(Albuquerque, NM) Thursday, May 7, 2020—The votes are in! Your New Mexico Ice Wolves® are excited to announce the team’s jersey was chosen as the best by NAHL fans in the North American Hockey League’s first ever Tournament of Jerseys. The tournament began last month with jerseys from all 26 NAHL team competing first in divisional matchups. The NM Ice Wolves were voted the South Division champion to then face and defeat the Midwest Division champion Kenai River Brown Bears. The other 2019-20 NAHL expansion team, the Maine Nordiques won the East Division playoff before defeating the Midwest Division champ, Bismarck Bobcats to face the NM Ice Wolves in the final. Twitter voting ended this morning with the NM Ice Wolves being crowned NAHL Jersey Champion with 58% of league wide votes choosing the NM Ice Wolves’ away jersey as the winner.
“We’re honored to have our jersey chosen by voters and grateful to the tremendous efforts put forth by the NAHL to celebrate its teams in a year when playoffs were cancelled,” said Stan Hubbard owner of the NM Ice Wolves. “The Tournament of Jerseys Championship was also a fun distraction for all of the families on lockdown and we want to thank everyone who voted including our amazing fans, our community and everyone in the hockey world and beyond who supported us all season and in this fun online tournament. We look forward to celebrating with our fans and community at the appropriate time and the entire organization is committed to an even more successful season that will start this fall.”
The team’s jerseys feature the NM Ice Wolves logo and colors that reflect the team’s home in the Land of Enchantment with official state colors as well as the icy turquoise eyes that share the color with the state stone. The Zia symbol is quietly reflected in the eyes and highlighted along the snout as well as in a subtle way in the background of the fabric. The iconic Sandia Mountains are given a nod with an outline from the north, which is where the traditional hockey world looks at us from, in the transition from red to yellow across the Ice Wolves face as well as on the lower jaw where glistening stars and the moon show off New Mexico’s big, endless and almost always clear skies. Finally, the nose itself pays homage to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta which in modern New Mexico has become our state’s calling card to much of the world.
New Mexico Ice Wolves jerseys and more are available in the team’s online shop at ChillysProShop.com for shipment or curbside pickup and will be available at Chilly’s Pro Shop inside the Outpost Ice Arena when it is allowed to reopen to the public. The team also recently announced the availability of washable, non-medical face masks to help people stay safe and slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus while showing their support for the NM Ice Wolves. The masks are made by K1 Sportswear, the North American Hockey League’s (NAHL) official uniform partner and are made of breathable fabric layers. The specially designed masks are available in red or white as a reflection of the team’s uniforms. Masks are also available in the team’s online shop and will be available at Chilly’s Pro Shop inside the Outpost Ice Arena when it is allowed to reopen to the public.