You may recognize the jersey to the left as being one of the Florida Panthers "fashion jerseys" that Starter produced in the late-1990s when they held a handful of NHL merchandise rights. The Panthers never wore anything like this on the ice in their history, of course, but there were other like the red Buffalo Sabres goathead jersey, a very blue Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, and a light blue Colorado Avalanche jersey. There were more of these, but they felt somewhat like where the new Hometown Remix jerseys got their inspiration. What if, however, your favorite team came out wearing the colours of a local rival while those rivals wore your team's colours? It might be hard to stomach, but it's the "a rose by any other name" idea with a hockey twist!
The ECHL announced today that they're going to have four teams participate in an "Impossible Pair" set of games where the rivals will swap jersey colours to throw everyone for loop! As per their announcement, the Florida Everblades and Orlando Solar Bears will swap jersey colours for two games and the Indy Fire and Bloomington Bison will do the same! Make sure you cheer for the right team!
Bloomington and Indy will get things started on November 28 when the Fuel visit the Bisons. The red Bloomington jersey doesn't look all that out of place considering they've worn a red jersey before, but that baby blue Indy Fuel jersey seems all sorts of wrong. Both teams will auction off the jerseys in both games they play to help support charities in those cities, but I'm curious how many Indy Fuel fans will want a Bison-coloured Fuel jersey for their closet. The good news is that the second game goes a month later on December 26 in Fishers, Indiana where these two oddly-coloured teams will square off again! Good charities will benefit, so make sure you get your bids in!
The second two-game set features the panhandle rivalry as the Orlando Solar Bears will visit Estero, Florida for a battle with the Florida Everblades on December 26 with both teams wearing the jerseys to the left. The pink of the Solar Bears logo on the green Everblades jersey colour looks very odd, and I'm not sure I like the orange alligator on the front of the Everblades' jerseys. These are definitely unique and should be fun for both fanbases, and we'll see the second game take place in Orlando on January 11. I'm sure we'll see fans from both cities travel for these games thanks to proximity, and remember to get your bids in to help some very deserving charities!
For those wondering how this idea came about, "[t]he Impossible Pair jersey mash-up is the brainchild of PACT!, a non-partisan organization dedicated to shattering intolerance through gutsy stunts of radical goodness." PACT! has some big goals and they achieve those goals through a variety of means, but the goal in each of their actions is to bring people together, to erase hate, and, specifically in the "Impossible Pair" games, to help some great local charities in these four ECHL cities. That's where I hope ECHL fans chip in to help.
Nothing has been announced as to which local charities will be helped in each city, but the teams have a month to figure out where the money they raise in the jersey auctions go. I know money is tight for a lot of people right now as well, so, if you're planning on bidding on jerseys, please keep to a budget. I know it would be cool to have one of these jerseys, but not paying bills or buying less food and being hungry isn't a way to show your support. Be mindful of that.
We'll see these crazy colour swaps go live at the end of November, so grab tickets today for one of these games! Those two December 26 games would make great Christmas gifts for hockey fans, so that might be a fun day at the rink if you're looking for a unique gift! And if you have the means, help out a local charity by bidding on one of the jerseys. Most of all, have fun cheering for the right team in the wrong jersey on those four Impossible Pair nights this season!
I'm not one to ever post things to social media. I find the idea of living my life through the approval of others to be an absurd concept, and I certainly never want to be an influencer. Frankly, the idea of celebrating anything online seems vapid to me when those moments should be celebrated with people who have a vested interest in my life. In short, this article already makes me uncomfortable, but today marked the first time that UMFM got called up to the big show!
If you were listening to The Hockey Show on Thursday, you may have heard that Jason and I have been credentialed for the upcoming Heritage Classic game taking place in Winnipeg. The entire idea started out as a lark because we never, in a million years, thought the NHL would consider us as a media outlet like 680 CJOB or CBC Radio One 98.3FM, but the NHL processed our application for access and we were approved for credentials to NHL events moving forward!
Both Jason and I have been credentialed before - we both were in the pressbox for the PWHL Takeover Tour game in Winnipeg - so this isn't like we're getting our first seat on media row. It does mark the first time, however, that UMFM has been invited to an NHL event, and we plan on covering the events this weekend as closely as we did during the PWHL's event. Expect photos and write-ups from both of us!
Today, I went down to Princess Auto Stadium to pick up those credentials in order to be ready for the weekend. I thought the place would be busier, but I was literally the only person there to acquire said credentials. There could have been media inside with NHL executives where they were going over rink dimensions and having questions answered, but I arrived at the pressbox at Princess Auto Stadium and it looked like a ghost town. There were a handful of construction guys working inside the gate and they asked me if was there to work. I had to respectfully decline that work, but one of the guys joked that working on the Heritage Classic venue was the only way he could it in-person. After a few laughs, I left them working on their project, headed back to my car, and sat there for a few moments examining the credentials.
The little yellow square had caught my attention because it gave us access to the players pre-game and post-game! I'll be completely honest in saying that I will not be heading to either locker room at any point on the weekend despite having access because I want to talk about the Heritage Classic experience from a fan's perspective. Fans don't have that kind of unfettered access, so I won't be taking advantage of it either. It's a surreal feeling knowing I could go down and chat with players, but that's not what this blog nor the radio show does unless it's a full interview rather than some quotable press snippets.
In any case, getting the opportunity to cover the Heritage Classic will be a fun experience where Jason and I can go behind the scenes for a major NHL event. We saw how Winnipeg came out and supported the PWHL's Takeover Tour, and it's pretty clear that Winnipeg has been wanting another outdoor game after the Oilers and Jets met here in 2016 and the Oilers prevailed 3-0. The Montreal Canadiens aren't going to be a pushover of any kind with how they're playing, so it should be a great game that features two passionate fanbases!
We'll have more about this on The Hockey Show this week, so make sure you tune in to hear what Jason and I will be doing as the big game approaches on Sunday. We will be going to different parts of the events all weekend, so find out which of us will be where when it comes to the 2026 NHL Heritage Classic in Winnipeg this weekend!
There were a lot of firsts that happened tonight in Rio Rancho, New Mexico where the ECHL's New Mexico Goatheads took the ice in an ECHL regular season game for the first time. The Goatheads were hosting the Idaho Steelheads in their inaugural game, so there would be first saves, first penalties, first fights, and, hopefully, first goals scored by both teams. I watched the majority of this game with the camera positioned somewhere in the upper deck at the Rio Rancho Events Center, but we'd see history made on this night as the Goatheads took the ice!
We'll get a few easy historical moments out of the way as #88 Dakota Seaman recorded the first shot in Goatheads history 2:44 into the game. Idaho's Jaxon Fuder was turned away by #40 Isaiah Saville in the New Mexico net just 57 seconds in to record the first save in franchise history. #27 Lynden Breen was called for hooking at 4:54 of the first period as he was the first Goatheads player to visit the sin bin, and Idaho's #11 Angus MacDonell was the first person to light the lamp behind Saville at the 15:19 mark of the first period as MacDonell scored the first goal on the Goatheads. It was a busy opening frame.
Idaho would add a pair of goals in the second period to lead 3-0 after forty minutes, and there was some trepidation that the Goatheads may not solve Jake Barczewski on this night. However, we'd see the Goatheads make a push in the third period where this moment was captured and posted on the New Mexico Goatheads' Twitter account!
The very first Goatheads goal in the ECHL belongs to #18 Cameron Buhl who found room past Barczewski at 7:34 of the third period while on the power-play to cut the Idaho lead to 3-1 as #27 Lynden Breen and #12 Saige Weinstein collected the first primary and secondary assists, respectively, in franchise history! Idaho's Charlie Dodero was in the penalty box for the goal after being called for interference at 6:11. Clearly, Buhl's goal was a big moment in the franchise's history, but there was still hockey to be played as points were on the line as the Goatheads looked to rally for a win!
Unfortunately for the Goatheads and their fans, Idaho was in a stingy mood as they shut the door after that goal. Mason Nevers would score an empty-netter with eight seconds remaining, and the Steelheads downed the Goatheads by a 4-1 score in New Mexico's inaugural game. In watching this game, I wanted to see New Mexico put more pucks on net as they were outshot 35-25, but had multiple opportunities to send pucks to the net with players heading towards the crease. I'll let head coach Zack Stortini sort that out, though.
While the fans may have left disappointed in the result tonight, the Goatheads sold out tonight's inaugural game and there are a limited number of tickets available for tomorrow's rematch. No one should be celebrating this expansion as an unquestionable success just yet, but two sellouts against a division rival to start the season is a good way to impress the ECHL brass. Here's hoping the fans keep coming back!
Winning would certainly help, and the Goatheads will go into Saturday 0-1-0 after a spirited, but unsuccessful, first game. Can they bounce back and win the back-half of the two-game set against the Steelheads? We'll find out tomorrow when Idaho and New Mexico meet again at the Rio Rancho Events Center at 7pm MDT!
The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back with our two usual gunslingers as Sophie is already booked as she tries to take over the world. That leaves our two opinionated hosts to discuss a number of hockey topics from this past week, and they may even chat about something fun as well! What may that be, you ask? Well, you're going to have to find a seat, a radio or internet-connected device, and tune into The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason will look at what seems to be a "canary in the coalmine" situation when it comes to the Vegas Golden Knights' sellout streak ending. There are lots of reasons for it, but the comments on one blog along with comments collected by the author might surprise you when it comes to why Vegas saw a pile of empty seats last Thursday. Beyond that, our hosts will chat about a coaching being dismissed, the continued misuse of public funds to help billionaires, a significant drop in fans in one market, and something big happening in the Winnipeg market near the end of October! It's going to be a busy show with lots of chatter, so make sure you're ready for the discussion on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!
If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store.
If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason examine a harsh reality, a vacant job, misappropriation of funds, empty seats, a fun event, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
I don't normally spend a lot of time pouring over the transaction list in hockey, but I do keep an eye on the ECHL transactions during this time of year to see if any U SPORTS players have been added or released. One name on the list jumped out to me on October 10, and I decided to look into this person because I don't know many men named "Colleen" who play hockey. Might we be seeing the Stingrays with a female goalie?
Before we get into this, let's just remember that an EBUG in the ECHL is a contract that guarantees nothing more than a few days of working in practices. They are vitally important, though, because they fill in when goalies are moving between leagues or when a netminder gets injured. We saw how important the EBUG was to the Fort Wayne Komets back in 2002 as they earned a win with EBUG Joe Franke between the pipes! Clearly, EBUGs serve an important role.
With ECHL teams currently running through training camps and preseason games, EBUGs become important as teams wait for goalies to arrive from AHL clubs or release goalies who may not be ready for ECHL action. There have been a handful signed in the last week as teams sort out their rosters, and the South Carolina Stingrays appeared to need one on Saturday as they tapped into their local Charleston Youth Hockey Association where Colleen Jacoby was working as the association's goalie coach! The Muskegon, Michigan native last played competitive hockey in 2015-16 for the ACHA Division II University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, but she was on the ice this weekend stopping pucks in an ECHL crease as she broke out the pads and mask for the Stingrays! How cool is that?
It should be noted that Colleen Jacoby wasn't likely looking for an ECHL job as she currently works as an attorney at Tecklenburg, Jenkins & Jacoby. She keeps her skills sharp through coaching and playing adult hockey around Charleston, though, so it's not like the Stingrays were throwing an untrained, unprepared player in the crease. She's still a Red Wings fan in terms of her hockey love, and her goaltending numbers at both Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Minnesota-Duluth shows she knows how to stop pucks!
Jacoby was splitting goaltending duties over the weekend with Ben Kraws who played with the Idaho Steelheads last season, and it's expected that there will be a goaltender sent to them eventually by the Hershey Bears as they're currently carrying three goaltenders on their roster. Until they do, though, it seems that Colleen Jacoby will be wearing a Stingrays jersey! For how long is the big question.
South Carolina doesn't play a game until Friday when they travel to Jacksonville to meet the Icemen to open the 2026-27 ECHL season. On Saturday, October 17, they'll be back in Charleston for their home opener against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, and I'll be keeping my eye on the transactions records for the next few days to see if Colleen remains with the club. It's very likely that she'll be released before the team travels on Thursday, but any injury in Hershey or Washington may change those plans. Such is the nature of hockey.
You might be thinking that the Stingrays would be taking it easy on our lawyer-turned-pro-goalie, but it looks like Jacoby is holding her own in camp to the delight of her new teammates and coaches!
It's always awesome to see head coach Jesse Kallechy and the team's starting netminder and Jacoby's goaltending partner Ben Kraws excited about how she's been playing in camp, and that will only extend her stay with the Stingrays. Again, I'm not saying she'll be on the opening night roster or anything, but the fact that she can hang with ECHL shooters shows she has the talents to be in their camp.
I love stories like this and I'm glad that Jacoby's getting her chance to shine. She's a successful lawyer who clearly loves the game, but it seems she's living a dream this week as she's in a professional training camp with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. Even if she is released by the team, she showed she can do the job if needed. Perhaps there's some room on the Stingrays' payroll for an EBUG who is skilled enough to negotiate her own professional hockey contract?
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
***UPDATE: Colleen Jacoby was released as the EBUG with Hershey assigning Garin Bjorklund to South Carolina late on October 12. As a result, Jacoby will not be on the Stingray's official roster for this week's opening games in Jacksonville and against Greenville.***
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