Entries in chicago express (3)

Saturday
Mar102012

Going Green for a Game

Green is one of the most neglected colors on hockey uniforms. It's a perfectly good color that, far too often, gets overshadowed by the likes of blue and red. But there's at least one day on the calendar when green rules. One week from today is St. Patrick's Day and hockey teams across North America are taking note with green-infused uniforms. Thought I'd take some time today to run down the list of what to expect.

NHL: New Jersey Devils

Devils announce Retro GameSince 2010, it's become an annual tradition for the New Jersey Devils to sport their red and green retro jerseys on or near St. Patty's Day.

The tradition continues for the third year in a row next weekend as the Devils host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Icethetics reader Mike Iannaccone tweeted a photo on Wednesday from the Prudential Center that confirms this.

The Devils wore this sweater for the first time on St. Patrick's Day 2010 — also against the Penguins. (It was actually their first time wearing green since 1992 when it was replaced with black.) The Devils won that game 5-2, but were shut out 3-0 last year when they hosted the Capitals on March 18.

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello has made it known he has no interest in New Jersey wearing an alternate sweater on a regular basis, but if he ever changes his mind, this one is a classic.

ECHL: Trenton Titans

Elsewhere in New Jersey, the ECHL's Trenton Titans will sport the green plaid for Irish Heritage Night when they face the Reading Royals.

But oddly, this Irish Heritage Night will not take place on March 17, but rather a week later on Sat., March 24. The promotion had to wait a week since the Titans will be on the road for St. Patrick's Day. But they wouldn't miss this opportunity.

In fact, when the Titans his the road next week, they'll be in Chicago. That takes us to...

ECHL: Chicago Express

Chicago Express St. Patrick's Day jerseyThe ECHL's Chicago Express, currently embarking on their inaugural season, will celebrate St. Patty's Day with a special jersey as they host the Trenton Titans next Saturday night.

The Express's green-themed sweater is decidedly not plaid. In fact, you might say it's a little more... alcohol-y. If that wasn't a word I just made up, anyway.

The bubbles up and down the front and back of this jersey certainly make it look like the players will be giant green beers skating around. Though you'd be more likely to see that if you already had some green beers in you. That's all I'm saying.

The primary logo is normally navy and powder blue, but the standard colors have been swapped out for green and orange for this event.

For what it's worth, this jersey has all the bad design markers, from the black for black's sake right down to the illegible name and numbers. But they'll get auctioned off for charity after the game, so we'd all sound silly to complain.

While we're in Chicago...

AHL: Chicago Wolves

The AHL's Chicago Wolves will wear their St. Patrick's Day jerseys for three home games over the next two weeks — though not on the actual day itself.

The jerseys are green with WOLVES arranged diagonally across the front in cream. Based on the image below, provided by the team, it looks like there will be a patch on each shoulder — one with a black shamrock and the year, the other with the Wolves' primary logo. As is the norm with these things, they will be auctioned for charity.

You'll note the jersey will be worn for home games on 3/14 vs. the Peoria Rivermen, 3/24 vs. the Hamilton Bulldogs, and 3/25 vs. the Houston Aeros but not on March 17. That's because the Wolves are traveling that night to... yes, Cleveland. Folks, you can't make up segues like this...

AHL: Lake Erie Monsters

The AHL's Lake Erie Monsters will be wearing their St. Patrick's Day colors when they entertain the Chicago Wolves in Cleveland on March 17. Unfortunately, while they've made the announcement on their website, they haven't offered us any pictures of the "shamrock-filled jersey," as they put it.

But, you see, the Monsters may have won St. Patrick's Day simply by doing one thing. They're painting the ice green that night. Yikes. Here's what their press release says:

The Monsters will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day all weekend long, next Friday and Saturday, March 16th and 17th! We're teaming up with The Ohio Lottery to bring you the luck o' the Irish in back-to-back games at The Q.

The team will be wearing one-of-a-kind, shamrock-filled green jerseys both nights (which will be auctioned off at the games). Plus the ice will be painted green as well!

Along with the game against the Wolves, the Monsters will also trot out the St. Patrick's Day jerseys the night before against the Milwaukee Admirals.

Sadly, there's no clever transition to be had here...

AHL: St. John's IceCaps

The AHL's St. John's IceCaps will also sport green threads in honor of St. Patrick's Day. They're the only Canadian team on this list (that I know of).

The IceCaps are in their first season playing in Newfoundland after the Manitoba Moose were uprooted by the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg. The IceCaps are currently affiliated with the Jets.

The team has been holding drawings to determine which lucky fans will win these green jerseys right off the players' backs after the March 17 game against the Manchester Monarchs. Here's a look at that sweater.

I think that's all I've got for you today. If I've overlooked any St. Patrick's Day jerseys, let me know and I'll make the appropriate updates to this post. 

Wednesday
Jun012011

Loose Threads: Red and the Rest

Obviously the big news yesterday was the announcement of the sale and intent to relocate the Atlanta Thrashers. But that's not all that went down yesterday. Here's a quick run-through.

Panthers Bringing Back the Red

Panthers 1993-2007 / from Getty ImagesAccording to Miami Herald beat writer George Richards, the Florida Panthers are revisiting the past with new red sweaters starting in the 2011-12 season.

I highly recommend reading his latest On Frozen Pond blog post. But if you can't be bothered, here's some of what he wrote on the subject.

The Panthers are shifting their marketing focus this summer to coincide with their return to their orginal look.

A restyled red jersey will become Florida's primary jersey this season — the first time the red will be the team's primary home jersey since the early 2000s when it was relegated to alternate thirds and then dropped during the Reebok restyle in 2007. I was told Alan Cohen hated the red look, and for parts of his ownership, the team only wore that color on weekends.

I have seen mockups with the new circle logo — which debuted on the Tampa Bay JetBlue thirds — on them although I have been told it will be the leaping cat on the front. Sans stick.

No word on whether the JetBlues will return as the alternate for a third season. Florida may keep the home blue jerseys it has worn since the 2007-08 season as the alternate. When I find out about the thirds, will let you know.

He says the secondary logo — sun with crossed hockey stick and palm tree — will remain on the new sweater, which will be unveiled at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on June 24. The new draftees will be the first to sport the new design.

So look for lots more red from the Panthers this summer. Personally, I think this is great. Always like the Panthers better in red than navy.

Moves Around the Minors

The rest of this post can be done with bullet points and, since I'm up against the clock, that's a good thing.

  • The Telegram in St. John's is reporting that a deal has been reached to relocate the AHL's now homeless Manitoba Moose to Newfoundland for the start of the 2011-12 season. With the acquisition of the Thrashers, True North was obviously eager to unload the minor league franchise that filled Winnipeg's NHL gap for the last 15 years. No word yet on what the team's new name will be. full story
  • Chicago Express jerseys unveiled / ExpressThe ECHL's newest expansion team, the Chicago Express is set to begin play in the 2011-12 season. So yesterday, they unveiled the jerseys they'll wear. Unsurprisingly, they're based on the Blackhawks' uniform design in the Express' blue and silver color scheme. They grey third jersey steps outside the box a little bit, but overall an unimpressive set. full story
  • In other ECHL news, the league approved the membership of the Colorado Eagles, formerly of the Central Hockey League. With the folding of the Victoria Salmon Kings and the addition of the Express and Eagles, the ECHL will begin play with 20 teams this fall. full story
  • Joining Victoria and Atlanta in losing hockey teams this summer is Lewiston, Maine. The QMJHL's Lewiston MAINEiacs have folded and the league announced that in 2012, it will expand to Sherbrooke, Quebec — which is actually where the MAINEiacs relocated from in 2003. Ouch. full story

That's all I have for now. Be sure to follow @icethetics on Twitter or keep an eye on the feed in the sidebar for the latest updates. I intend to have more updates on these stories throughout the summer or, at the very least, full coverage in the 2011 Icethetics Season Preview in September.

Tuesday
Sep212010

Chicago Express Joins ECHL

Chicago Express logos unveiledToday, the ECHL's newest franchise unveiled its name, colors and logos. The Chicago Express will begin play in Hoffman Estates, Ill. in the 2011-12 season.

The name was selected from the "Name Your Hockey Team" contest held by the organization this summer. The reason was explained in an article on the team's website:

Chicago is the most important railroad center in North America. More lines of track radiate in more directions from Chicago than from any other city. Chicago has long been the most important interchange point for freight traffic between the nation’s major railroads and it is the hub of Amtrak. Chicago ranks second (next to New York City) in terms of volume of commuter rail passengers each day.

I like the colors. The logos are about what we've come to expect from minor league hockey teams. They get the job done. But here's what I noticed: The designer used the Icethetics font for the word EXPRESS in the primary logo! It's called Continuum. I think that's kind of funny.

Anyway, there's an article about the name contest winner on their website as well. His name is Marc Johnson and he is stoked, as you would imagine. No jerseys have been unveiled yet and the team won't actually begin play until next season.

And by the way, based on the reaction to yesterday's renaming of the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack to Connecticut Whale — this is going to be fun. Comment away.