronto Six.

Poulin may owe Chuli a meal or two, and not just because of the number.

Chuli made 45 saves to lead Montreal to a 2-1 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday and earn her second regulation win in two starts this season.

"Amazing," Poulin said of Chuli. "The way she plays, she's