THN.com/podcast. From THN On The 'E': Thunder Coach Pete MacArthur Shares His Switch from Playing Brandon Hawkins scores on a penalty shot against Jake Theut during the third week of last year's 3ICE season. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2NTI3NDQwNjQwNjE2NDE1/a39i1244_a7a8f4de-4637-4e7a-8467-3e1444e82db8.jpg] Brandon Hawkins scores on a penalty shot against Jake Theut during the third week of last year's 3ICE season. 3ICE, North America’s only professional 3-on-3 hockey league, is set to return for a second season with more teams, new tour stops and the addition of Hall of Fame blueliner Ray Bourque as a coach. “It’s an exciting format – 3-on-3 is exciting to watch,” Bourque told The Hockey News. “I’m looking forward to just having fun with it, and I look forward to being part of it this year. We used to use 3-on-3 in practice for conditioning. Being a defenseman, I was always the floating guy ready to take off for breakaways.” Bourque is unsure what system he’ll put in place, but he intends to use his connections to experienced NHL coaches like Mike Sullivan and Bruce Cassidy to help plan his team’s strategy. Bourque said he will have two family connections on his 3ICE roster: sons NHL alumni Chris Bourque and Ryan Bourque. “I was able to convince my two sons to participate as well, which will be fun,” Bourque said. “I haven’t coached or been behind the bench with my kids in a long time, since their youth after I retired. That definitely came into play.” Bourque relied heavily on the knowledge of his sons Chris, a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ryan, who coaches in the ECHL, to choose their roster of players. Geographically, Bourque is also excited to return to Boston behind the bench, where he played 21 seasons, and for Chris to play in Hershey, Pa., where the AHL Bears recently retired his jersey. “It will be exciting to be in a few markets where, family-wise, we have some strong connections,” he said. Bourque joins a storied roster of coaches for the expanded eight teams, up by two from last year, with each team being coached by a former NHL all-star, Stanley Cup champion or Hockey Hall of Fame member. Ray Bourque played in the 2015 NHL Winter Classic alumni game against the Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium for the team he spent 21 seasons with. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2NTI3OTg5ODU5NTU5Mzkx/usatsi_9028954.jpg] Ray Bourque played in the 2015 NHL Winter Classic alumni game against the Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium for the team he spent 21 seasons with. Bourque was a longtime captain of the Boston Bruins before winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. A 13-time NHL first-team all-star, five-time Norris Trophy winner and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee in 2005, Bourque joins returning coaches John LeClair, Guy Carbonneau, Grant Fuhr, Joe Mullen and Larry Murphy, along with newcomers Ed Johnston, Sr. and Craig Patrick. Last season, the inaugural campaign for the league was called [https://thehockeynews.com/news/3ice-consider-debut-season-a-success] “a home run from pretty much every metric” by 3ICE founder and CEO E.J. Johnston. This season, the league will look to take another step forward in their growth. “We offer family affordable, entertaining hockey featuring professional hockey players from literally every top league in the world competing in a format featuring the most exciting part of the sport – 3-on-3,” said Johnston of the new season in a press release. “In addition to the high-paced, nonstop, end-to-end action, we have some new and exciting fan-engaging experiences planned in each city and we look forward to bringing 3ICE to Hershey, Boston, Nashville, Philadelphia, Newark, Boston, and Grand Rapids this summer.” 3ICE’s second season will kick off June 28 in Hershey, running through to the championship weekend on Aug. 12 at the Wells Fargo Center, home of the Philadelphia Flyers, where the Patrick Cup will be awarded. In 3ICE’s inaugural season, Team Mullen dominated throughout the year before Team Trottier, coached by Bryan Trottier, eventually won the championship game 4-3 in Las Vegas. Longtime professional hockey veteran Joe Whitney, who played in the NHL, AHL, DEL and SHL, led the league in scoring last season with 21 goals and 39 points. Several NHL alumni played in 3ICE last season, including Ryan Malone, Jeff Taffe, T.J. Hensick, Mike Lundin, Aaron Palushaj and Chirs Mueller. Many league leaders also included current and recent ECHL players such as netminder Jeremy Brodeur and forward Brandon Hawkins. Each stop in the second season of 3ICE will feature four of the eight teams participating in a single-elimination tournament format with round-robin games, a consolation match and a championship game. The format of 3-on-3 hockey is familiar to fans, considering it exists in overtime in the NHL. But the coaches were still impressed with the skill, speed and new tactics they saw last season. “I thought the pace, the creativity, the competitiveness of the games was far beyond my expectations. I thought it was a really good year,” said former Philadelphia Flyers star LeClair [https://thehockeynews.com/news/3ice-consider-debut-season-a-success]. Last season, the 3ICE tour stopped in Las Vegas, Denver, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Quebec City, London, Ont., Hershey, and Grand Rapids, Mich. This year, the tour will not venture into Canada, instead stopping in additional U.S. markets, including Boston, Philadelphia and New Jersey. Rosters will be announced on March 21.
