It was around this time last year that Icethetics partnered with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays for the club's 25th anniversary jersey design contest. Last Friday that contest came full circle as the Stingrays opened their 25th anniversary wearing the very uniform that Icethetics readers had a big hand in creating and selecting!

From a pool of more than 50 entries, the Stingrays selected five finalists and your vote officially made Benjamin Rajaobelina an ECHL jersey designer. The uniform also features the team's 25th anniversary logo, designed by Brooks Freeman in the first phase of the Stingrays/Icethetics contest last year.

It's exciting to see this all finally come together. And better still, the Stingrays beat the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 4-3 to ensure a great start for the red sweater!

I want to congratulate Benjamin and Brooks once again on their great work and thank the Stingrays for helping us all to be a part of this special occasion in their franchise's history.

I should also apologize for the noticeable lack of recent blog posts here on Icethetics. I keep saying it, but one of these days I'll figure out a way to make this site a full-time gig. Until then, my real job has been keeping me away and I'm as bummed about that as you are.