Cleveland Branded

It's been ten years in the making, but in a move that coincides with their winning of the Calder Cup plus their Quicken Loans Arena co-tenants the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA title, the Lake Erie Monsters have officially announced that they will become the Cleveland Monsters. It's been a move that's practically overdue, as the Monsters have played in Cleveland since their formation ten years ago. In accordance to the name change, the Monsters will also have an updated set of uniforms:

Yes, the Monsters are brandishing the same color scheme as the Cavaliers, and yes, the awful piping is on the sweaters. However, the unique color scheme is great in that it truly makes the Monsters Cleveland's team and not just merely copying their NHL parent Columbus Blue Jackets. The gold sweater is their alternate while the black is their primary color sweater. The only gripe would be the black sweater, as the diagonal word mark rarely ever works for teams not named the New York Rangers, but it does offer a change of pace for the Monsters, as each has a different logo on the front. However things turn out, from this point forward, it will be much easier to point out who the now Cleveland Monsters are, as they will start their title defense with a look that no one else in the AHL is copying.

Championship Weekend

It was a weekend for championship hockey to remember. Beginning Thursday, the ECHL crowned a champion, and it is the Allen Americans, who defeated the Wheeling Nailers in six games to claim their second straight Kelly Cup. For the Americans, their road to back-to-back wasn't easy, as they had to get past the regular season champion Missouri Mavericks in the Conference semi-finals. Sautrday in the AHL, the Lake Erie Monsters needed overtime to put away the Hershey Bears in the fourth game to claim the Calder Cup. Led by Playoff MVP Oliver Bjorkstrand, the Monsters claimed a championship for the city of Cleveland.

Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins finished off the San Jose Sharks in six games to claim their fourth Stanley Cup in team history and their first since 2009. Sidney Crosby was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP, and like his 2010 Olympic run, his biggest contributions came when it counted the most. Despite a rather pedestrian 19 points in the playoffs by his standards, he was a big contributor in the Finals, letting players such as Connor Sheary and Bryan Rust have the scoring chances.

Hockey season may be over for now, but it went out in a flourish and now, the wait for the next season begins.