3ICE Hockey is an exciting three-on-three league that travels to different cities over six weeks for its six-week season, featuring teams coached by former NHL players like Ray Bourque, Guy Carbonneau, Grant Fuhr and John LeClair.
Marty Brodeur was drawn to the league because of its unique rules – particularly no power plays during overtime – as well as its fast pace of play. He found much satisfaction from playing in this competition.
The League
3ICE has already revolutionized the NHL‘s 3-on-3 overtime format and its innovative rules could turn it into an Olympic event. Furthermore, this league uses half-ice rinks, eliminating power plays and speeding up play – drawing attention to players’ incredible stick handling, passing, shooting skills.
Johnston’s cornerstone drawcard is his roster of former NHL players serving as coaches on each bench, such as Hockey Hall-of-Famer Brian Mullen and ECHL stars Larry Murphy and Grant Fuhr.
Teams compete each week in a tournament-style schedule with games played in different cities each time, culminating in playoffs that end with one team hoisting the Patrick Cup as champion. Season runs June to August.
The Teams
As the NHL season comes to a close, an emerging league has begun their tour across America: 3ICE Hockey is an upstart 3-on-3 summer league featuring teams coached by former NHL players that uses an exciting weekly tournament format – taking games into cities all across America.
Each week, four out of the eight teams compete in a tournament-style competition. Instead of being tied to any particular city or location, teams are named after an NHL player leading them and thus create more identifiable brands for fans.
Team Mullen is led by former Montreal Canadiens star Joe Mullen; while Hall-of-Famer Grant Fuhr led his team all the way to its championship weekend of Las Vegas’ inaugural season.
The Schedule
Heart-racing, adrenaline-pumping 3ICE 3-on-3 hockey league offers fans nothing short of pure unadulterated excitement. Boasting six teams led by Hall-of-Famer coaches and former NHL players, 3ICE guarantees fans nothing but pure enjoyment and undiluted excitement!
Gameday in the 3ICE league features two eight-minute halves with an uninterrupted running clock that only stops for injuries or penalties, penalty shots instead of power plays, and let coaches select shooters (in future it might let fans choose them via the app).
After its debut season was so successful, 3ICE will return for more excitement and thrills this August 12 in Philadelphia at its Patrick Cup Championship event.
The TV Deals
Johnston understands the necessity of 3ICE’s long-term success and only partners with investors who share his long-term vision. For this reason, she only accepts investors that share his commitment.
Sports betting as an additional revenue stream for 3ICE will also be explored as an avenue. He believes its tournament format and strong offense make it attractive to betting partners.
However, 3ICE faces its greatest opportunity in the form of what may happen in the future. Should 3-on-3 hockey become part of Olympic competition in 2024, that would be an enormous boon for 3ICE and help it grow even further. Also important is the NHL‘s 2022 expansion plans into Quebec City and Vegas which should increase interest in 3-on-3 hockey even more.
The Final Words
3ICE kicked off its inaugural season this past weekend and presented the Patrick Cup, commonly referred to as “the Patty”. Teams Murphy, Johnston, and Bourque all earned spots in this year’s championship game.
E.J. Johnston, son of former Bruins goaltender Eddie Johnston, founded this league to offer fans a taste of three-on-three overtime in hockey nearly 10 years ago. Furthermore, it hopes to test a rule which prohibits players from crossing over back and forth along a center red line like in basketball which slows down play.
Joe Mullen, an NHL Hall-of-Famer who participated in this first season of 3ICE games and enjoyed 16 seasons playing, agrees that they’ve been fun to watch – he can’t wait until their tour stop in Las Vegas next June!