Sunday will go down in history as the UK held the world’s first professional IIHF three-on-three tournament.
The four-team competition, which included professional players, took place at The Ozone in Bracknell in association with Intermotor.
The IIHF chose the UK for the event and the three-on-three format is one they hope to take to the Winter Olympics.
It’s already been played at the past two Youth Olympics with GB taking part earlier this year in Gangwon, Korea and the IIHF’s long-term plan is to bring three-on-three hockey to the 2030 Winter Olympics in France.
IIHF Council Member, Raeto Raffainer, said: “We’ve had a lot of discussion with IOC members. We know that both sides are very interested in bringing three-on-three to the Olympics and that’s where the energy behind this is coming from.
“We’ve been involved in three-on-three for a few years but always with kids. Now we try it with adult players and that’s why we pushed Ice Hockey UK to have the best available players at Sunday’s event.”
The venue chosen for the event – The Ozone – was opened by former Great Britain defenceman Danny Meyers in 2021 as a designated three-on-three facility.
Meyers, who coached the GB team at this year’s Youth Olympics, said: “On the ice, it’s a different challenge. You don’t have the luxury of a specialist defender or winger or whatever, you have to play all positions.
“And it’s fast. You make quick decisions and those decisions have immediate consequences. This isn’t going to overtake five-on-five, that will always be the pinnacle, but three-on-three offers a really nice extra.”
Scotland Selects won the competition by beating Slough Jets 13-5 in the final.
Click here to read more about three-on-three with Andy Potts’ article on the IIHF website.
RESULTS
Group Stage
Team HiRef UK 7-13 Scotland Selects
Slough Jets 8-2 Cardiff Fire
Scotland Selects 9-4- Cardiff Fire
Team HiRef UK 3-12 Slough Jets
Cardiff Fire 10-9 Team HiRef UK
Scotland Selects 5-2 Slough Jets
Semi-final
Slough Jets 15-8 Cardiff Fire
Final
Scotland Selects 13-5 Slough Jets
