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Players from the 3ICE hockey league take part in tryouts that happened at the Orleans Arena in April.
Saturday, June 18, 2022 | 2 a.m.
It’s been a long time coming for the 3ICE hockey league.
The upstart 3-on-3 hockey league was set to start last June, but the opening date was pushed back due to COVID-19. Nearly a year later, 3ICE will make its debut tonight at Orleans Arena.
3ICE will visit eight cities over the next two months, with stops in Pittsburgh, Nashville and Denver. The playoffs and league championship are scheduled for Aug. 20 in Las Vegas.
“We love what Vegas is and what it’s becoming,” 3ICE founder E.J. Johnston said. “It is a capital of entertainment. We love the sports betting aspect, but we love that it’s become a huge hockey town. Now it’s becoming a massive sports town.”
Putting together 3ICE was a better way to “mouse trap” the game by capitalizing on the 3-on-3 overtime format in the NHL. Putting the league and the format together, 3ICE was derived from other “snackable leagues” like the Big 3 basketball league and Rugby 7, Johnston said.
With 3ICE, the hope is to create a safer, free-flowing game that will endear it to fans. The games consist of two eight-minute halves, with no hitting or fighting allowed. If a player commits a penalty, there’s no power play but a penalty shot with the coaches picking the shooter.
There are only two faceoffs the entire game: at the beginning of each half. The league hopes the free-flowing pace will attract fans.
There are no play stoppages, either. If the puck hits the netting surrounding the glass behind the net, the puck stays in play. Think of the Arena Football League on ice.
“I’m really optimistic in how it’s going to go,” league Commissioner Craig Patrick said. “I believe people are going to be thrilled with the entertainment, both on TV and in the arena."
“The flow we saw in the tryouts was amazing. Scoring chance after scoring chance,” he added.
If Patrick’s name sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Patrick, the Hockey Hall of Famer, was the longtime general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins during their Stanley Cup runs in the early 1990s led by Mario Lemieux.
Patrick was also responsible for the Penguins drafting Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury.
The notable names associated with 3ICE don’t stop at the executive level. The six teams are coached by five Hall of Famers — Guy Carbonneau, Grant Fuhr, Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy and Bryan Trottier — and 400-goal-scorer John LeClair.
“If you don’t know who they are, once you hear them talk about their history, it’s just bananas,” Johnston said. “They are huge for us, not just from a branding standpoint, but they know the game. They helped us shape the format.”
The league feels it’s getting off to a great start with CBS Sports, ESPN and TSN as primary TV partners. The championship round will be broadcast on CBS.
“We’re going to be in 185 countries around the world on Day 1,” Johnston said. “We’re the second-biggest hockey league in the planet by television footprint. That’s a big piece of the equation.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
