Over the weekend, the Wells Fargo Center hosted the 3ICE Patrick Cup Championship–a 3-on-3 ice hockey league where each team is coached by a Stanley Cup-winning former player. Desperate for some semblance of hockey in the depths of the NHL off season, I attended this event and wanted to bring a quick overview to our BSH readers–plus one thought that kept nagging at me.
The Games
First off, this was my first time sitting in the 100-section of the Farg, right on the center line a few rows behind the benches, and man I wish I had those kinds of seats during the regular season. Alas, I’ll have to settle for the more budget friendly options in the upper decks (though the whole-ice view isn’t bad, either), but the $10ish tickets for 3ICE are hard to beat.
There are a few different rules for 3-on-3, chiefly that each game is two 8-minute halves, and the clock only stops for penalties and injuries. If a goalie freezes play, there is no face-off–the opposition team clears out of an enlarged crease, and the goaltender puts the puck back in play. Penalties were jailbreak penalty shots: as soon as the player taking the shot touched the puck at center ice, all other players launched off the blue line and chased him down the ice. It was a unique take on hockey, and I appreciated the pace.
One of the two things I didn’t appreciate was that music was being played the entire time–including during play. Maybe for a smaller audience (only the 100-section was opened for this event) it suited the vibe, but I hated it. The other thing I disliked was the jerseys, specifically that the blue and purple team ended up matched up in one of the games. Their jerseys were similar in color, and as someone who’s colorblind were even more difficult to distinguish as the skaters flew around the ice. In the future, it’d be nice if the jerseys of each team had more distinctive details to separate them from each other.
As for the play, it was fun to see hockey played with that much space. The players generally had a lot of speed and puck skill–one guy lifted the puck on the blade of his stick and snapped it over the goalie’s shoulder to score, a sort of Michigan-lite. It wasn’t nearly as physical as the NHL, nor was there the playmaking you’d expect at higher levels, but for a low stakes summer game? This is the casual viewing you want. They played four games total, and the whole thing was over in just under two hours.
The Potential
The whole time I was watching these 3-on-3 games, with only the 100-level of the Farg open for business and just a couple hundred people in attendance, I couldn’t help but think: “What’s stopping a women’s hockey franchise from playing here?”
For those who haven’t been following, there’s been some major waves in women’s hockey the past few months. First and foremost, the women’s league Premier Hockey Federation declared bankruptcy and folded. What’s happened since is the ratification of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (the first CBA in women’s professional hockey), and the formation of a new, unified women’s league that’s set to launch in January 2024. That process was handled poorly and left a lot of players in the lurch, but it may’ve been the only way to consolidate into one professional league. It’s expected there will be six teams; their locations haven’t been announced, though one can assume Toronto, Montreal and Boston as likely choices due to the existing infrastructure. Why not Philadelphia?
Having a suitable place to play has been a huge hurdle for women’s leagues, but if the Farg’s willing to open for a couple hours on a summer afternoon for a few hundred people to watch 3-on-3, why not a Philadelphia women’s hockey team? If they’re willing to open for the Wings lacrosse team play there, why not a Philadelphia women’s hockey team? And if the Sixers do go through with their new arena, what else are they gonna use the Farg for?
It seems like a no-brainer for Comcast Spectacor, and it’d be awesome to have another hockey team to cheer for in this city–especially if it’s a summer league. Sure, 3ICE was fun for a day–but a new local franchise with affordable tickets would be an absolute blast, and I couldn’t help but spend Saturday afternoon considering that potential.