B.C. Icemen

The BC Icemen have one of the most unique logos in hockey history and have a little bit of a double meaning to their name. The “BC” stands for Broome County – the place in New York where they were located – but also for the nationally syndicated comic strip BC, created by John Hart. Hart designed the logo for the Broome County Dusters who played in the NAHL at Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, NY, in the 1970s. A couple decades later, he did it again, designing the BC Icemen’s logo. 

The BC Icemen played in the United Hockey League (UHL) from 1997 through 2002, spanning five seasons. They were pretty successful on the ice, qualifying for the playoffs in four of those seasons and steadily averaging about 3,000 fans per game over the course of their tenure. The teams’ best campaign was 1999-00 when they recorded a 47-20-7 mark. That team was backstopped by Dieter Kochan, who would go on to play a few games for the Tampa Bay Lightning the following season. While UHL players generally didn’t make it to the big show, the Icemen actually had a few more including Keith Aucoin and Brad Jones.

The Icemen made it five seasons in Binghamton, but unfortunately the went through a few different ownership groups, with the latter one declaring bankruptcy forcing the team to shut down.