The Sparks division is a division in B-League of the RIAL. It only exists in the Reno Ice Adult League Concept. It was named after Sparks Nevada, which is the City bordering Reno Nevada. Desert Dogs, Hot Shots, Murder Hornets, and Slappy Gilmores make up the Sparks division.
In the RIAL concept, the Desert Dogs are partially owned and operated by Bardown Hockey Shop. The Hot Shots were started and financially supported by a bar by the same name in Sparks, but has since become independent. The Murder Hornets are an expansion team founded in 2021. The Slappy Gilmores are the bad boys of this concept.
Primary Logos
These are the primary logos for the Sparks division. First up is the Desert Dogs. Their primary logo is a coyote head with the team name underneath it. Next is the Hot Shots. Their primary logo is a circle, with the team name, a flaming shot glass, mountains and the league name. Next is the Murder Hornets. Their primary logo has a hornet in front of a hexagon behind the team name and Roman numerals with teams founding year. Lastly is the Slappy Gilmors. Their primary logo is an alligator head with the team name below it
Jerseys
Quick jersey recap, in the RIAL concept there are no home and away jerseys. Dark and Light jerseys are interchangeable home and away jerseys. 3rd jerseys are alt jerseys. City jerseys connect the team to the community. Retro jerseys are 90’s or 2000’s. Surge jerseys are color rush jerseys. All jerseys can be used for any game as they are not the same primary color. The home team gets first choice on jerseys.
Unlike with the Tahoe division, I was not thinking about the jerseys as a group. I was thinking the individual team alone as I was doing most of these. In the end that created some jersey combinations that would not work together. With the Desert Dogs I knew what the Retro jersey was going to be right away. I struggled a little bit figuring out their Surge jersey. In the end I think their Surge jersey is one of the best in the concept. At one point in making the Hot Shots jerseys I had an idea that wasn’t really refined. Then it clicked and the result is the Dark and Light jerseys. With their City jersey I didn’t have a clear idea. I knew one of these teams would have the Sparks city flag jersey going into this concept. After finishing the other jerseys and still not having a Hot Shots City jersey, I was like their going to have the city flag. The City jersey and part of the backstory/lore of the Hot Shots were somewhat created because of each other. With the Murder Hornets I sort of wanted to challenge myself. It would be easy to put a bunch of stripes on the side of the jersey and call it a day. Instead I thought “how could I make this work without doing that?”. I think I accomplished that fairly well. The 3RD jersey has a bunch of stripes on the sleeves but it is self contained and is not black/yellow or yellow/black. With the Slappy Gilmores, I knew what I wanted to do before I even started this concept. There are a couple teams like that but not like this. I thought about them more than any other team (besides Reno Pond Hockey) before I started work on this concept. I knew they were going to have a bruins inspired logo. I knew I was going to an alligator skin pattern. In execution it turned out like what I had in my head for over a year.
Dark Jerseys
Navy, black and green make up the Dark jerseys. Hot Shots don’t have their primary logo on their Dark jersey. Desert Dogs and Slappy Gilmores have their primary logos on the front. Murder Hornets have their primary logo on the right shoulder while using an alternate logo on the front. Officially, the Desert Dogs and Hot Shots wouldn’t be able to use their Dark jersey against each other. However with the Murder Hornets being black, all three teams probably would avoid using their Dark jerseys against each other. The Slappy Gilmores would be in the clear with their green jersey. It’s different enough that I could see it being used against the other Dark jerseys of the Sparks division teams. I think the best matchup would be the Murder Hornets and Slappy Gilmores. My favorite Dark jersey of the Sparks division is the Murder Hornets jersey. I think it came out really clean.
Light Jerseys
The Sparks division Light jerseys are tan, white and yellow. The Desert Dogs and Hot shots use different patterns for their Light jerseys. The Murder and Slappy Gilmores use the same pattern as their Dark jerseys for their Light jerseys. The Desert Dogs have their secondary logo on their Light jersey. The Hot Shots and Murder Hornets have their primary logos on their jerseys. The Slappy Gilmores have an alternate logo on their jersey. The only matchup here that wouldn’t work would be the Hot Shots and Slappy Gilmores. I think it would be interesting to see the tan vs yellow matchup of the Desert Dogs and Murder Hornets. I think the best matchup though would be the Hot Shots and Murder Hornets. My favorite here is the Hot Shots jersey.
3RD Jerseys
The 3RD jerseys are purple, orange, white and black. They are all different from their Dark and Light Jerseys. The Desert Dogs jersey is in their alternate colors. Every team is using alternate logos. They could all be used against each other. I think the purple vs orange matchup between the Desert Dogs and Hot Shots would be interesting to see. I think the best matchup would be the Hot Shots and Slappy Gilmores. My favorite here is the the Salppy Gilmores jersey.
City Jerseys
The Desert Dogs jersey is inspired by Burning Man. The Hot Shots jersey is inspired by the Sparks Nevada flag. The Murder Hornets jersey is inspired by Interstate 80. The Slappy Gilmores jersey is inspired by the Masters Tournament. Hot Shots and Slappy Gilmores would be the only jerseys that couldn’t be used against each other. I don’t think that the Desert Dogs or Murder Hornets jerseys would be used against each other either but they could. The best Matchup would be the Hot Shots and Murder Hornets. My favorite here is the Murder Hornets jersey.
Retro Jerseys
The Retro jerseys are white, navy, light blue, and black. Desert Dogs, Hot Shots, and Slappy Gilmores all use throwback logos. The Murder Hornets do not because they are too new of a team. The Murder Hornets use an alternate logo designed to look like a throwback logo. The Desert Dogs jersey would have been their home jersey in the 90’s to early 2000’s. The Hot Shots Jersey would have been introduced in the late 90’s and as a home, dark or alternate jersey depending on the year or season. The Murder Hornets jersey was designed to look like something that would have been their home jersey in the 90s. The Slappy Gilmores jersey would have been their original home jersey.
All of these jersey could be used against each other. I don’t think that the Hot Shots or Slappy Gilmores jerseys would be though. The best matchup here would be the Hot Shots and Desert Dogs. My favorite jersey here is the Desert Dogs jersey.
Surge Jerseys
The Surge jerseys are navy, orange, yellow and black. They all use logos designed for their Surge jerseys. They can all be used against each other. I don’t think that the Desert Dogs and Slappy Gilmores matchup would happen. The orange vs yellow of the Hot Shots and Murder Hornets would be interesting to see. The best matchup would be the Desert Dogs and Hot Shots. My favorite here is the Desert Dogs jersey. It is one of the best Surge jerseys in the entire concept.
Zac Electrifly 