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VIDEO: BCHL teams sport retro jerseys

BC Hockey League unveils retro jerseys for all teams (save for expansion Cranbrook) during 60th anniversary season

The BC Hockey League unveiled its retro jersey designs in celebration of the league’s 60th anniversary season.

The designs range from retro-inspired versions of current uniforms to thowbacks to a previous look.

Teams will wear their retro jerseys during their retro theme nights, but will also wear them at other points during the season as an alternate uniform.

The Vernon Vipers took the opportunity to salute the city’s long history of the sport. The Vernon jerseys will be white and blue and feature the word Vernon in script on the front in a triangle-shaped pennant.

“We talked with a few of the older players from the senior and junior days, and the consensus was to not necessarily salute only the Vernon Canadians and Vernon Blades, but the lengthy history in town, and make sure the colours were blue and white,” said Vipers’ assistant general manager Todd Miller.

The Vernon Canadians, also known as the “Blues,” won the 1956 Allan Cup Canadian senior hockey championship at the old Vernon Civic Arena and lost the 1959 Allan Cup final. When the B.C. Junior Hockey League formed, one of the original franchises was the Vernon Canadians, a name that lasted only one year before becoming the Vernon Blades.

The team has also been known in the BCJHL as the Essos, Vikings, Canadians (again), Lakers and now Vipers.

The Vipers will host the Penticton Vees for its Retro Theme game on Saturday, Nov. 27. The Vees are paying homage to the old Penticton senior team that played in the 1950s against the Canadians, winning the Allan Cup and World Hockey Championship in 1955.

The Vees’ Retro Theme home game will be against the Vipers on Friday, Dec. 17.

READ MORE: Silverbacks to play Vernon in BCHL Retro Theme game in Salmon Arm

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Roger Knox

About the Author: Roger Knox

I am a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. I started my career in radio and have spent the last 21 years working with Black Press Media.
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