Arena Logos: The AHL East

These posts on arena logos have been getting pretty decent feedback from you guys. So I figured I'd go ahead with a look at rinks from around the American Hockey League. We'll start with the Eastern Conference today and focus on the other half tomorrow.

We begin with the 34-year-old Glens Falls Civic Center, the temporary home of the Adirondack Phantoms — and former home of the Adirondack Red Wings for two decades. When the Spectrum was closed in 2009, the Philadelphia Phantoms were forced to find a new place to play. They headed up to Glens Falls, N.Y. but the plan was always to return to Pennsylvania. In time for the 2014-15 season, the team will depart Glens Falls for a new building in Allentown, Penn. where they'll be renamed the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. has hosted pro hockey since it opened in 1990 and is currently home to the Albany Devils. The fun started with the Albany Choppers of the IHL at a time when the building was named Knickerbocker Arena. But the IHL club was terrible and got run out of town after one season by a new nearby AHL team, the Capital District Islanders.

In 1993, the Islanders got a new owner who moved them into the Choppers' old building. They were renamed the Albany River Rats and endured two renamings of their building over the years — Pepsi Arena in 1997, and ultimately, Times Union Center in 2007. The River Rats moved to North Carolina and became the Charlotte Checkers in 2010. At the same time, the Lowell Devils left Massachusetts and ensured that Albany would continue to host AHL hockey.

The Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena doesn't have a terribly exciting name or logo, but that's par for the course when you're talking about 40-year-old buildings owned by municipalities. The Binghamton Senators haved played here since 2002 but they're far from the first. Hockey came to Broome County by way of the NAHL's Broome Dusters (clever) when the arena opened in 1973.

Four years later, they were replaced by the AHL when the Rhode Island Reds arrived in 1977 and became the Binghamton Dusters. The team was renamed Whalers in 1980 and Rangers in 1990. (Think you can probably track the NHL affiliation changes there.) In 1997 — after a 20-year run — the team left for Connecticut where they became the Hartford Wolf Pack.

During their five years without the AHL, Binghamton turned to the United Hockey League. Enter the B.C. Icemen (that's B.C. for Broome County, not British Columbia, of course). But they went away when the Prince Edward Island Senators franchise was re-established in Binghamton after a six-year hiatus.

Here's a modern-looking AHL arena logo. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers were the founding tenant of The Arena at Harbor Yard in 2001. Webster Bank bought the naming rights in 2011.

Remember the Binghamton Dusters from earlier? They're the Connecticut Whale now and host opponents at XL Center in Hartford, Conn. — a building that once housed NHL and WHA hockey. The Wolf Pack, as they were known then, arrived in 1997 to fill the void left by the Hartford Whalers, who moved to North Carolina.

The arena opened in 1975 as the home of the WHA's New England Whalers but the roof collapsed in 1978 and closed for a couple of years. By the time the building reopened, it was for NHL hockey. The naming rights were purchased in 2007 by XL Group, a financial services company. But that contract runs out later this year.

The Giant Center houses one of the AHL's oldest franchises, the Hershey Bears. It opened in 2002 in Hershey, Penn. and never looked back. Prior the move, the Bears played at Hersheypark Arena which is approaching its 80th birthday. But the team still uses that rink to practice.

Manchester, N.H. is where you'll find Verizon Wireless Arena and its sole tenant, the Manchester Monarchs. The team was founded in 2001 just in time to open the new building.

This one is a little tricky. The Norfolk Admirals technically play at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. — a building that opened in 1971. But the arena is part of a larger complex of venues, now known as Seven Venues — which uses the above logo. And I haven't been able to track down a current version of the Scope logo, if one even exists. Could definitely use a hand if there are any locals that can help out. The Ads have played at Scope since their inception in 1989.

The Cumberland County Civic Center is located in Portland, Maine. It opened in 1977 and has housed AHL hockey for all but one year since. In 1993, the CCCC welcomed the Portland Pirates to town from Baltimore, Md. but before that, the original tenant was the Maine Mariners. They departed for Rhode Island in 1992 where they currently exist as the Providence Bruins. 

Hey, speaking of the Providence Bruins! The Bruins call the Dunkin' Donuts Center home, but only since their arrival in 1992. The building has a much longer history. It was simply the Providence Civic Center when it opened in 1972 as the second home of the Providence Reds (who would later become the Connecticut Whale, see above). That team left for Binghamton in 1977, which left a 15-year gap without pro hockey in Rhode Island's capital city.

The newest member of the AHL arena party is the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland — but it's not their first rodeo. After a three-year absence, it returned to the hockey fray in 2011 with the arrival of the Manitoba Moose, who were booted from their home by the new Winnipeg Jets. Once in Newfoundland, they became the St. John's IceCaps.

The Mile One Centre opened in 2001 as the new home of the St. John's Maple Leafs, who arrived from Newmarket, Ont. in 1991. They went back to that province in 2005 and became the Toronto Marlies. From there, the arena was home to the QMJHL's St. John's Fog Devils, who left in 2008 for Montreal and eventually became the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in 2011.

Opened in 1972, the Springfield Civic Center has always been a place for hockey. And like Hartford's XL Center, it has the distinction of hosting NHL action for a time. Remember how XL's roof collapsed in 1978? Springfield, Mass. is where the Whalers played during renovations — and made their transition from WHA to NHL.

The Springfield Kings became the first resident of this arena in 1972 after leaving the aging Eastern States Coliseum, or The Big E. They were originally the Indians when founded in 1926 and switched back to that moniker in 1974. But two decades later, the team was sold and moved to Worcester, Mass. where they became the IceCats. Today, that team is the Peoria Rivermen.

In 1994, the AHL expanded to fill the gap left by the Indians' departure. Enter the Springfield Falcons we now know. And in 2005, the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company bought the naming rights to the building, today called MassMutual Center.

All right. Worst. Arena logo. Ever. Certainly the most corporate one I've ever seen. Syracuse, N.Y.'s War Memorial Arena is part of a group of venues collectively known as The Oncenter. Each has an indistinctive logo like this with varying icons on the left. Not impressed. But the Syracuse Crunch call it home.

The building itself has a long history, having opened way back in 1951. It may actually be the oldest AHL building still in use today. It's housed five different hockey teams over the years, but the Crunch arrived in 1994 after 14 years without the sport. Prior to that, the franchise played two seasons in Ontario as the Hamilton Canucks.

The Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (in Wilkes-Barre, Penn.) opened in 1999 and re-established a dormant AHL franchise that had been affiliated with the Quebec Nordiques for 15 years. Last known as the Cornwall Aces in 1996, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins began play when the building was called the Northeastern Pennsylvania Civic Arena and Convention Center.

A year after it opened, the naming rights were purchased by First Union. (Oh no, bank flashbacks!) And as we learned a couple weeks ago, First Union became Wachovia in 2003. The contract on Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza ended in 2010 when Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs took up the flag.

We finish today with the home of the Worcester Sharks — and yet another building named for a financial institution, the DCU Center. Digital Federal Credit Union paid for naming rights in 2004, two years before the Cleveland Barons relocated to Massachusetts. The building opened in 1982 as the Centrum in Worcester (and later the awful Worcester's Centrum Centre in 1997) but it hasn't always had hockey. The AHL was housed from 1994 to 2005 after the Springfield Indians moved and became the Worcester IceCats.

That's all for today. We'll get to the west tomorrow. (Ha, see what I did there?)

S.F. Bulls Plan Sharks Homage

San Francisco Bulls to sport old San Jose sweaters

For all you lovers of the original Pacific Teal, the ECHL's San Francisco Bulls are about to make your weekend. The classic San Jose Sharks sweater returns to the Cow Palace ice after 20 years this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. 

The Bulls, who are affiliated with the Sharks, will be wearing their parent club's very first teal jersey — only without the awesome shark on the front. In their press release, the Bulls point out that this will be their first time wearing something other than their orange and white jerseys.

If you can get over the ugly crest, the jerseys will be auctioned off during this weekend's games. The Bulls host the Bakersfield Condors for both games on Sat., Feb. 9 and Sun., Feb. 10. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for photos to share.

Jersey Brief: AHL Classic Edition

Late January was a busy time for some "classic" American Hockey League uniforms. We'll start with the 2013 AHL Outdoor Classic which took place on Sun., Jan. 20 at HersheyPark in Hershey, Penn. between the Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. (Does anyone else have a sudden urge for chocolate?)

Photos by Matthew O'Haren / The Sentinel

By the way, it turns out that jersey the Pens photographed for Instagram last October was the one they'd be wearing to the big outdoor game a few months later. Now we know. It's surprisingly lackluster for the Penguins, but it works for an outdoor hockey game, which sort of demands that old-timey look and feel.

Photos by Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth

The Penguins ended up winning the game in an OT thriller on a goal from Paul Thompson.

By the way, for more fantastic photos of the Bears' uniforms from the game, head on over to Sweetest Hockey on Earth. Lots of great shots by Kyle Mace. I particularly like the felt appliqué crests on these. Adds even more to the throwback feel of an event like this. Penn Live has more game photos.

Speaking of throwbacks, before the Outdoor Classic, a bunch of alumni from the Bears and Penguins got together for a game of their own — wearing, of course, sweaters of olde.

Photos by JustSports Photography

JustSports Photography has posted shots from the game on their Facebook page. (Note there were three separate links there as they posted their many photos in three separate albums.)

That wasn't the only classic AHL game in the month of January.

Just over a week later, on Mon., Jan. 28, the best players still left in the AHL (after the NHL nabbed a bunch of them) descended on Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. for the 2013 AHL All-Star Classic. After 15 years of pitting an all-Canadian AHL team against players born in other parts of the world, the league switched up their All-Star format in 2010 — to east versus west.

Photos from AHL via Facebook

Since it's not obvious from the sweaters, I'll tell you that the team wearing blue was the Western Conference All-Stars. The Eastern Conference wore white. And both teams feel like a bizarre mix between the old Montreal Canadiens' and Washington Capitals' uniforms for some reason.

For those of you that can't get enough of these "fauxback" jerseys, the AHL is the league to watch right now. And if you want one of your very own, they're up for auction on ebay.

Photo from AHL via Facebook

The West ended up winning the game 7-6. (Maybe because East players started shooting on their own goalie?) But what's interesting about the teams' jerseys is that they were worn during warms-up prior to last year's All-Star Classic. Why is that interesting? Check out this year's warm-up jerseys.

Photos from AHL via Facebook

I'm not saying they AHL All-Stars will wear black and gold in 2014, but these are unique. I doubt the league would stray from their red, white and blue. I'm also not sure I like how the Boston Bruins' primary and secondary logos have been redesigned for the purpose of this event. Seems like they could've been a little more original.

In case you're interested, the Journal Star reported last month that the AHL is considering Peoria to host the 2014 All-Star Classic. (Concept logos, anyone?)

And finally, this...

On first glance, from above, it looks like this could be the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators — or the Boston Bruins in their 2009 Winter Classic threads. But no, it's Providence and Worcester both wearing colored sweaters! Proof that you don't need a white jersey to have a hockey game.

Get with it, NHL. If they can do it, certainly you can too.

More on the Millionaires Tribute

We received some surprising news last Friday when the Vancouver Canucks revealed how they'll be honoring the old Vancouver Millionaires on their uniforms this season. Since this is actual jersey news in a season where we weren't expecting any, you can bet this will be a frequent topic of discussion.

Vancouver Canucks official website

On Friday, the Canucks' alternate jersey made its season debut with a new addition — the blue Vancouver Millionaires patch on the chest. It only improves upon a jersey that's already outfitted with some pretty awesome logos. (That Johnny Canuck V mark needs to become the primary logo. What are they waiting for?)

By the way, I'm not ignoring that Hockey Talks logo. All seven Canadian teams will have a version that they'll wear as a helmet decal at various points during the month of February. I'll have a post on that later this week.

Vancouver Canucks via Twitter

But back to the Millionaires. If you're looking to deck yourself out in that classic logo, clearly gear is not in short supply. This photo was posted to the Canucks Team Store Twitter account on Friday. They're even selling the five-year-old third jersey with a new patch. Pardon the pun, but millionaires indeed.

Of course we can't leave out the new sweater that's at the center of all this exciting news. As modeled by Ryan Kesler in photos released by the team last week, this is the Vancouver Millionaires jersey the team will wear at least once during this shortened season. All indications point to March 16 when the Red Wings are in town.

Photos by Severin Samulski via Fort Nucks

Believe it or not, the Red Wings as an opponent for this game isn't as random as it seems. This requires a bit of a history lesson to understand why.

In 1912 came the formation of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), of which the Millionaires were a founding member along with the New Westminster Royals and Victoria Senators. In 1913, Senators became the Victoria Aristocrats. (Honestly, after four lockouts in 20 years, can you imagine any NHL team today being named the Millionaires or Aristocrats and still having fans? Yeah, the naming thing gets worse...)

Before the 1916-17 season, the Aristocrats left Victoria for Spokane, Wash. where they were renamed the Canaries. (Told ya.) But no one in eastern Washington cared to attend games and the club folded before the season even ended.

Victoria, B.C. returned to the PCHA scene in 1918 with a brand new team — also called the Aristocrats. (Think Winnipeg Jets, except with fewer relocations.) In 1922, the club was renamed once again to the Victoria Cougars. That might actually be a name you recognize if you're at all familiar with Stanley Cup history. (Also, the Millionaires became the Maroons.)

Two years later in 1924, the Seattle Metropolitans folded, leaving just two teams in the PCHA. The Cougars and Maroons moved to the Western Canada Hockey League where the Cougars promptly won their first and only Stanley Cup championship against the Montreal Canadiens!

The Cougars played one more season in the newly renamed Western Hockey League where this time they lost the Stanley Cup Final. It also spelled the end of the team as the WHL was unable to compete financially with the NHL. The teams were disbanded and players' rights were sold to NHL clubs.

Guess who bought the rights to the Victoria Cougars in 1926. Yep, a group from Detroit, who named their new team the Detroit Cougars. The Cougars became the Falcons in 1930. And ultimately, in 1932, they became the Detroit Red Wings we know today.

So you see, the Canucks are really trying to stir up a century-old rivalry. Can't wait to see it. Now if only someone could convince them to wear their 2009 Winter Classic jerseys — which were in fact Cougars jerseys!

Then we'd have ourselves a hockey game.

Design Firm Reveals Stars Concepts

Torch Creative via dribbble

Torch Creative releases concept logos designed for Dallas

What will the Dallas Stars look like next fall? That's still a big question mark. However, the design firm that's worked closely with the team in recent years has designed and released a pair of logo concepts via social media this past week.

Torch Creative is responsible for the logos above. After tweeting them out on Wednesday morning, the company posted more images — including the Stars' 20th anniversary logo — to their dribbble account the following day. As a reminder, here's that anniversary mark.

It's not clear from their tweets if Dallas-based Torch is working on the Stars' forthcoming rebranding or if those logos were just for fun. Have to think they put together a proposal at least.

In any case, Torch called the above logo concepts "the favorites." They don't specify whether it's their own favorites or the Stars'. Though presumably, if they were the team's favorites, they would've used them and we wouldn't be seeing them like this.

Torch Creative has done a lot of design work for the NHL, including the 2008 Winter Classic, the 2009 and 2011 All-Star Games, the Stanley Cup Playoffs logos, and much more. I recommend a trip to Torch's website to peruse some of their past work. It's very impressive.

What do you think of these logos? Could you see the Stars going with something like that next fall?

Update on Tuesday · Feb 5 · 2013 | 12:32 AM PST by Chris

Torch Creative via Twitter

After getting a lot of feedback on their concept logos for the Dallas Stars, Torch Creative made some revisions and and posted the updated graphics to Twitter on Monday afternoon.