The Force Guides IceMen to Victory

Evansville IceMen wore Star Wars jersey on Dec. 1

The ECHL's Evansville IceMen used The Force over the weekend to defeat the Kalamazoo Wings. It was Star Wars Night at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. on Saturday. And the IceMen were decked out in special sweaters to mark the occasion.

Game photo by Steinhaus Fotographie

The IceMen hold these Star Wars Nights each season, but don't always have a special uniform like they did over the weekend. You can find more photos from this game via Steinhaus Fotographie. (Too bad about the excessive watermark even if it is understandable.)

Thanks to Icethetics reader Jason Jones for the tip.

Walleye Prep Scout Night Jersey

ECHL team set to wear, then auction special sweaters on Jan. 5

Toledo Walleye "Scout Night" jerseyThe ECHL's Toledo Walleye will sport special edition jerseys on their Scout Experience Night on Jan. 5 when they host the Orlando Solar Bears at the Huntington Center.

The sweater design (right) was unveiled via Twitter on Nov. 14. As you can see, it looks a bit like a Boy Scout uniform — for better or worse. But in my opinion, this is really not a brilliant idea for a hockey jersey. Maybe it's the khaki.

On their website, the Walleye note that this will be their first time suiting up in special uniforms to honor their scout guests. But they have held these Scout Experience nights in the past.

The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off after the game, according to the team. Proceeds from this live auction will benefit the Boy Scouts of America — an organization that's been on the controversial side these days. But we'll leave that conversation for another time.

Let's stick to talking about the jersey. What do you think? And more importantly, if you'll be in Toledo, Ohio on Jan. 5, would you consider buying one? (Though I think I already know the answer to that question.)

Update on Saturday · Dec 1 · 2012 | 1:25 AM PST by Chris

Several of you had questions about the insignia featured on the Walleye's Scout Night jersey. Are they real badges? Are the just made to look real? So I decided to do a little research to offer you some answers. And most of what I found is rather interesting!

Right sleeve features Boy Scouts of America logo

This is the most obvious mark to use on this jersey. Boy Scouts of America is the main scouting organization in the United States. And the Walleye's Scout Night will presumably be made up mostly of this group. (Not to discount the Girl Scouts, but it's probably a fair bet the boys are more into hockey.)

British Cub scout badges displayed on right shoulder

Here's where the jersey gets interesting — and begins to take on an international flavor. It turns out the four badges found on the upper right shoulder of the jersey are not badges any American kid would be wearing — boy or girl. These badges represent Challenge Awards given to young scouts called Cubs in the United Kingdom.

Cubs are kids between the ages of 8 and 10, according to the Scouts' official website. (In the U.K. there's no gender separation like there is in the U.S.) Now I'm curious just how many British scouts plan to be in attendance at this game in Toledo, Ohio in January.

International Scouting symbolism used on left shoulder

To keep the global theme of this jersey going, the left shoulder features some marks inspired by International Scouting insignia. But the thing is, they're not accurate and they hide a hilarious easter egg. The round purple logo is supposed to be the World Crest, which all scouts may wear on their uniforms. It symbolizes recognition of the worldwide Scouting Movement.

However the rectangular green logo is an enigma. My research has turned up nothing about the origins of this design. And for what it's worth, CJ_FTW writes in the comments, "as someone who's a scouter ... I have no idea what that green flag patch is supposed to be." So I'm wondering if the designer of this jersey just made it up.

All right, now onto what makes the purple logo inaccurate and what makes both logos a treat for hardcore hockey logo geeks. Check this out...

On the left is what the World Crest patch is supposed to look like. On the right is the fleur-de-lis worn for many years by the Quebec Nordiques. Now take a closer look at the fleur-de-lis featured on this Walleye jersey. How about that! (And go back and look at the actual photo of the jersey if you need more proof.)

I think whoever designed this jersey wants to see the Nordiques return to the NHL. Either that or it's an enormous coincidence (so big, in fact, that I don't believe it). Finding that alone made this extra research totally worth the time and effort.

It's also worth noting that the photo above is the only one the Walleye have offered so far. We can't tell what's on the left sleeve or on top of the shoulders. (It appears there might be another patch on the right shoulder.) I'll keep an eye out for when these jerseys are used in January and maybe I'll be able to expand this post.

St. Charles Chill Unveil Logos

St. Charles Chill primary logo, designed by Alex Flick

New logos the product of a design contest

The Central Hockey League will have a new team a year from now. Its name — St. Charles Chill — was announced at a press conference back on Aug. 1. Now the team has a set of logos, which were the winning entries in a design contest that opened last month.

The new marks were unveiled via the Chill's official Facebook page. The press release announced Alex Flick of aFLICKdesign as the winning logo designer.

St. Charles Chill secondary logo

Logo designer gets tickets for life

According to the release, Flick will never miss a Chill game because he couldn't get tickets.

As the winner of the contest, Mr. Flick will receive four (4) tickets for life for the St. Charles Chill. He will also be a part of the opening day festivities for the Chill in October.

When asked how it felt to win Mr. Flick responded, “I feel very lucky to not only hear about the contest, but to also know that my work got people excited. I love hockey, and I've been interested in the design of hockey uniforms since I started learning graphic design, so to see my work be the identity of a hockey team/organization is exciting. I can't wait to see it in person.”

St. Charles Chill alternate logo (shoulder patch)

Chill received 50 entries in design contest

From the release:

Mr. Flick’s design was chosen out of over 50 entries that were submitted to the Chill.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of responses and the quality of work that we received,” states President/General Manager Nicole Kupaks. “It was a hard decision, but we feel Mr. Flick’s design represents the image of our team well and will be embraced by the community.”

Designer also submitted original entry to Icethetics

Last month, I mentioned the Chill's design contest here on the blog. I also said that if any designers wanted to send their entries my way as well I'd be happy to post them here. Only one designer took me up on that. It was Alex Flick. Here's his original submission.

Original logo submissions for St. Charles Chill by Alex Flick

Only one other Chill logo submission came my way and that was after the winning logos were unveiled on Tuesday. Look for it in an upcoming post on the Concepts page.

St. Charles Chill were previously Laredo Bucks

Want a brief history of the team? The St. Charles Chill are not an expansion team. On May 1, 2012, the CHL's Laredo Bucks announced the team was shutting down immediately. The club was subsequently sold over the summer and the new owner opted to relocate to St. Charles, Missouri.

The Bucks were founded in 2002 and played 10 seasons in Laredo, Texas. They had NHL affiliation agreements with the Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes during their tenure.

All that's left now is to get your reaction. What do you think of the Chill's new logos?

Gotham City Crusaders Defend Tulsa

For tonight only, the Central Hockey League's Tulsa Oilers will be rebranded. The team will assume the role of the Dark Knight on Black Friday as they become the Gotham City Crusaders. And it actually goes beyond just dressing up like Batman.

From Tulsa Oilers (Facebook page)Of course any good theme night in the minor leagues will have a fun specialty jersey to accompany it. The Oilers certainly have that covered with these bad boys (right and above).

On Black Friday, November 23rd, the Tulsa Oilers will be transformed into the Gotham City Crusaders. Dressed as heroes, this band of Crusaders will extinguish the oncoming Bloomington Blaze and rescue Gotham from disaster.

The Crusaders are asking all Gotham citizens to wear black to the BOK Center. Fans dressed as Batman or other characters will be eligible for special prizes and all kids 12 and under are admitted free with a special voucher which can be printed off on www.tulsaoilers.com or the Tulsa Oilers facebook page.

But if seeing them isn't enough and you want one of these sweaters for yourself, there's good news. The team is auctioning off the game-worn threads following the game. You can place your bids on the team's website.

By the way, I might've had more to say on the subject, but Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski has us fully covered. No way I could beat his write-up. He suggests other ways the Oilers could expand on this particular theme night. Definitely worth a read!

By the way, thanks to everyone who sent emails and tweets about this jersey. Always helps!

Road Warriors' New Third Mimics Rangers

Photo from Greenville Road Warriors (Facebook page)

The ECHL's Greenville Road Warriors unveiled their new third jersey earlier this month and it's practically identical to that of their NHL affiliate, the New York Rangers. The sweater debuted Sun., Nov. 4 to a 4-3 Warriors win over the Florida Everblades.

Here's what the team is saying about its new threads:

“We wanted these jerseys to reflect the strong partnership we’ve built with our NHL affiliate the New York Rangers. We’d like to thank the Rangers organization for their help and support in the development of these new jerseys,” said Chris Lewis, Road Warriors Executive Vice President and General Manager.

“The Rangers’ jersey has become iconic in the hockey world. It evokes a rich history of one of the NHL’s storied franchises and we are proud to celebrate our affiliation by wearing these jerseys this season.”

The alternate uniform will be used for each of Greenville's Sunday home games this season.

The Rangers and Road Warriors have had an affiliation agreement since the club's relocation to Greenville in 2010. (Until then, they had been the Johnstown Chiefs, a founding member of the ECHL in 1988.)

What do you think? Do you like when minor league teams emulate their NHL partners? Or is it like giving the players the chance to wear the big league's uniforms before they've earned it?