Springfield of AHL to be known as Ice-O-Topes in honor of 'Simpsons'
Panthers minor league team celebrating cartoon's 30th anniversary with special name, logo
ByPat Pickens @Pat_Pickens / NHL.com Staff Writer
The Ice-O-Topes are headed to Springfield.
The Florida Panthers' Massachusetts-based American Hockey League affiliate will become the Ice-O-Topes and wear spectacular uniforms for one week to celebrate the 30th anniversary of "The Simpsons."
What if your favorite hometown hockey team was called the Springfield Ice-O-Topes? What if, on February 1st, the T-Birds become the Springfield Ice-O-Topes for one day only? Happy 30th Anniversary #TheSimpsons To learn more and purchase tickets 🎟️>> https://t.co/ybchXe1cbipic.twitter.com/99ldbQwTCm
The Thunderbirds will rebrand as the Ice-O-Topes from Jan. 25-Feb. 1 and sport the yellow, blue and pink threads for What-If? Night against Hartford on Feb. 1. The logo consists of the town's memorable isotope logo with a signature donut in the middle, and the jerseys even have isotope- and donut-striped jerseys. Springfield also had a Simpsonized version of its mascot Boomer and announced the decision with an exceptional intro.
Springfield, which flirted with calling the team the Ice-O-Topes before choosing Thunderbirds in 2016, made the announcement on the 30th anniversary of the first episode of "The Simpsons" on Tuesday. Al Jean, a writer and executive producer for the show since 1992, approved of the new look. It also apparently proved that Massachusetts has been the site of the show all these years. "It's really cool," Jean told NHL.com. "Now we finally know where Springfield is."
