College Hockey Comes to the Strip

For one weekend in early January 2018, the Las Vegas Strip traded slot machines for slap shots. The first Ice Vegas Invitational brought four NCAA Division I programs to T-Mobile Arena: Arizona State, Boston College, Michigan Tech, and Northern Michigan. Playing on a full NHL sheet in a brand-new building, the teams gave fans fast, physical, big-stage hockey. Arizona State skated off with the inaugural championship, a proud moment for a program still early in its Division I journey. The event showed that a warm-weather city could fill seats for the college game and set the stage for a return the following winter.