I had commented earlier about the new sweater design that the NHL is going to "preview" at the All-Star game. Well, three of the 4 teams at the College Winter Classic came in with the new sweaters. My initial response, when I saw Maine, was "What are those, practice sweaters?"

They are not. These are the real thing. Bret Tyler models for us...



The are shorter in the front, longer in the back. This kind of gives the guys a half-dressed look and drives me crazy because I want to go out and tuck tails into pants.



There are mesh panels on the sides under the arms for ventilation, and also one along the back. This is - I believe - the main reason they are getting rid of horizontal stripes on the unis -- You're dealing with four pieces that have to be sewed together instead of just two, the front piece, the two side pieces and the back piece. The back piece is also broken up into three pieces with the mess insert. So lining up the horizontal stripes that are usually sublimated into the material becomes a nightmare.

Hence the vertical stripes, which, you'll notice do not go all the way up, since they run into the mess underarm panels.



They do however lay closer to the body than the old style sweaters which do give them a more fitted look. Please note that the goal sweaters are largely unchanged except for the inclusion of the underarm panels.

Western Michigan, in the black, was the only team wearing the current style sweaters, so you get a bit of a comparison.

The Nike Swoosh is over the team logo on the front of the sweater.

(Thank you Mr. Tyler, you may go now.)



I don't believe that it gave Maine any sort of advantage they didn't have over Western Michigan. Having a goalie that could stand up on his skates would have benefited the Broncos more. I'm also not sure how well these will go over with the fans, who, I think, are more interested in flash than function.

On the whole I was not all that favorably impressed. Your mileage may vary.