A new era in ice hockey has arrived in the form of the 3x3 Breaking the Ice Tour.
On the weekend of 10–12 April, six teams descend on the Austrian Alps and Innsbruck – host city of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics and co-host of the 2005 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship – to compete in the tournament.
3x3 Breaking the Ice Tour: a new, fast-paced, and urban-style 3-on-3 ice hockey format. The Ultimate Hockey brand has been developed by the IIHF in partnership with ProOxy AG, a Swiss company dedicated to innovation in the sports industry.
The Event
Over the course of three days, 17 games will be played. In these games, teams will skate 3-on-3 plus goaltenders and play 24-minute games that are divided into two 12-minute halves. All games will be played on a rink constructed outside the historic Olympiaworld Innsbruck, which has a playing surface smaller than that of traditional ice hockey. The rink is surrounded by temporary seating and a fan zone that includes a DJ.
“I think it’s great,” said Austria’s Mark Mussbacher, looking at the venue with the majestic Alps in the background. “It looks incredible. We got here earlier and we’ll test the ice out soon, but I think it looks great.”
Teams and Schedule
The six teams are divided into three groups. Group A consists of Estonia, Germany and Hungary, while Group B includes Austria, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Mussbacher, a defenceman for the ICEHL’s Vorarlberg Pioneers, is one of several professional players in the tournament. Other notable names include Moritz Wirth from Germany and Guus van Ness from the Netherlands. Perhaps the most notable name in the tournament will be behind the German bench, where former German national team goalie Dennis Endras will be coaching.
Team rosters include players from professional leagues in most of the competing countries (ICEHL, Alps Liga, Erste Liga, DEL, DEL2, EIHL), as well as from Finland’s Liga and Mestis, France’s Ligue Magnus, the ECHL and several who have competed for their countries’ 5-on-5 national teams in the past.
Many of the players are used to playing 3-on-3 only in overtime, so these games will be something a bit different.
“It’s a brand new kind of hockey,” said Mussbacher. “Not anything close to what we’re used to in the leagues, so I think it’s very cool to get to experience it and I’m very excited.”
Each team will play twice against each of the other two teams in its group for a total of four games each. The top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals, while the two third-place teams will face off to determine fifth and sixth places overall. Each team will play twice each on Friday and Saturday, with the playoffs and placement games on Sunday.
The final is scheduled for Sunday at 21:00 CET (3:00 PM ET) and Mussbacher hopes his Austrian team is in it.
“We’re here to have fun but we’re (also) here to compete,” he said.
All games will be streamed on IIHF.tv. Click here for the complete schedule.
Game schedule:
Friday, 10 April – Group Stage
10:00 – HUN vs EST11:15 – GBR vs NED
17:15 – EST vs GER
18:30 – NED vs AUT
19:45 – GER vs HUN
21:00 – AUT vs GBR
Saturday, 11 April – Group Stage
10:00 – GER vs EST11:15 – AUT vs NED
16:15 – EST vs HUN
17:30 – NED vs GBR
18:45 – HUN vs GER
20:00 – GBR vs AUT
21:00 – Featured Game
Sunday, 12 April – Finals
10:00 – Placement Game15:45 – Semifinal 1
17:00 – Semifinal 2
19:45 – Bronze Medal Game
21:00 – Gold Medal Game