3ICE is a new hockey league that will begin after the '21 Stanley Cup Final, in which eight teams will "descend upon a different U.S. or Canadian city for eight consecutive Saturdays in a bracket-style format that will include seven games per day," according to Mark J. Burns of SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The winners of each game will "advance, picking up one point for a first-round win, two points for a second-round victory and three points for a championship triumph." Each game will have "two eight-minute periods with a running clock that will only stop for injuries or penalties." 3ICE Founder & CEO E.J. Johnston declined to comment on funding specifics, but said that the league has been "privately funded to date without any corporate involvement and that there's 'ample runway' for the new venture." Johnston said that 3ICE still is "considering 15 to 20 different cities for its first season, which will start with a player evaluation camp and a draft in either January or February" of next year. Burns notes the league's salaries will be the "same for all coaches and all players." Though the new league would not "reveal any league partners, the sponsorship model allows for a company's name, logo and marks to be featured across a team's jersey" (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/13 issue).
