Grand Rapids Weekend Review

Three weeks in, two championship teams thus far, and one Patty Cup that will be hoisted by the 3ICE 2022 Champions in Las Vegas later in August. Every game and every point matter for the six teams who all have their eyes on that final prize. Team Trottier dethroned Team Mullen in a rematch in the finals to take the Championship in Grand Rapids and here’s how it happened … 

Team Mullen shut out Team Carbonneau 6-0 in Game 1 of the afternoon. Game 2 between Team LeClair and Team Fuhr needed extra hockey to determine the winner, and a Brandon Hawkins shootout goal advanced Team LeClair to the semifinals with a 5-4 win. While it looked like Game 3 was going to need extra hockey too, Jake Newton scored just before the buzzer to give Team Trottier a 3-2 win over Team Murphy. 

“All the teams seem like they're having a great time, but Team Blue feels like we're a tight group and that helps us on the ice,” Chad Costello of Team Trottier said. 

While the first semi-final game between Team Mullen and Team LeClair went to the defending champions 4-3, a jaw-dropping penalty shot goal on an incredible spin move towards the net from Team LeClair’s Hawkins earned the number one spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of Saturday night. Up next, Team Fuhr, who advanced with the most goals out of the losing teams, fell just short to Team Trottier in the second semi-final game with a final score of 6-3. 

In a rematch from last week’s final between Team Mullen and Team Trottier, the two teams battled for the Championship for the second weekend in a row. Every time Team Mullen found themselves with a lead, Team Trottier was right there and ready to respond enough to capture a 6-4 win. Contribution from up and down Team Trottier’s lineup and the luck from the head coach’s cowboy hat left them victorious after 16 minutes of play in Grand Rapids and the 3ICE Champions of Week 3. 

“The guys are coming in as defending champions, so that's bigger confidence for us,” Bryan Trottier said. “We're going to ride that wave a little bit. We've got an opportunity to kind of keep building that confidence. We can strut our stuff for a week and take it right onto the ice and do what we can do to try to do the same things all over again. We can't rely on anything, we can't take things for granted, and we have to keep earning it.” 

“You almost can't wait for Friday to fly out again,” Costello said. “I’m looking forward to getting back and playing with them and hopefully we can keep building on our championship and keep getting points to get to that Vegas final.”