2003-04 Hartford Wolf Pack Bryce Lampman Jersey

July by the Numbers travels east for jersey #26.

When the Hartford Whalers of the NHL departed for North Carolina to become the Carolina Hurricanes, the professional hockey void in Hartford was filled by the relocation of the Binghamton Rangers of the AHL for he 1997-98 season.

The Rangers were renamed the Hartford Wolf Pack and remained the Rangers top farm club. During their 13 seasons in Hartford, the Wolf Pack have never had a losing record and qualified for the playoffs 12 consecutive seasons. Five times the club has topped 100 points in the standings, including a Wolf Pack best 110 in 2007-08.

In 1999-00, Hartford finished with the best record in the AHL with 107 points and were led in scoring by Derek Armstrong, whose 82 points were good for third overall in league scoring.

Hartford opened the Calder Cup playoffs with a first round 3-2 defeat of Springfield prior to knocking out Worcester 4-1. They then eliminated Providence 3-2 in overtime of Game 7 to advance to the Calder Cup Finals. In the finals, they met the Rochester Americans, who they defeated 4 games to 2 to capture their only Calder Cup championship with Armstrong being named as the playoff MVP.

The Wolf Pack have retired one number in their history, the #12 of Ken Gernander.

Gernander first played for the franchise in Binghamton in 1994-95 and came to Hartford with the franchise when it relocated. In all, he played for the franchise for 11 seasons and was team captain for ten of them. He was named the club's head coach in 2007.

Today's featured jersey is a 2003-04 Hartford Wolf Pack Bryce Lampman jersey. While many minor league teams have their own unique jersey sets, completely separate from their parent club, others adopt the look of their NHL big brothers, sometimes with very poor results aesthetically.

The Wolf Pack however, have a history of some of the most striking and attractive jerseys in all of minor league hockey, generally taking a basic jersey from their parent club the New York Rangers, and then apply a mix and match program of their own logo or wordmarks done in the classic Rangers dropshadowed font.

This particular example finds it's basis in the Rangers dark blue "Lady Liberty" alternate jersey. They then added the name "Hartford" in the Rangers traditional, diagonal style and finish it off with the name and number customization in the style of the Rangers jerseys to create an instantly familiar-looking, yet brand new style to great affect.

If anything, the Wolf Pack could be accused of overdoing it, as it seems like they have had more jerseys than nearly any team in recent memory. Documenting them all would be a research project that would certainly be a challenging undertaking, as nearly every basic jersey style seems to have been used with a rotation of "Hartford", "Wolf Pack" and the team's wolf head logo at some point!

Today's video segment is a look back at some of the early years of the Hartford Wolf Pack in anticipation of the 2002 playoffs.

This next video is their opening video from the 2009-10 season.

Hitting the Hay

Hitting the hay is an expression for going to sleep. Even when a far greater percentage of English-speaking society lived on a farm, humans did not actually sleep on hay itself; hay is made of straw, and straw prickles. Many domesticated animals, however, can sleep on hay just fine. More importantly, hay stuffed in sacks was often used as mattresses in the United States at the start of the 20th century (circa 1900). Thus, hitting the hay became an idiom for laying down on one's bed and going to sleep. Ex.: "I'm going to hit the hay right after making this last blog post..." This means, I will go to sleep after making this last blog post.

Introducing Environment Idioms!

I'm going to move on to idioms about the weather, geography, and in general, the environment. Food idioms, both those used on this blog and many that have not, will be gathered in an upcoming eBook that I will call Food for Thought - Expressing Ourselves Through Food . Most of the preparation work is complete. It is not fully ready yet, and I have not decided on a price, but it will not be a free eBook - I will be selling it for a small, fair price. I have to put food on the table, too :) - Jeremiah Bourque

And yes, putting food on the table is itself an expression. It means earning enough money to fulfill normal, everyday life needs.

Digging Deep

Figuratively speaking, "digging" is searching, even if it has nothing to do with physical soil. "Digging deep" means to spend a great deal of effort searching for something. Ex.: "I had to dig deep to find the answer to question #5 on the exam. It was a tough one!" The speaker had to explore his or her own mind deeply to find the answer. 

2007-08 Flint Generals Darren McCarty Jersey

July by the Numbers returns to Michigan once again for jersey #25.

When one thinks of the minor leagues, the mental image is generally that of a young hopeful hoping to make it to the NHL for the first time. There are however, other reasons for players to find themselves on minor league rosters. Such was the case of then three time Stanley Cup champion Darren McCarty.

McCarty began his NHL career in 1993 with the Detroit Red Wings and was a vital part of the powerful Red Wings lineup for the next 11 seasons, which included Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998 and 2002. While not a flashy goal scorer, his contributions were his toughness, tenacity and team first approach, best recalled by his attack on Claude Lemeiux in retribution for Lemieux's savage hit on teammate Kris Draper.

McCarty did not play in the 2004-05 season of the NHL lockout when many players found jobs in European leagues or North American minor leagues. Following the lockout, a new salary cap system was instituted in the NHL and the Red Wings chose to buy out McCarty's contract as a result of the new financial structure in the post-lockout NHL.

McCarty then signed with the Calgary Flames as a free agent for 2005-06 and played in 67 games, scoring 13 points and registering 117 penalty minutes. McCarty went through some personal issues at the time and in 2006-07 he appeared in just 32 games for the Flames without registering a single point.

At the start of the 2007-08 season, he was without a team. A meeting with Draper in November started his return to hockey when Draper encouraged him to get back in shape and arranged for him to get a tryout with the Flint Generals of the International Hockey League, a team in which Draper is a part owner.

To clarify, this version of the IHL is not the one that existed from 1495 to 2001, but a new league founded in 1991 as the Colonial Hockey League with teams in Michigan and Ontario. As the league expanded eastward, it was renamed the United Hockey League in 1997 before resurrecting the International Hockey League name in 2007, as the original IHL had a strong presence in the Great Lakes area.

This league however was not at the same level as being one step below the NHL, and is considered the fourth rung on the ladder below the NHL, AHL and ECHL.

Nor was this version of the Flint Generals the same franchise which existed from 1969 to 1985 in the original IHL and won the Turner Cup in 1984. That club relocated to Saginaw, Michigan in 1985 and changed their name to the Saginaw Hawks in 1987 before folding in 1989.

McCarty then joined the Generals by signing a contract on December 31, 2007 and played in 11 games, scoring six points and adding 30 penalty minutes.

A little over a month later McCarty was signed by the Red Wings top minor league affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, and immediately impressed with a hat trick plus an assist in his first game for the Griffins.

After 13 games with Grand Rapids, McCarty was signed by the Detroit Red Wings and was called up by Detroit on March 7, 2008 in time to play three regular season games prior to the playoffs. The top-seeded Red Wings defeated the Nashville Predators 4 games to 2, swept the Colorado Avalanche in 4 and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals by eliminating the Dallas Stars 4-2. They then captured the fourth Stanley Cup of McCarty's career by downing the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games to complete McCarty's comeback from being out of hockey six months earlier.

McCarty played one more season, splitting time between the Red Wings and the Griffins (while recovering from an injury and subsequent surgery) before ending his season and career back with Detroit to finish the season following the Griffins elimination from the playoffs.

The new version of the Flint Generals that McCarty began his comeback with came into being in 1993 and took the name of the previous club based on a vote of the fans. The team won the Colonial Cup in 1996 and again in 2000 before folding in 2010.

Even the IHL has ceased to exist, as the remaining five teams are set to join the Central Hockey League for the 2010-11 season as part of a merger between the leagues which will be known as the CHL.

Today's featured jersey is a 2007-08 Flint Generals Darren McCarty jersey worn during the start of McCarty's comeback attempt after starting the season without a job. The Generals wore an attractive jersey in the original Generals blue and gold colors in keeping with the dignity associated with the Generals name, unlike many minor league teams who have gaudy jerseys to go with their cartoonish logos and often ridiculous names, especially in the lower minors.

Today's video section begins with a look at McCarty's first game with the Generals and the postgame press conference.

Here is McCarty's comeback story as told by the CBC.

2006-07 Alaska Aces Jim Dahl Jersey

July by the Numbers racks up the frequent flyer miles as we head cross-continent to Alaska for jersey #24.

The East Coast Hockey League was formed in 1988 and is widely considered the third rung on the professional hockey ladder below the NHL and the AHL, with many of it's teams having affiliations with NHL and their AHL farm teams.

The league had humble beginnings with just five teams, it underwent a fairly blistering period of expansion, more than doubling to 11 teams in it's third season, adding four more in 1991 and gaining four more in 1993, finally quadrupling it's original size in 1995-96 with 21 clubs.

It continued to add clubs at a nearly unabated pace, netting two more in 1996, 1997 and 1998 plus one more in 1999. It lost three teams in 2000 and responded by adding four total the following season! It again contracted by two and reacted once again by adding four in 2003 when it accepted ten clubs primarily from the defunct West Coast Hockey League but lost six teams in the southeast to reach 31 clubs - six times it's original size in 16 seasons and a now vastly increased footprint across North America.

Since reaching it's high of 31 clubs, the recent economic downturn has taken it's toll on the ECHL, as it began to shed teams, losing three total in 2004, three more in 2007, two in 2008 and three more in 2009 to drop to a 15 year low.

It's also not as simple as two or three clubs folding in a given year either, as the unstable league has seen many clubs leave each season, offset by a number of new arrivals. In 2008-09 for example, five clubs left the league while two new ones joined for a net of minus three. Even in an apparent run of "stability" when the league stayed at 25 clubs for two consecutive seasons, 2005-06 saw two leave and two join and 2006-07 had another three join only to be balanced out by three who left! Since 2004, 24 clubs have left the league while 13 have joined.

Many colorful team names have been a part of the ECHL, such as the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, the Greenville Grrrowl, the Lexington Men O' War, the Louisiana IceGators, the Louisville River Frogs, the Mobile Mysticks, the Pee Dee Pride and who could forget the Macon Whoopee?

Through all the franchise comings and goings, one team remained, the Johnstown Chiefs, who sadly announced in February of 2010 that they would be relocating to Greenville, South Carolina after a run of 22 seasons, a virtual lifetime in the lower minors.

While there have obviously been many franchises that have folded outright or sought greener pastures in other places through relocation, three former ECHL clubs have moved up to the AHL, seeking a greater challenge. The Hampton Roads Admirals joined he ECHL in 1989 and won three championships (1991, 1992 and 1998) before joining the AHL and changing their name to the Norfolk Admirals.

The Peoria Rivermen entered the ECHL in 1996 and played until 2005 before their owners bought the Worcester IceCats of the AHL and moved them to Peoria and renamed them the Rivermen for the 2005-06 season.

In a similar maneuver, the owner of the Charlotte Checkers purchased the Albany River Rats of the AHL and will move them to Charlotte for the 2010-11 season while maintaining the Checkers identity.

The winner of the ECHL playoffs receives the Kelly Cup and to date 15 teams have won the ECHL championship with the Hampton Roads Admirals and the South Carolina Stingrays having the most championships with three each.

The Anchorage Aces were an amateur national championship club formed in 1989 and turned professional in 1995 as a member of the WCHL. They then moved to the ECHL in 2003 with the demise of the WCHL and were then renamed the Alaska Aces, which necessitated a new logo and new uniforms. Since becoming a member of the ECHL, the Aces have made the playoffs every season and made the finals twice, losing in 2009 and winning the championship in 2006.

To date, former Aces of note who have gone on to play in the NHL are Wade Brookbank and D. J. King, both of whom have over 100 games of NHL experience on their resume. The best known former Ace is Alaska native Scott Gomez, who returned to Alaska to play for the Aces during the NHL lockout of 2004-05 and led the league in scoring on his way to being named league MVP.

Gomez signs with the Aces

Today's featured jersey is a 2006-07 Alaska Aces Jim Dahl jersey. It's a very nicely executed jersey with unique arm and waist striping that ties in with their really nice logo, especially considering some of the wild creations sometimes seen in the lower minors. While the number font is not unique to the Aces, the speed flashes on the upper left corner also relate nicely to the flashes on the waist and arm stripes making for a very cohesive package.

This jersey also sports several sponsorship patches, two on the back and one in the traditional right chest location often found in the minors, which is balanced by the braggadocios 2006 Kelly Cup Champions patch on the upper left chest which reminds the rest of the league of the Aces reign over them.

Overall a very professional effort.

In today's video segment, the Aces win the 2006 Kelly Cup. And there was much rejoicing.

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I'm headed to Vegas for the weekend, see you on Monday!Me as a showgirl: