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

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 Chicago Cubs 1980s uniform inspired the Michigan Frozen Confines uniform that the Wolverines will wear Friday at Wrigley Field#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/UICMOD1C8k

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) January 2, 2025

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.

Michigan Hockey Chicago Cubs#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/Pu4WMmThtO

— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) January 1, 2025

__________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.

__________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.