Update: Tracking the AHL's Pacific Division domino effect
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The relocation of five AHL teams to California next season is causing a domino effect that's impacting the ECHL. Get caught up on what's changing.
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Five AHL teams relocating to California cities in 2015
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Five AHL teams owned by NHL franchises will relocate to California to create a new Pacific Division in the 2015-16 season.
Read MoreA swatch of pink in every hockey rink
/It's basically become a yearly tradition at this point. Minor league hockey teams shed the shackles of social norms by persuading large, lumbering men to sport hot pink hockey jerseys for a game or two. But it's the good cause at the heart of it all that keeps everybody coming back for more every season.
Pink in the Rink Night. It's a simple event celebrated at hockey arenas around the continent in a bid to both increase awareness of breast cancer and raise money for related charities. These silly jerseys are normally auctioned off after the game with the proceeds going to a group like Susan G. Komen or a hospital researching a cure for the disease.
Of course this year is no different. Let's take a look at some of the pink sweaters that have been put to use in the AHL to this point in 2014.
Rockford IceHogs
The IceHogs get us started with their pink-accented jerseys — really nothing more than their thirds with the red swapped for pink.
They wore them Jan. 25 for a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals.
Utica Comets
On Jan. 31, one of the AHL's newest members — the Comets — took to the ice in our favorite hue. They knocked out the Syracuse Crunch 3-1.
The club auctioned off their jerseys at the end of the game to benefit the Breast Care Center at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare.
Even the officials got it on the pink action. The black and pink striped referee outfits are a sight to see. Click through the slideshow above to catch a glimpse.
By the way, if those few photos aren't enough for you, be sure to check out the full gallery on the team's Facebook page. There are some great shots in there.
Worcester Sharks
On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Sharks entered the mix with these numbers — and a rink full of pink ice. They defeated the Providence Bruins 3-2.
It was the third year in a row the Sharks have held such an event. This one benefited The Cup Crusaders, a team that participates in the annual Komen Foundation's Breast Cancer 3-Day walk in Massachusetts.
Hartford Wolf Pack
Just across the state line, the newly re-christened Wolf Pack also held Pink in the Rink on the same night. They beat the Albany Devils 4-3 in a shootout.
The pink-infused jerseys were auctioned off after the game to benefit Komen Connecticut. And here's a fun tidbit from the Pack's website.
The Pink in the Rink theme will include concessions and the Comcast Coliseum Club as well. The concession stands will be offering pink popcorn, pink cotton candy and pink lemonade, and the Coliseum Club menu will feature cherry plank salmon with pink sauce, pink grapefruit salad and pink lobster bisque.
That's a lot of pink around the building.
By the way, thanks to Wolf Pack fan and regular concept contributor Scott Markiewicz for all the great photos he shared via Twitter.
Rochester Americans
All the focus on breast cancer is great, but for the most part, it directly affects women. The Amerks didn't want the guys feeling left out, so they had Men's Health Night on Jan. 31.
Instead of pink, the team wore powder blue-accented sweaters and beat the Rockford IceHogs 4-1. It seems like the good karma generated by raising money for cancer charities is directly translating to wins on the ice. Not sure how that works, but it's awesome.
By the way, if you want to get your hands on one of these powder blue Americans jerseys, they'll be up for auction through the weekend. The proceeds are going to ZeroCancer.org and The Lipson Cancer Center.
More pink nights to come in 2014
There are still four more AHL teams that I know planning to wear pink this season. Here's a quick list.
- February 15: Iowa Wild and Hamilton Bulldogs
- March 1: Springfield Falcons
- March 21: Lake Erie Monsters
Pink jersey fever has also spread to other minor leagues. I'll do a little research and put together a post like this for the ECHL next week. (And I'll try to remember to come back and update this one later in the season.)
Update
Manchester Monarchs
February 9: Almost missed one. The Monarchs skated out last night wearing a pink version of their black third jersey.
Unfortunately, things didn't turn out as well for them as it did for other teams sporting the pink recently. The Monarchs fell 3-2 to the Providence Bruins.
If you'd like to see more of these jerseys in action, there's video here.
Minor Jersey Mayhem
/This is a big weekend for specialty jerseys around the minor leagues. Let's start in the AHL!
Game photo from Rockford IceHogs (via Flickr)
Rockford celebrates Los IceHogs Dos!
How can we not start here? The Rockford IceHogs donned these numbers for Los IceHogs Dos this weekend. If you missed "Uno," check out this post from last year. They are really something.
I talked with IceHogs' communications director Mike Peck who said the team partnered with the Latino Leadership Coalition in Rockford for the event. In fact, they inspired the jersey design.
"They really wanted to highlight the strong musical aspect of the Hispanic/Latino culture," said Peck.
The IceHogs wore this uniform on Friday night and auctioned them off afterward with "proceeds being donated to La Voz Latina, an organization dedicated to serving the Rockford region’s Hispanic community through education, workshops and youth programming," according to the press release.
The great thing about these specialty jersey nights around the minors is that these teams are always raising money for charity. So no matter how silly the team may look on the ice, at least it's for a good cause.
Photo from Worcester Sharks (via Facebook)
Worcester raises autism awareness
The Worcester Sharks wore these jerseys on Friday and Saturday to benefit The Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts. The puzzle piece pattern is the standard symbol of autism awareness.
Photos from Texas Stars
Texas dons player-designed stars and stripes
This Veterans Day weekend was marked by a number of patriotic or military-themed jerseys. The Texas Stars called it Stars & Stripes Military Appreciation Weekend and wore these jerseys on Friday and Saturday. The subsequent jersey auction is benefiting the Texas Stars Foundation.
The cool part of this uniform is who designed it. Remember Taylor Vause? He played for the Swift Current Broncos a couple seasons and ago and was responsible for designing some fo the team's specialty jerseys. He's continued that hobby since graduating to the pros.
Vause spent most of last season with the Stars but is currently with the club's ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads. So unfortunately, while he designed this jersey, he didn't get to wear it this weekend.
Images from Springfield Falcons and Hershey Bears
Falcons and Bears go patriotic for Veterans Day
The Springfield Falcons and Hershey Bears honored military veterans in different ways this weekend. The Falcons wore the Hometown Heroes Night jerseys above while being shut out 3-0 on Friday. (This is the only photo I've been able to find of the jersey so far.)
The Bears, on the other hand, are going the camouflage route with tonight's set. I have yet to see any photos of the actual jersey, but the rendering above was posted to their Facebook page on Thursday.
Bakersfield can't stop making odd jerseys
And finally, we wrap up in the ECHL where this is happening tonight.
Image from Bakersfield Condors (via Facebook)
Had to make it huge so you could truly appreciate it. The Bakersfield Condors are always trying to go outside by the box with specialty jerseys. And I really don't know what to say about this one. Perhaps I could address the irony of the sponsor being Dignity Health. Because that's just what the players won't have after they wear these for three hours.
If you can't get enough, the Condors have a photo gallery on Pinterest.
I know there are some I've missed so I'll have a follow-up to this post likely later this evening. In the meantime, what do you think of these? Any favorites in the bunch?
Update on 2013-11-11 03:32 by Chris
As promised, I wanted to follow up with a few more recent minor league event jerseys.
Photos from Toledo Walleye (via Facebook)
ECHL clubs compete on epic Star Wars Night
Last weekend, the ECHL's Toledo Walleye and Michigan K-Wings coordinated a one-of-a-kind Star Wars Night. This is a schtick that's been done many times before. In fact, just the week before, the Orlando Solar Bears hosted one of their own!
What made this one interesting was how both teams came together for this event in Toledo, Ohio. I have to be honest. I've never been a Star Wars fan, so I don't really understand all these teams doing this or even the references involved. But I can understand it's a big part of popular culture and many fans get a good kick out of it.
I read that the Walleye are dressed as X-Wing pilots (in orange) while the K-Wings are dressed up a Darth Vader. Of course as names go, wouldn't it be more appropriate to have the K-Wings dress up as X-Wing pilots? But then the game was in Toledo, so the Walleye can't be the baddies.
Anyway, it was visually a rather interesting game. No denying that.
Cancer awareness night jerseys also popular
If you're a team trying to raise money for charity, the best you can probably do is cancer research. The Providence Bruins and Portland Pirates recently held their Pink in the Rink Nights — an event that a vast number of hockey teams have started to latch onto in recent years.
But taking the crown this weekend were the San Antonio Rampage who focused on cancer affecting children. Because there's no bigger bummer on which to end a blog post. But you know what, when the jerseys are sold, it's money those researchers wouldn't have otherwise had. So good on these teams for their efforts!
Around the AHL, Again
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Last week I said the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins would have their own post later in the week. Well that didn't happen.
The team unveiled three new specialty jerseys over a week ago, each of which pays tribute to a group of public servants who put their lives on the line every day. Photos were posted on Penguins' Twitter account.
I've also collected them here for your convenience.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins unveil firefighter, police and military jerseys
The firefighter-themed sweater (left) will be worn on Fri., Dec. 3 when the Pens host the Binghamton Senators, who will be wearing their police-themed uniforms that night.
The Penguins also have a police jersey (center) which will be worn once in Binghamton, presumably when the B-Sens will wear a firefighter sweater of their own. There will be one other home date for the Pens' police jersey, but no details have been announced yet.
Finally, the military jersey (right) will be worn on Sat., Feb. 26 when the Baby Pens host the Norfolk Admirals. I'll try to keep an eye on these dates so as to share game action photos at some point.
Thanks to Shawn S. for the tip on these.
Sharks debut third jerseyThe Worcester Sharks have debuted their new 5th anniversary alternate jersey.
The new teal sweater is based on their NHL affiliate, the San Jose Sharks, with the anniversary logo on the chest. The uniform hit the ice for the first time on Oct. 23 when the Sharks hosted the Providence Bruins.
Something interesting I've noticed about Worcester's uniforms: While many AHL teams use their NHL affiliate's primary mark as a shoulder patch, the Sharks use shield version which isn't featured on any of San Jose sweaters — only the pants.
Not sure if these jerseys will be used beyond this season. Though if they are, the crest will need replacing. Maybe they can use that shield logo?
Texas Stars' pink jerseyThe Texas Stars held their Pink in the Rink Night on Saturday.
They sported a special sweater to mark the event and unfortunately, this particular pink jersey has to be among the worst we've ever seen.
Maybe it's the shade of pink. Or the ribbon standing in for an A. Hard to be sure. And for the record, the Stars (6-3-0) lost 3-1 to the Houston Aeros (3-5-1) while wearing it. Coincidence?
If you're still interested in looking at this jersey, the Stars promoted the event with this rendering on their website for a time. My thanks to Brian G. for the tip.
Milwaukee Admirals' pink jerseyIn stark contrast, the Milwaukee Admirals have put forth one of the best pink jerseys in recent memory.
Their Pink in the Rink Night was held Oct. 23 and they were actually successful, playing to a 3-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat. As is typical, the team is auctioning off the pink sweaters with proceeds benefiting a breast cancer research/awareness organization.
What's weird is that they have one autographed by Felicity Huffman that you can bid on. How random. (Ok, not really if you can read, but whatever.)
But back to what I was saying before. Brilliant job with this design. Sure it's pink, but it doesn't make a spectacle of itself or go out of its way to look feminine. It's still an ice hockey sweater, it just happens to be two-tone pink. Get over it.
Although maybe it's the pirate skull coloring my judgment. Also, it uses the same numbering style as the Tampa Bay Lightning did in the early days. Hm.
Thank you Kent S. for the tip.
That's really all I can muster for now. There should be another post coming soon dealing with more CHL third jerseys. Keep an eye out.