1999-00 Cleveland Lumberjacks Evgeni Nabokov Jersey

Before we visit the future, we must visit the past in order to understand where we are coming from. The history of hockey in Cleveland can be traced back to the Cleveland Athletic Club, the first winners of the MacNaughton Cup in 1914.

The first professional team to call Cleveland home was the Cleveland Indians of the International Hockey League, who relocated from Kitchener, Ontario in 1929 where they were known as the Dutchmen. They were rather successful their first season, going 24-9-9 and won the league championship, defeating Buffalo 3 games to 1. That would be the high point for the Indians, as they would slip down the standings, finishing last or next to last their final three seasons before being renamed the Cleveland Falcons in 1934.

Moe Roberts of the Cleveland Indians hockey team

The Falcons would play two seasons in the IHL, which then merged with the Canadian American Hockey League to form the new International-American Hockey League for the 1936-37 season.

Tommy Cook of the Cleveland Falcons

After one more year as the Falcons, the franchise was again renamed, this time as the Cleveland Barons for the 1937-38 season. The Barons would win the Calder Cup as IAHL champions in 1939 before the league shortened it's name to simply the American Hockey League for the 1940-41 season.

The Barons would provide Cleveland with it's longest, most stable and successful period of hockey in the city's history, playing 36 seasons, during which time they won nine championships, those coming in 1939, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1957 and 1964 in front of standing room only crowds in what was the Golden Age of Cleveland hockey. So successful was the franchise, that at one point in the early 1950's ownership tried to apply for entrance into the National Hockey League and so confident their owner that the Barons issued a challenge to the NHL for the right to play for the Stanley Cup!

The Cleveland Barons accepting another of their nine Calder Cups

Eventually, ownership of the franchise passed to Nick Mileti, who became the owner of the Cleveland entry in the new World Hockey Association in 1972. The combination of the competition for the fans of Cleveland, who now had a major league team to support for the first time, and the dramatic increase in competition for players against not only the new WHA, but the expanding NHL, spelled the end for the Barons, as Mileti moved the team to Florida in the middle of the 1972-73 season.

Mileti's new WHA club, the Cleveland Crusaders, made a splash by luring goaltender Gerry Cheevers away from the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.

Gerry Cheevers

The team had a good first season, but moderate attendance for four seasons, combined with issues with their new arena located too far from the city and the impending arrival of the relocating California Golden Seals of the NHL, sent the Crusaders out of town after just four seasons.

The 1974-75 Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA

The club that drove the Crusaders out of town revived the Cleveland Barons name, but did not come anywhere near duplicating the original Barons success, as they not only brought all the competitive issues the Golden Seals suffered on the ice with them from California, but compounded those by moving into the problematic Richfield Coliseum. The doomed Barons only lasted two troubled seasons, finishing with a 47-87-26 record overall. After the 1977-78 season, the Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars, who played all their games in Minnesota, leaving Cleveland without pro hockey for the next 14 seasons.

Goaltender Gilles Meloche anchored the NHL's Cleveland Barons

Cleveland would be without professional hockey until the 1992-93 season when the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the IHL relocated to Ohio and were the top affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Lumberjacks sharp jerseys based on the Penguins jerseys of the early 1990's

The Lumberjacks had five winning seasons in their nine years of existence, including four seasons of 90 points or more, but managed only one deep playoff run. That came in 1997, when they reached the third round of the Turner Cup playoffs. At the end of the 2000-01 season, the IHL, which had been around since 1945, collapsed due to a combination of expanding too quickly and not nearly enough teams having affiliations with NHL franchises. While 6 of the 11 IHL franchises were accepted into the AHL, Cleveland was not among those, and the Lumberjacks run came to an end despite their affiliation with the Minnesota Wild.

The trendy late 90's teal and black look of the Lumberjacks, complete with Beaver logo and buzzsaw waist stripe

Cleveland was not left without hockey though, as the San Jose Sharks of the NHL purchased their AHL affiliate, the Kentucky Thoroughblades, and relocated them to Cleveland, where they revived the Cleveland Barons name once again.

While the Lumberjacks had averaged between 8,200 and 9,000 fans their first six seasons, their attendance had dropped to 4,200 in their final season, which proved to be the equal of the new Barons best season, due in part to the team's struggles on the ice, as they had only one winning season in five years, winning less than 30 games three times and only qualifying for the playoffs once, that being a first round exit.

The Cleveland Sharks logo

When the Sharks relocated the franchise to Worcester, Massachusetts for the 2006-07 season, Cleveland was left without a team for just one season before the inactive Utah Grizzlies AHL franchise was purchased and moved to Cleveland. The new franchise was named the Lake Erie Monsters where they remain today as affiliates of fellow Ohio residents, the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. Unlike several of their immediate predecessors, the Monsters have enjoyed a steady increase in attendance (from 5900 in 2008 to 8300 in the just completed 2014-15 schedule) over their now eight seasons despite just one lone playoff appearance which ended after just one round. Still, the club hopes to maintain a steady presence as they write their chapter in the history of hockey in Cleveland.

The Lake Erie Monsters in action

Today's featured jersey is a 1999-00 Cleveland Lumberjacks Evgeni Nabokov jersey. This wild jersey is emblematic of the many special occasion jerseys seen in the minor leagues. Special one-off designs can often be seen on various holidays that occur during the hockey season, such as Halloween, Christmas, St. Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day in particular which often results in the players having to sacrifice their dignity as they are forced to wear pink jerseys with red hearts.

Other club's will create a special jersey simply to go along with a special themed promotion, such as jerseys made to look like tuxedos, cowboys, pirates, prison uniforms and guards, cows or the clothing worn by Ronald McDonald, Don Cherry, Bob Uecker and Michael Jackson, which included the players each wearing one white glove!

Tributes and awareness themes have also spawned many sets of unique jerseys, such as those for military tribute or breast cancer awareness nights, with the jerseys regularly auctioned off to the fans following the game.

In 1999 the approach of the Millennium occupied the minds of many, particularly the threat of computers world wide crashing due the "Y2K" scare - to not being able to recognize the difference between "2000" and "1900" due to only having two digits to signify the year.

Major League Baseball recognized the upcoming flipping of the calendar with the notorious "Turn Ahead the Clock" promotion, wearing jerseys from twenty some years in the future, and the Lumberjacks also got into the spirit of the event with their own Millennium special occasion jersey, filled with futuristic imagery and decorated with the inspired choice of the same font used on bank checks, "MICR".

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 2008-09 Lake Erie Monsters Aaron Mackenzie jersey from the most recent professional team to call Cleveland home. This jersey illustrates the modern template and lines of the newest generation of Reebok designed jerseys, which have moved away from the classic horizontal striping of hockey jerseys of the past.

While the Monsters regularly wear their modern jerseys, they have also worn AHL Baron's throwback jerseys as well as WHA Crusaders throwbacks in recognition of the team's that built a foundation of Cleveland hockey history.

Today's video section begins with the Cleveland Baron's star Fred Glover, and AHL legend and one of the best players you have never heard of.

Here is a look at the history of the original Barons and the WHA's Crusaders.

1996-97 Pittsburgh Penguins Patrick Lalime Jersey

Patrick Lalime played three seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes, beginning in the 1991-92 season finishing with a high of 22 wins in 1993-94. After his second season in Shawningan, Lalime was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft in the 6th round, 156th overall.

For the 1994-95 season, Lalime joined the Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL. For the first half of the season he played well, posting a 15-7-3 record, earning a promotion to the IHL, where he became a member of the Cleveland Lumberjacks. He stayed with the Lumberjacks for the 1995-96 season and finished with a 20-12-7 record in 41 appearances. He was called up to the Penguins twice during the season, serving as a backup but did not see any playing time.

Lalime while with the Lumberjacks

He returned to Cleveland for a third season in 1996-97, but after two months he was recalled by Pittsburgh. His NHL debut came in relief of Ken Wregget on November 16, 1996.

On December 6th, he made his second appearance, again in relief of Wregget, as the Penguins were trailing 2-0 after one period against the Washington Capitals. The Penguins came back with two goals in the second period and out scored the Capitals 3-1 in the third period to win the game 5-3, earning Lalime the first victory of his career, having made 16 saves on 17 shots.

Lalime earned his first NHL victory in relief

He was rewarded with the start in the Penguins next game on December 7th against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. After trailing 3-2 after two periods, the Penguins rallied for three goals in the third period to earn Lalime his second consecutive victory, 5-3.

Wregget started on December 10th, but Lalime got the start the following day against Anaheim. With the game at 4-3 in the second period, Pittsburgh pulled away for a 7-3 win, Lalime's third.

Two days later, Lalime grabbed the headlines following a 4-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks, stopping all 20 Sharks shots for his first career shutout and fourth win.

Lalime's first NHL shutout came in his fourth win

Despite the shutout, Wregget started in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on the 15th and was the losing goaltender on the 17th after giving up 6 goals to the Boston Bruins before being relieved by Lalime in the third period. Wregget rebounded with a shutout on the 19th over the St. Louis Blues.

Lalime returned to the crease on December 21st, getting the win over the Sharks 3-1 for his fifth win. Wregget eked out a win on the 23rd, 6-5, but was yanked after the first period trailing to the Montreal Canadiens 3-0. Lalime stood tall, blanking the Canadiens the rest of the way, making 18 saves and one more in overtime as the Penguins fought back to tie the game with three third period goals to earn Lalime a tie.

Lalime in goal versus the Canadiens

He got the start two days later, and earned his 6th win and second shutout with a 21 save performance over the Buffalo Sabres. That earned him another start on the 30th, a game not sealed until an empty net goal by Mario Lemieux for a 5-3 Penguins win, Lalime's 7th.

The first game of the new year arrived on January 2, 1997 and Lalime was in the net for his third straight start as the Penguins blitzed the New Jersey Devils, chasing veteran goaltender Martin Brodeur on their way to a 6-1 win.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were the next to fall to the streaking Penguins on the 4th by a score of 7-3, with Lalime once more getting the start, his 9th win which ran his unbeaten streak to ten, again earning him attention on a national scale.

Staying with the hot hand, head coach Eddie Johnston again went with Lalime, who, despite giving up the first two goals to the New York Islanders, settled down and let the Penguins offensive juggernaut go to work, scoring four times in the second period to regain the lead on their way to an eventual 5-3 win, Lalime's 10th win and 12th without a loss and now within sight of the current record of 14.

Lalime's hot streak continued against the Islanders

January 11th saw Pittsburgh come from behind twice to tie the Ottawa Senators to keep Lalime's undefeated streak alive at 13, now just one shy of the record. The tie ended the Penguins winning streak at six.

With all eyes upon him, he tied the record for the longest unbeaten streak at the start of a career first set by the Montreal Canadiens Ken Dryden (12 wins and 2 ties) in 1971, later equalled by Ross Brooks of the Boston Bruins (11 wins and 3 ties) in 1973, following a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars on the 14th.

Lalime then set the record in style the very next day with a 20 save performance to shutout the Hartford Whalers 3-0. The rookie's record now stood at an unbelievable 13-0-2 as his every start was now the subject of lengthy discussions on the sports channels in both the United States and Canada.

His next start would not be until this date in 1997, six days after his previous game due to a break in the schedule to accommodate the 1997 NHL All-Star Game. The Calgary Flames did all they could do to dominate Pittsburgh that night outshooting the Penguins 51-24. Calgary tied the game with just under four minutes remaining, but Stu Barnes' 11th goal of the season just 23 seconds later put Pittsburgh back on top 3-2. Ron Francis sealed the victory with an empty net goal with 24 seconds left to push Lalime's won/loss record to 14-0-2 and his undefeated streak to a new mark of 16 straight after his 49 save performance.

Lalime pushed his undefeated streak to 16 games

Two nights later the dream came to an end when the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche came to The Igloo. Colorado led 3-0 after two periods, but the Penguins stormed back in the third on goals by Francis, Joe Mullen and Joe Dziedzic in under 14 minutes to force overtime before Colorado's Valeri Kamensky ended the streak at 3:55 of overtime.

Lalime would come back down to Earth following his record setting run, finishing the season at 21-12-2. He was unable to agree with Pittsburgh on a contract for the following season and never played for the Penguins again.

Lalime was always known for his distinctive masks

After spending the following season of 1997-98 with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the IHL, his rights were traded to the Mighty Ducks, but he failed to make their roster and spent the 1998-99 season with the Kansas City Blades, also of the IHL, where he led the league in wins with 39.

Following the season he was traded to the Ottawa Senators, where he would play for the next five seasons, which included setting the Senators team record for most wins in a season with 39, before moving on to St. Louis, Chicago and Buffalo to finish out his 12 year NHL career with exactly 200 wins and 35 shutouts.

Today's featured jersey is a 1996-97 Pittsburgh Penguins Patrick Lalime jersey. Following their back to back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992, the Penguins debuted a brand new jersey set and modernized logo. The road jersey was a terrific blending of the original Penguins diagonally lettered jerseys from the 1967-68 season, done in the striping pattern similar to their blue 1974-75 jerseys, only now in their then current black and yellow colors and adorned with their new "robo-penguin" logo on the shoulders. This really sharp jersey was used from 1992-93 until 1996-97 until being replaced by the team's then alternate jersey.

Bonus Jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1995-96 Cleveland Lumberjacks Patrick Lalime jersey. This was the first season for the Lumberjacks new identity package, as for the club's first two seasons they wore an identical jersey to today's featured jersey, only with "Cleveland" substituted for "Pittsburgh".

Along with the new, cartoonish mascot logo, the club also developed their own, color scheme of light blue and black with the "buzz saw" striping pattern on the arms and waist, creating one of the most unique jerseys in IHL history. One wonders though, why the designers chose to go with such a basic number font instead of a more playful one like the Manitoba Moose or Utah Grizzlies numbers,

This jersey style would remain in use through the 2000-01 season when the IHL folded, and the Lumberjacks were not one of the clubs absorbed into the AHL, ending their nine year run.

Today's video section begins with highlights of Lalime's three consecutive playoff shutouts.

Next, Lalime makes a stellar glove save against the Canucks Pavel Bure while still a member of the Penguins.

1999-00 Cleveland Lumberjacks Evgeni Nabokov Jersey

July by the Numbers travels to the future for jersey #20!

Before we visit the future, we must visit the past in order to understand where we are going by looking back at where we've been. The history of hockey in Cleveland can be traced back to the Cleveland Athletic Club, the first winners of the MacNaughton Cup in 1914.

The first professional team to call Cleveland home was the Cleveland Indians of the International Hockey League, who relocated from Kitchener, Ontario in 1929 where they were known as the Dutchmen. They were rather successful their first season, going 24-9-9 and won the league championship, defeating Buffalo 3 games to 1. That would be the high point for the Indians, as they would slip down the standings, finishing last or next to last their final three seasons before being renamed the Cleveland Falcons in 1934.

Moe Roberts of the Cleveland Indians hockey team

The Falcons would play two seasons in the IHL, which then merged with the Canadian American Hockey League to form the new International-American Hockey League for the 1936-37 season.

Tommy Cook of the Cleveland Falcons

After one more year as the Falcons, the franchise was again renamed, this time as the Cleveland Barons for the 1937-38 season. The Barons would win the Calder Cup as IAHL champions in 1939 before the league shortened it's name to simply the American Hockey League for the 1940-41 season.

The Barons would provide Cleveland with it's longest, most stable and successful period of hockey in the city's history, playing 36 seasons, during which time they won nine championships, those coming in 1939, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1957 and 1964 in front of standing room only crowds in what was the Golden Age of Cleveland hockey. So successful was the franchise, that at one point in the early 1950's ownership tried to apply for entrance into the National Hockey League and so confident their owner that the Barons issued a challenge to the NHL for the right to play for the Stanley Cup!

The Cleveland Barons accepting another of their nine Calder Cups

Eventually, ownership of the franchise passed to Nick Mileti, who became the owner of the Cleveland entry in the new World Hockey Association in 1972. The combination of the competition for the fans of Cleveland, who now had a major league team to support for the first time, and the dramatic increase in competition for players against not only the new WHA, but the expanding NHL, spelled the end for the Barons, as Mileti moved the team to Florida in the middle of the 1972-73 season.

Mileti's new WHA club, the Cleveland Crusaders, made a splash by luring goaltender Gerry Cheevers away from the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.

Gerry Cheevers

The team had a good first season, but moderate attendance for four seasons, combined with issues with their new arena located too far from the city and the impending arrival of the relocating California Golden Seals of the NHL, sent the Crusaders out of town after just four seasons.

The 1974-75 Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA

The club that drove the Crusaders out of town revived the Cleveland Barons name, but did not come anywhere near duplicating their original Barons success, as they not only brought all the competitive issues the Golden Seals suffered on the ice with them from California, but compounded those by moving into the problematic Richfield Coliseum. The doomed Barons only lasted two troubled seasons, finishing with a 47-87-26 record overall.

Goaltender Gilles Meloche anchored the NHL's Cleveland Barons

Cleveland would be without professional hockey until the 1992-93 season when the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the IHL relocated to Ohio and were the top affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Lumberjacks sharp jerseys based on the Penguins jerseys of the early 1990's

The Lumberjacks had five winning seasons in their nine years of existence., including four seasons of 90 points or more, but managed only one deep playoff run, that coming in 1997, when they reached the third round of the Turner Cup playoffs. At the end of the 2000-01 season, the IHL, which had been around since 1945, collapsed due to a combination of expanding too quickly and not nearly enough teams having affiliations with NHL franchises. While 6 of the 11 IHL franchises were accepted into the AHL, Cleveland was not among those, and the Lumberjacks run came to an end.

The trendy late 90's teal and black look of the Lumberjacks, complete with Beaver logo and buzzsaw waist stripe

Cleveland was not left without hockey though, as the San Jose Sharks of the NHL purchased their AHL affiliate, the Kentucky Thoroughblades, and relocated them to Cleveland, where they revived the Cleveland Barons name once again. While the Lumberjacks had averaged between 8,200 and 9,000 fans their first six seasons, their attendance had dropped to 4,200 in their final season, which proved to be the equal of the new Barons best season, due in part to the team's struggles on the ice, as they had only one winning season in five years, winning less than 30 games three times and only qualifying for the playoffs once, that being a first round exit.

The Cleveland Sharks logo

When the Sharks relocated the franchise to Worcester, Massachusetts for the 2006-07 season, Cleveland was left without a team for just one season before the inactive Utah Grizzlies AHL franchise was purchased and moved to Cleveland, where it was named the Lake Erie Monsters where they remain today as affiliates of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche. Unlike several of their immediate predecessors, the Monsters have enjoyed a steady increase in attendance over their now seven seasons and hope to maintain a steady presence as they write their chapter in the history of hockey in Cleveland.

The Lake Erie Monsters in action

Today's featured jersey is a 1999-00 Cleveland Lumberjacks Evgeni Nabokov jersey. This wild jersey is emblematic of the many special occasion jerseys seen in the minor leagues. Special one-off designs can often be seen on various holidays that occur during the hockey season, such as Halloween, Christmas, St. Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day in particular which often results in the players having to sacrifice their dignity as they are forced to wear pink jerseys with red hearts.

Other club's will create a special jersey simply to go along with a special themed promotion, such as jerseys made to look like tuxedos, cowboys, pirates, prison uniforms and guards, cows or the clothing worn by Ronald McDonald, Don Cherry, Bob Uecker and Michael Jackson, which included the players each wearing one white glove!

Tributes and awareness themes have also spawned many sets of unique jerseys, such as those for military tribute or breast cancer awareness nights, with the jerseys regularly auctioned off to the fans following the game.

In 1999 the approach of the Millennium occupied the minds of many, particularly the threat of computers world wide crashing due the "Y2K" scare - to not being able to recognize the difference between "2000" and "1900" due to only having two digits to signify the year.

Major League Baseball recognized the upcoming flipping of the calendar with the notorious "Turn Ahead the Clock" promotion, wearing jerseys from twenty some years in the future, and the Lumberjacks also got into the spirit of the event with their own Millennium special occasion jersey, filled with futuristic imagery and decorated with the inspired choice of the same font used on bank checks, "MICR".

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 2008-09 Lake Erie Monsters Aaron Mackenzie jersey from the most recent professional team to call Cleveland home. This jersey illustrates the modern template and lines of the newest generation of Reebok designed jerseys, which have moved away from the classic horizontal striping of hockey jerseys of the past.

While the Monsters regularly wear their modern jerseys, they have also worn AHL Baron's throwback jerseys as well as WHA Crusaders throwbacks in recognition of the team's that built a foundation of Cleveland hockey history.

Today's video section begins with the Cleveland Baron's star Fred Glover, and AHL legend and one of the best players you have never heard of.

Here is a look at the history of the original Barons and the WHA's Crusaders.

1998-99 Cleveland Lumberjacks Jim Paek Jersey

Born on this date in 1967, Chisun Paek emigrated to Canada as an infant where his parents gave him the name "Jim" to make to make the transition to Canadian life easier for their son. As he grew up, he developed a love for hockey which eventually led to him to the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League beginning in the 1984-85 season where he played defense. His play got him noticed, as he was drafted that summer by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.

Paek played two more seasons with the Generals, including a run to the Memorial Cup Finals where he contributed 15 points in 26 games.

Following his junior career, Paek turned pro with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL), where he raised his offensive game to new levels, with three consecutive 50 point seasons while averaging 117 penalty minutes. During his second season in Muskegon, the Lumberjacks won the 1989 Turner Cup championship.

Paek next wore the sweater of the Canadian National Team during in the 1990-91 season for 48 games and then made history as the first Korean-born player to play in the NHL when he made his debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins with three regular season games late in the same 1990-91 season followed by eight playoff games, which included Paek scoring a goal. The Penguins advanced to the finals for the first time in team history where they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in six games, giving Paek the distinction of also being the first Korean to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup, which earned his Penguins jersey a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Paek played 49 games in 1991-92 as well as 19 more playoff games as the Penguins went back to back as Stanley Cup champions, this time with a four game sweep over the Chicago Blackhawks with Paek contributing 4 assists.

After a full season of 77 games in in 1992-93, Paek scored an NHL career high 18 points. After 41 games the following season Paek was traded, along with Marty McSorley, to the Los Angeles Kings, where he would finish out the 1993-94 season.

The Kings then dealt Paek to the Ottawa Senators at the 1995 draft. Paek only skated for the Ottawa in 29 games to close out his NHL career with 217 games played, five goals and 29 assists for 34 points and a pair of Stanley Cups.

Even though his NHL career was over, Paek was far from done with hockey. Now with the Minnesota Moose of the IHL, Paek was named team captain but later dealt to the Houston Aeros. He began the following season season with the relocated Moose, now in Manitoba, but moved to the Cleveland Lumberjacks early enough in the campaign to play in 74 games and score 28 points. After another full season with the Lumberjacks, Paek played 65 games in the 1998-99 season before being loaned to Houston in March of 1999 where he would win his second Turner Cup championship.

Paek was back in Cleveland again in 1999-00 for the full season and then continued his world tour with a move to the Nottingham Panthers of the British Ice Hockey Super League of England in 2000-01. His trek around the globe was completed with a move to the Anchorage Aces of the West Coast Hockey League before a return to Nottingham at the end of the season. He played one more season with Nottingham to close out his playing days before moving into coaching.

Paek with the Nottingham Panthers

Today's featured jersey is a 1998-99 Bauer Cleveland Lumberjacks Jim Paek jersey, worn by Paek while with the Lumberjacks. Notice the velcro affixed to the upper left chest under the Bauer logo which indicates that Paek was either the captain or assistant captain of the Lumberjacks at some point during the season.

This style jersey is notable for it's distinctive "saw blade" striping on the arms and waist. One wonders why they chose to go with such a basic number font instead of a more playful one like the Manitoba Moose or Utah Grizzlies.

In today's video segment, Jim Paek takes on noted tough guy Rob Ray, who had the audacity to lay a hand on Mario Lemieux.

1996-97 Pittsburgh Penguins Patrick Lalime Jersey

Patrick Lalime played three seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes, beginning in the 1991-92 season finishing with a high of 22 wins in 1993-94. After his second season in Shawningan, Lalime was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft in the 6th round, 156th overall.

For the 1994-95 season, Lalime joined the Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL. For the first half of the season he played well, posting a 15-7-3 record, earning a promotion to the IHL, where he became a member of the Cleveland Lumberjacks. He stayed with the Lumberjacks for the 1995-96 season and finished with a 20-12-7 record in 41 appearances. He was called up to the Penguins twice during the season, serving as a backup but did not see any playing time.

Lalime while with Cleveland

He returned to Cleveland for a third season in 1996-97, but after two months he was recalled by Pittsburgh. His NHL debut came in relief of Ken Wregget on November 16, 1996.

On December 6th, he made his second appearance, again in relief of Wregget, as the Penguins were trailing 2-0 after one period against the Washington Capitals. The Penguins came back with two goals in the second period and out scored the Capitals 3-1 in the third period to win the game 5-3, earning Lalime the first victory of his career, having made 16 saves on 17 shots.

He was rewarded with the start in the Penguins next game on December 7th against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. After trailing 3-2 after two periods, the Penguins rallied for three goals in the third period to earn Lalime his second consecutive victory, 5-3.

Wregget started on December 10th, but Lalime got the start the following day against Anaheim. With the game at 4-3 in the second period, Pittsburgh pulled away for a 7-3 win, Lalime's third.

Two days later, Lalime grabbed the headlines following a 4-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks, stopping all 20 Sharks shots for his first career shutout and fourth win.

Despite the shutout, Wregget started in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on the 15th and was the losing goaltender on the 17th after giving up 6 goals to the Boston Bruins before being relieved by Lalime in the third period. Wregget rebounded with a shutout on the 19th over the St. Louis Blues.

Lalime returned to the crease on December 21st, getting the win over the Sharks 3-1 for his fifth win. Wregget eked out a win on the 23rd, 6-5, but was yanked after the first period trailing to the Montreal Canadiens 3-0. Lalime stood tall, blanking the Canadiens the rest of the way, making 18 saves and one more in overtime as the Penguins fought back to tie the game with three third period goals to earn Lalime a tie.

He got the start two days later, and earned his 6th win and second shutout with a 21 save performance over the Buffalo Sabres. That earned him another start on the 30th, a game not sealed until an empty net goal by Mario Lemieux for a 5-3 Penguins win, Lalime's 7th.

The first game of the new year arrived on January 2, 1997 and Lalime was in the net for his third straight start as the Penguins blitzed the New Jersey Devils, chasing veteran goaltender Martin Brodeur on their way to a 6-1 win.

The Tampa Bay Lightning were the next to fall to the streaking Penguins on the 4th by a score of 7-3, with Lalime once more getting the start, his 9th win which ran his unbeaten streak to ten, again earning him attention on a national scale.

Staying with the hot hand, head coach Eddie Johnston again went with Lalime, who, despite giving up the first two goals to the New York Islanders, settled down and let the Penguins offensive juggernaut go to work, scoring four times in the second period to regain the lead on their way to an eventual 5-3 win, Lalime's 10th win and 12th without a loss and now within sight of the current record of 14.

January 11th saw Pittsburgh come from behind twice to tie the Ottawa Senators to keep Lalime's undefeated streak alive at 13, now just one shy of the record. The tie ended the Penguins winning streak at six.

With all eyes upon him, he tied the record for the longest unbeaten streak at the start of a career first set by the Montreal Canadiens Ken Dryden (12 wins and 2 ties) in 1971, later equalled by Ross Brooks of the Boston Bruins (11 wins and 3 ties) in 1973, following a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars on the 14th.

Lalime then set the record in style the very next day with a 20 save performance to shutout the Hartford Whalers 3-0. The rookie's record now stood at an unbelievable 13-0-2 as his every start was now the subject of lengthy discussions on the sports channels in both the United States and Canada.

His next start would not be until this date in 1997, six days after his previous game due to a break in the schedule to accommodate the 1997 NHL All-Star Game. The Calgary Flames did all they could do to dominate Pittsburgh that night outshooting the Penguins 51-24. Calgary tied the game with just under four minutes remaining, but Stu Barnes' 11th goal of the season just 23 seconds later put Pittsburgh back on top 3-2. Ron Francis sealed the victory with an empty net goal with 24 seconds left to push Lalime's won/loss record to 14-0-2 and his undefeated streak to a new mark of 16 straight after his 49 save performance.

Two nights later the dream came to an end when the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche came to The Igloo. Colorado led 3-0 after two periods, but the Penguins stormed back in the third on goals by Francis, Joe Mullen and Joe Dziedzic in under 14 minutes to force overtime before Colorado's Valeri Kamensky ended the streak at 3:55 of overtime.

Lalime would come back down to Earth following his record setting run, finishing the season at 21-12-2. He was unable to agree with Pittsburgh on a contract for the following season and never played for the Penguins again.

Lalime was always known for his distinctive masks

After spending the following season of 1997-98 with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the IHL, his rights were traded to the Mighty Ducks, but failed to make their roster and spent the 1998-99 season with the Kansas City Blades, also of the IHL, where he led the league in wins with 39. Following the season he was traded to the Ottawa Senators, where he would play for the next five seasons, which included setting the Senators team record for most wins in a season with 39, before moving on to St. Louis, Chicago and Buffalo to finish out his 12 year NHL career with exactly 200 wins and 35 shutouts.

Today's featured jersey is a 1996-97 Pittsburgh Penguins Patrick Lalime jersey. Following their back to back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992, the Penguins debuted a brand new jersey set and modernized logo. The road jersey was a terrific blending of the original Penguins diagonally lettered jerseys from the 1967-68 season, done in the striping pattern similar to their blue 1974-75 jerseys, only now in their then current black and yellow colors and adorned with their new "robo-penguin" logo on the shoulders. This really sharp jersey was used from 1992-93 until 1996-97 until being replaced by the team's then alternate jersey.

Bonus Jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1995-96 Cleveland Lumberjacks Patrick Lalime jersey. This was the first season for the Lumberjacks new identity package, as for the club's first two seasons they wore an identical jersey to today's featured jersey, only with "Cleveland" substituted for "Pittsburgh".

Along with the new, cartoonish mascot logo, the club also developed their own, color scheme of light blue and black with the "buzz saw" striping pattern on the arms and waist, creating one of the most unique jerseys in IHL history. One wonders though, why the designers chose to go with such a basic number font instead of a more playful one like the Manitoba Moose or Utah Grizzlies.

This jersey style would remain in use through the 2000-01 season when the IHL folded, and the Lumberjacks were not one of the clubs absorbed into the AHL, ending their nine year run.

Today's video section begins with highlights of Lalime's three consecutive playoff shutouts.

Next, Lalime makes a stellar glove save against the Canucks Pavel Bure while still a member of the Penguins.