Crunch See Stars

There is a lot of hockey history in Syracuse, New York, and it's nice to see some leagues and teams bringing back their histories by honouring teams of the past. Obviously, the men in the image to the left are not dressed for hockey, but the team name written across their chests should certainly resonate with a few hockey historians. The Syracuse Crunch are one of the six teams who will take part in throwback games during the opening week of the AHL 2010-11 season, and they have gone way back in their past to bring forth some incredible jerseys.

As seen earlier this summer, the Springfield Falcons were the first to unveil their new duds for the throwback weekend as they become the Indians for two games. Last weel, we got a look at the second team to show off their old jerseys as the Syracuse Crunch become the Syracuse Stars for two games.

From the article on the Crunch website, "[t]he jerseys are primarily red and blue with cream accents. The top third of the sweater is red with cream-colored stars patterned across the shoulder area. The middle third of the jersey features blue and cream horizontal piping with the word 'SYRACUSE' written in cream inside a blue stripe embedded directly above the word 'STARS' written in red inside a cream stripe in block letters. The bottom third of the jersey is primarily blue."

I'd say that description is pretty accurate in terms of the colour scheme. I love the stripes across the body and on the arms, but the stars on the upper chest remind me a lot of the New York Americans or an NHL All-Star jersey. In fact, this throwback looks a lot like the Americans' sweaters.

However, this jersey is similar to those worn by the 1936-37 Syracuse Stars when they captured the inuagural AHL Calder Cup. The red-cream-and-blue jerseys will be worn on October 8 and 9 when the Stars/Crunch battle the Lake Erie Monsters in a home-and-home series as part of the AHL's 75th Anniversary celebrations.

My thoughts? I like them enough to give them a passing grade, but I don't think I could handle seeing an AHL team dress like an all-star team all season long. I'm a huge fan of the stripes, as stated above, and I like the contrasts of the cream against the bold primary red-and-blue colours. Overall, a very good jersey!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!