The most wonderful time of the year: Ugly Christmas sweater jerseys are back (PHOTO)

'Tis the season for Christmas-themed jerseys, and the Rockford IceHogs -- the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks -- got the party started Friday when they rocked these "ugly" Christmas sweaters in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves.

The socks are a nice added touch, and as far as ugly sweaters go, these jerseys don't look too bad. 

But rather than inspiring any fond feelings in the name of the Christmas spirit, the IceHogs and Wolves combined for 102 penalty minutes in Friday's game, including eight fighting penalties from four separate fights and four 10-minute misconducts. One of those misconducts was an abuse of an official call against Chicago's Petteri Lindbohm.

That's an interesting take on a "merry" spirit.