Kodiaks:  Loving the new roaring bear!  I think this is the best one you've done for them, and honestly I think they're now one of the best looking teams in the THL!

Electrics:  One of the funnier stories that has come out of the THL, a prototype logo somehow making the final jersey!  Kinda makes you wonder/hope that's happened in real life too!  I doubt this logo lasts long before the enviable redesign, but I think there's a great logo in there that just needs tweaked,  especially enjoy the nuke symbol in there!  If nothing else, I hope that sticks around!  

Up next we head to the UHA offseason where some big changes are occurring. I've taken to adding bullet points and a little bit of description if warranted. I underestimated the work in running two leagues simultaneously, so hopefully this helps!

1977 UHA OFFSEASON

• The Oreskovich Case: G Allan Kaplan and F Donnie Altenhofen suspended indefinitely
• Trowburgh Eagles fold
• Marauders move to Bancana, become Solinza Marauders
• Kurohara Killers are founded with former Eagles roster
• Cyclones have morale troubles, trade Bogdanov to Killers due to quarrels with Razzo
• Killers hire renowned John Otto to be head coach, JC McCurdy is picked up by Blazers
• Alko is realigned to East Division and Kurohara added to West.

The Oreskovich case in Trowburgh only seemed to be the final nail in a delicate coffin for the Eagles. All of James McKinney's money couldn't save their books which had tanked into bankruptcy and he was forced to jettison the team. He couldn't find a buyer so he folded the team outright. Shortly afterward, a businessman from Kurohara named Edward Zook offered the buy the roster rights outright and keep the player contracts intact. McKinney quickly agreed so he could be done with team operations. Zook officially applied to become a new team in the UHA and permission was granted by UHA President Barry Boyle.

Zook proposed using the small and aging Ormedra Dome in Kurohara to house the team while he worked on procuring funding for a new arena. He originally wanted to name the team the Killer Whales but the THL Commissioner Hatch caught wind of it and threatened to take legal action over the Whales name. Zook, not wanting to cause any trouble with the THL decided to roll with just Killers, much to the dismay of quite a few pundits, and utilize a killer whale as the mascot.

One of Zook's first moves was to contact the Cyclones and inquire about the situation with winger Adam Bogdanov. The morale between Boggy and Jerry Razzo had reached a breaking point and with the Cyclones more financially committed to Razzo, they traded Boggy to the Killers for an undisclosed compensation, although it was reported that forward Anthony Marlowe was headed to DC.

Amid all the hullabaloo in Trowburgh, the Reto Bay Marauders moved to Bancana which is closer to owner Milo Tidwell's fashion business operations. The EverStar Center is fairly small for a pro hockey facility but it will be a decent enough temporary location for the team. Tidwell hopes the team will have better financial success in a larger market, despite the nearby presence of the rapidly rising Kings.

1977 UHA Player Draft

Of notable players in the UHA draft, a pair of defenseman headlined the bill. Dino Reichert (Valenreck) and Fred “Duckman” Duckett (Fort Bevin) both are quality players with plenty of intangibles. With defensemen in high demand, they went 1-2 to Podangrad and Prestonburg respectively. The newly formed Kurohara Killers selected forward Carmen Ledesma (Portarra) with the 3rd-overall pick and grabbed up a falling goalie Ernie Jean in the second round.

Identity Changes

1977 Kurohara Killers



Kurohara is a city on the mid-western coast of Torland in the state of Tamokeva. It is geographically the western-most city in Torland and situated in a horseshoe-shaped valley at the mouth of the Ormedra River. The shape of the Vally produces some of the highest winds in Torland which creates a swirling effect for weather phenomena including record setting rain and storms, lending to the nickname City of Storms. When not raining, the valley is a beautiful place. The city has grown tremendously. The Oden Air Base in nearby Chekovo also has an auxiliary station and training school in Kurohara to take advantage of the wind conditions. Aside from the military, the city is a popular home for aviation enthusiasts and the two of the top aviation companies are located in the city. Nearly all of the planes in Torland's Air Force have been manufactured in Kurohara which is a Mecca for aerospace. The highly merited Kimaesee University, the top school in the state, also calls the city home. The river valley and coastline attracts a vast array of wildlife and the area has grown into a popular destination for whale-watching with a famous group of killer whales that annually migrate through the area. The Kurohara Zoo is world-famous for its unique wildlife. The city has a blue-collar, almost grungy vibe to it, despite the presence of many white collar businesses. The third-largest city in Tamokeva, Kurohara has similarities to Seattle, Vancouver, Huntsville, and a little bit of Houston.

The identity takes on the killer whale, with the named shortened to Killers, and a unique color scheme with an orange primary paired with black, yellow and green. The name doesn't figure to last long but Zook was obstinate in not wanting to name them the Orcas. The logo takes a breaching killer whale holding a hockey stick overtop a roundel style used by local planes. The uniforms take on different approaches, utilizing a black sweater for the home and no black on the white away set. Both sets use double bound striping on the sleeves with the green highlight color and single bound striping on the hem and orange pants. The white sweater also include an orange yoke.

1977 Solinza Marauders


Old Look: 1975 Reto Bay Marauders Uniforms

With their move to Bancana, the Marauders made wholesale changes to their uniforms. The powder blue is promoted to the primary color and navy relegated to a tertiary color. The logo is updated with the pirate's hat switched from RB to S. Chevrons make an appearance in a new shoulder/sleeve design and on the socks. The powder blue carries over to the pants which nobody is quite sure how that will turn out on the ice, although the Heralds used light blue pants in 1970 with mixed results. Both sets have red numbers and sewn-on nameplates.

1977 Dosa City Cyclones


Old Look: 1975 Dosa City Cyclones Uniforms

The Cyclones added white into the color palette and completely reworked their sweaters, removing the chest stripe and reducing the amount of black on both sets. The goal was to make both sets "brighter" after the owner's wife complained that she couldn't see them very well.


That concludes the 1977 UHA Offseason. Let me know what you think of the new looks! C&C always appreciated.

I love how you've always got such unique color schemes up your sleeve, the Killers look great!

QCS wrote:

The Killers might just be the best look in the UHA! The Marauders look is an upgrade but I personally think the Dosa City look isn't quite as good as the old one. They still look good but that chest stripe really set them apart and I think they looked plenty bright with it. Not particularly surprised by Trowburgh folding, and it seems most of the UHA has money troubles and it's probably teetering on the edge of folding itself.

Thanks! Some teams make downgrades which is what I wanted to do with Dosa City. If they survive, the chest stripe will definitely reappear.

MyTeamIsDr.Pepper wrote:

I love how you've always got such unique color schemes up your sleeve, the Killers look great!

Thanks, I really appreciate that!

Stickman wrote:

I will miss the Trowburgh Eagles, but it does make sense that they wouldn't survive, (actually it'd make a lot of sense realistically if most of these rival league teams didn't make it in the long run, as what usually happens to teams in secondary leagues).

Gotta say, the Killers have a solid design!  Great color scheme too, you don't see a lot of teams utilizing orange, yellow, and green!  The Marauders going to light blue is a welcome sight.  Taking out the navy would basically give them the old Houston Oilers colors, which is a nice team to look like.  Finally, the Cyclones definitely look a little brighter.  I won't lie, I kinda miss the black bar on the teal jersey, but at least they match well now.  Once again, great stuff!

It always hurts to kill off any of your babies. I personally loved that green and blue scheme.

But Trowburgh is such a volatile place, any team would have had trouble surviving there, let alone in a barely-afloat new league. The lure of the place is all the money available but it's a tough place to sustain.

I haven't fully decided which teams will make it through the ringer so to speak, but there will be some teams to fold for sure. 
 

The Killers might just be my new favorite UHA team. In the good ol' THL i'll probably cheer for Kirlow