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Michigan Hockey Unveils Special Uniforms for Outdoor Game vs. Ohio State

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Now that the NHL’s Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks is over, college hockey takes the stage outdoor rink for their “Big Ten Hockey Series.” Four games will be played at the Friendly Confines today and tomorrow.

Today’s games feature Ohio State vs. Michigan, at 5:00 pm (ET), followed at 8:30 pm by Penn State vs. Notre Dame, to be followed on Saturday with Wisconsin’s women’s team taking on Ohio State at 5:30 pm (ET), and the UW men’s team playing Michigan State at 9:00 pm (ET).

ICYMI, here are the special game uniforms for Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, and both Wisconsin teams.

Considering the venue, it’s probably not surprising that most of the schools playing will be sporting “baseball-inspired” uniforms. The Michigan Wolverines will also be sporting a uniform with a nod to America’s pastime. Specifically, the Wolverines will be wearing an outfit influenced by the “Chicago Cubs 1980s uniform.”

The team didn’t unveil any still shots, but they did produce a hype video which is below. I’ve taken some screengrabs from there to show off the details of the uniform.

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UM will be wearing a maize-colored sweater, with a blue block M on the upper left chest, mimicking where the Cubs “C” logo is located on their blue 1980s jersey. Collar is white, with blue trim, and the sleeves will have two thin stripes, in white over blue. Breezers are solid blue, with a maize block M on the front right side of the pants. Player NOB and number font are blue with white outlines, which themselves seek to replicate the look of the Cubs’ 1980s jerseys.

The lower leg stylings are what caught my eye. Although the graphic posted on TwitterX shows the team wearing maize socks with blue “openings,” the model shown in the video has those colors reversed. The effect, of course, is to emulate the ribbon stirrups which were de rigueur back in the 1980s.

The remainder of the uniform is rather plain. Michigan has a “Sailor Wolverine” logo on the left sleeve, while the right sleeve contains a TV number.

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As with all the special uniforms for these outdoor games at Wrigley, I’ll need to see them on the ice and in action to render a full opinion, but in theory I love this approach. Aside from Paul and Comrade Marshall, there may be no one more in love with the stirrup than I. However, just as how individual players style their stirrups, execution is crucial. From what I’m seeing, unfortunately, the faux-stirrups look more like “two-in-ones” that plagued baseball at the time than an actual stirrup. Of course, that may be intentional: if you searched for Cubs players who starred for the team back in the day, that’s the way the players wore their hosiery. So, I’m willing to give them a pass, and I love the concept (if not the execution).

As for the rest of the uniform, if mimicking a pullover/sansabelt look is one’s jam, then these UM hockey uniforms probably work just fine. Personally, I prefer hockey sweaters to have a large crest centered on the jersey, so the Wolverines’ special sweaters don’t quite fit that bill. But I realize their goal wasn’t to create a classic-looking jersey so much as to try to replicate, to the extent possible, a baseball uniform template onto a hockey uniform.

And boy, do I hate that collar. Is it just me, or does it look like a regular wool sweater worn atop a collared white buttonfront dress shirt with a navy colored tie? Like, seriously, do you get this vibe?

With UM in maize and Ohio State in anthracite, the game will be color-vs-color. I’m not sure the two schools’ hockey rivalry is up there with that of their football teams, but I’m sure it’s up there.

What do you think of UM’s uniform for the outdoor game? Do you think it’s kinda gimmicky, or fun for a special one-off? What do you think of the “stirrup” look?

Fire away down in the comments below.

 
  
 
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Comments (13)

    UM looks good. They got the font on the back number right as it matches the Cubs number font.

    Waiting for Michigan State to release their jerseys.

    Y’know what? I’m in on these. A little garish, and the collar is AWFUL, but the commitment (nearly) across the board to baseball themed uniforms, has got me in on these. This is especially bolstered by the fact that they didn’t do a script “Wolverines” logo like the rest. If only we could’ve gotten one team in pinstripes and another in tequila sunrises! Notre Dame it’s not too late to hop on the bandwagon! (it is)

    Maybe I’m missing something, but it looks like the socks with the stirrups design in the video matches the graphic on TwitterX.

    I like the jersey, but don’t think the socks work.

    I’ve noticed that as of this season, the Nike swoosh has been missing from UM, OSU, and Penn State’s sweaters. Does anyone know why? Is Nike moving away from college hockey?

    Could make for an interesting article if someone can get to the bottom of it @Staff

    It’s weird that the jersey seems to be using the Adidas collar construction, given that Michigan has been a Nike/Jumpman school for the last decade. Of course, I hate the Adidas collar. Speaking of brands, though, I can’t help but notice the absence of a maker’s mark on this jersey, which suits me just fine.

    happy birthday Phil! thank you for all you’ve done for the site over the years, and especially this past year as the big man in charge

    The Adidas collar is an unforgivable eyesore. Does anybody else miss the simple, mitered V-neck as much as I do?

    Funny you mention the look of the collar as similar to a dress shirt and tie with a 1950s woolen sweater pulled over the top. That’s exactly what I thought they were, and I went online to search, expecting to be right, lol. Buuut, nope.

    The collar does not mimic the Chicago Cubs jersey at all, that I can tell.

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