The Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League gave referees throughout the hockey world a much-deserved stick tap with jerseys they wore over the weekend.
The Firebirds hosted Referee Appreciation Night during their home game against the Sarnia Sting on Saturday, December 13, at the Dort Financial Center. To mark the occasion, they adopted the referee’s usual look of black and white stripes.
Flint’s jerseys featured a black, white and grey version of their primary logo on the front, over top of the black and white stripes, and grayscale secondary logos on each shoulder. Each sleeve had a white stripe around the upper arm with a black player’s number inside. On the back, white numbers appeared in a black block, while names were set in a black font on a white nameplate.
The collar, cuffs and hem panel were all solid black. The jersey was paired with white socks that had two black stripes around each shin. The Firebirds wore white helmets with the jerseys along with their usual navy blue pant shells and their navy blue and orange gloves.
Since the Firebirds had taken their look, the referees for Saturday’s game instead wore off-white quarter-zips with black collars and the OHL logo on the chest. The Canadian Hockey League logo appeared on the right arm, while the Firebirds’ and Sting’s logos sat on the left arm. Referees had an orange stripe around each arm while linesmen did not. Each official’s name was printed in black on the back, along with their number in white on a black circle.
This isn’t the first time a CHL team has paid tribute to referees by donning their colours. In October 2023, the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League held a similar theme night and also wore black-and-white striped jerseys.
