3HL makes room for speed
The 3HL hockey tour arrived at the Sleeman Centre for the Guelph Games on Sun, Mar. 5.
The tour features eight teams, playing against each other in an exciting three versus three format which allows for more space on the ice. In addition to modified rules, it is also a faster paced game.
There are no icing calls and no offside, and face-offs follow the “hurry-up” rule, which allows the ref to drop the puck whenever they like instead of waiting for the players to be ready.
There are also no penalties in three-on-three hockey, only penalty shots which are accompanied by the remaining players on the ice chasing down the attempt in an exciting break away scenario.
“There’s a lot of open ice […], so you really have to play positionally well,” said captain of the Milton Flyers, Tristan Fairbarn.
As for the future of three-on-three hockey, Fairbarn thinks it has a lot of potential.
“There’s lots of guys that are on the edge and just can’t make it or have injuries,” he said. “I really think that they have come up with a great idea here and I’m excited about it.”
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals were fast and furious as eight teams battled to stay in the tournament. Winning a quarterfinal means moving onto the next round with $2000 in your pocket, while losing means going home with nothing.
The games were 14 minutes long, consisting of seven-minute halves.
In the first matchup, the London 3s skated away from their competition, beating the Oshawa 88s 6-0.
Quarterfinal two saw the Newmarket Saints go out early as the Milton Flyers beat them 4-3 in a nail-biting game. The loss saw U of G and Guelph Storm alum Matt Lyall go home after the first round.
“I think we just had a couple mental lapses, they have a really good team and we knew we were in for a tough game,” said Lyall.
The third game was between the Guelph Brewers and the Toronto Bees. The Brewers responded to the home support in the crowd as they pocketed their first $2000 of the night, winning 6-2.
The last quarterfinal saw the Markham Millionaires win their first game of the tour as they sent the Kitchener Lions home, defeating them 5-2.
[media-credit id=115 align=”aligncenter” width=”1020″]
Semifinals
With another $2000 on the line for the winners of each semifinal, the intensity in the Sleeman Centre was audible.
The London 3s took the ice again, this time to face the embattled Milton Flyers.
After 14 minutes of play, the game was tied at 1-1. A seven-minute overtime period ensued, with whoever scored first booking their ticket in the final. In a thrilling finish, the Milton Flyers scored 20 seconds into overtime to win the game 2-1.
The second semifinal was much anticipated by the crowd, as the Guelph Brewers faced the Markham Millionaires. It was the first appearance in a semi-final for Markham, but the Brewers made their desire to be in the final clear.
In a goal-scoring fest, the Brewers led the game 5-1 at halftime. In the second half it was the Millionaires turn as they attempted to comeback. Despite the effort, Guelph pulled off the victory winning 6-4 to move on to face Milton in the finals.
[media-credit id=115 align=”aligncenter” width=”1020″]
Final
The last game of the day came down to the Guelph Brewers and the Milton Flyers competing for the Guelph Games title, as well as $3000.
The Brewers opened the scoring early in the final and kept their 1-0 lead going into halftime. Milton showed quickly that this game would not be that simple as they tied the game up at 1-1 just 45 seconds into the second half.
A slick pass led to a cheeky tip-in goal from the Brewers, making the game 2-1. However, this didn’t last long as a penalty was called in favour of the Flyers. The initial shot was saved, but the rebound bounced out right into the path of the oncoming Milton player who made no mistake in hitting the back of the net.
With the game tied at 2-2, overtime would be the decider. Milton showed their composure, as they took advantage of a mistake by the Brewers goalie to net the winning goal of the tournament.
“Getting through Guelph in the finals, they have a really good team,” said Fairbarn. “I think they were favored to win and we pulled it off.”
Milton finished the day with $7000 in prize money and the Guelph Games title.
Photo by Mido Melebari.