ECHL Theme Night

The ECHL saw some fun in their ranks last night as the Cincinnati Cyclones and the Bakersfield Condors decided to dress up and put on a show for their fans. The Cincinnati Cyclones dressed up as R2-D2 for their Star Wars theme night while the Condors wore the puffy shirts as part of their Seinfeld theme night! These games are always great, and the auctions for these uniforms help a number of great charities, so I can't fault the ECHL for allowing these nights to happen. Let's take a look at the final products!

Wow. Simply wow. The Cyclones look pretty darn good in their R2-D2 uniforms! I didn't think that the pattern would translate well onto a jersey when on the ice, but the Cyclones proved me wrong!

The 4-3-0-1 Cyclones had their work cut out for them as they battled the 9-2-0-0 Fort Wayne Komets, and things were an uphill battle from the start as the Komets jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal just 20 seconds into the game. However, rallies from 3-1 and 4-3 pushed this game into overtime as the Cyclones made it interesting and never said die. Overtime, though, solved nothing, so it was off to the skills competition for a final.

It was former Cyclone Paul Crowder notching a goal in the fifth round of the shootout to give the Fort Wayne Komets the 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones. 6844 fans went home a little disappointed in the outcome, but they couldn't possible be unhappy with the way the Cyclones played or looked on this night!

The other themed gam that happened last night had the 8-5-0-1 Bakersfield Condors hosting the 9-3-1-0 Idaho Steelheads on their Seinfeld night! As you can see to the right, the puffy shirt jerseys were worn by the Condors, and their translation on the ice leaves one wanting a little more. Don't get me wrong when I say that this is a great idea, but game action makes it almost impossible to decipher that this is a puffy shirt as opposed to just some white jersey.

Here's the video demonstrate what I was saying.

It almost looks like a subdued camouflage jersey in some of those highlights. The Condors took the lead in the second period on a backhand goal by David Puddy (Sebastien Sylvestre), but the Steelheads would get that back a minute later to send the teams into the intermission tied at 1-1. The third period would solve nothing, so it was off to overtime! Just 1:36 into the extra frame, Idaho ended it with a goal. Like in Cincinnati, the fans went home a little disappointed, but their team looked pretty good as long as you had a seat closer to the glass!

While I liked the idea of the puffy shirt, it just didn't translate as well in reality as it did in theory. The Star Wars jerseys seen over the years and the superhero jerseys seem to translate much better. Maybe there is something to having some color on uniforms to make them look a little larger than life?

In any case, both theme-jerseyed teams lost in extra time tonight. Here's hoping the next theme jerseys can pick up a win!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!