 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for events .(January 2019) |
| Fortress Invitational | |
|---|---|
| Stadium | T-Mobile Arena |
| Location | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Operated | 2018-present |
| Former names | |
Ice Vegas Invitational (2018–2019) | |
The Fortress Invitational, formerly known as the Ice Vegas Invitational, is an annual mid-season college ice hockey tournament that has been held since 2018 at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip.
The Ice Vegas Invitational was created by BD Global, a marketing firm that had produced various college sports events in the Las Vegas area, in partnership with MGM Resorts International, the operator of T-Mobile Arena. [1] [2] The organizers hoped that the tournament would attract the top college hockey teams in the country by its third year, fueled by growing appreciation of ice hockey in the area since the launch of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League. [3] They expected the Invitational to demonstrate the arena's viability as an eventual venue for the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship (the "Frozen Four"). [4]
In 2017, Arizona State decided to cancel the Desert Hockey Classic in order to participate in the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational. They won the tournament. [5]
The 2020 tournament was renamed the Fortress Invitational (in reference to T-Mobile Arena's nickname, "The Fortress" [6] ), and was hosted by the Golden Knights. It was held January 3 and 4, 2020 and included Army, Cornell, Ohio State and Providence. [7] Providence defeated Army 3-1 in the first round while Cornell defeated Ohio State 5-2.
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Arizona State | Michigan Tech | Northern Michigan | Boston College | [5] |
| 2019 | Western Michigan | Air Force | Connecticut | St. Lawrence | [8] |
| 2020 | Providence | Cornell | Ohio State | Army |
| Team | # of times participated | Titles | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State | 1 | 1 | Independent |
| Western Michigan | 1 | 1 | NCHC |
| Providence | 1 | 1 | Hockey East |
| Michigan Tech | 1 | 0 | CCHA |
| Air Force | 1 | 0 | Atlantic Hockey |
| Cornell | 1 | 0 | ECAC |
| Northern Michigan | 1 | 0 | CCHA |
| Connecticut | 1 | 0 | Hockey East |
| Ohio State | 1 | 0 | Big Ten |
| Boston College | 1 | 0 | Hockey East |
| Army | 1 | 0 | Atlantic Hockey |
| St. Lawrence | 1 | 0 | ECAC |
The annual NCAA women's ice hockey tournament—officially known as the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship—is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the top women's team in the NCAA. The 2020 championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relationship ended in 2004; however, the ECAC abbreviation was retained in the name of the hockey conference. ECAC Hockey is the only ice hockey conference with identical memberships in both its women's and men's divisions. Cornell has won the most ECAC men's hockey championships with 12, followed by Harvard at 11. Quinnipiac, which joined the league in 2005, already has 7 regular season championships. ECAC Hockey teams have won 10 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championships, most recently in 2023.
Total Mortgage Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. It is the home venue of the New York Islanders' AHL farm team, the Bridgeport Islanders.
Orleans Arena is a 9,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Paradise, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. It is located at the Orleans Hotel and Casino and is operated by Coast Casinos, a subsidiary of Boyd Gaming Corporation.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.
The Las Vegas metropolitan area is home to many sports, most of which take place in the unincorporated communities around Las Vegas rather than in the city itself. Currently, the Las Vegas Valley has three major league professional teams: the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL), which began play in 2017 as the region's first major pro team, the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) which began play in 2020 after relocating from Oakland, California, and the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) plan to move to Las Vegas in 2025 to play at a new ballpark which is estimated to be complete by 2028. When this relocation happens, Las Vegas will have progressed from being the smallest market in the U.S. with no teams in the men's major professional leagues to being one of the largest market with at least three such teams within less than a decade.
Frozen Fury is an annual pre-season ice hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL), held in Salt Lake City since 2021. A previous incarnation of the series was held between the Kings and the Colorado Avalanche in Las Vegas from 1997 to 2016. On four occasions, the Los Angeles Kings faced different teams instead of the Avalanche, once each against the Arizona Coyotes, the San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, and the Dallas Stars. The 15th Frozen Fury was originally supposed to take place on September 29, 2012, but was cancelled due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout. It resumed September 27–28, 2013, with the New York Rangers making their debut in the series.
T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), T-Mobile Arena is situated on the Las Vegas Strip behind the New York-New York and Park MGM casino hotels.
Patrick Wellington Brown is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expansion team, the Golden Knights are the first major sports franchise to represent Las Vegas. The team is owned by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment, a consortium led by Bill Foley and the Maloof family. Their home games are played at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.
The 2019 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the national championship tournament for men's college ice hockey in the United States. The tournament involved 16 teams in single-elimination play to determine the national champion at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the highest level of competition in college hockey. The tournament's Frozen Four – the semifinals and finals – were hosted by the MAAC at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York from April 11–13, 2019. This was the second Frozen Four in the city of Buffalo, as it previously hosted in 2003.
City National Arena is the practice facility and team headquarters of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League. City National Arena opened on September 18, 2017, and is located in Summerlin South, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. It contains the headquarters for the team, a team store, and a MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub restaurant, among other features. It is also the home venue for the UNLV Rebels hockey program, the Las Vegas Thunderbirds, the Vegas Jesters of the Mountain West Hockey League, and the Junior Golden Knights.
The Desert Hockey Classic is an annual mid season ice hockey tournament hosted by Arizona State University.
The 2017–18 Arizona State Sun Devils men's ice hockey season was the 3rd season of play for the program at the Division I level. The Sun Devils represented Arizona State University and were coached by Greg Powers, in his 8th season.
The Boston Arena Christmas Tournament was a mid-season college ice hockey tournament with the first iteration played in late December 1953. It was held 17 times over an 18-year span and was discontinued after the 1970 edition.
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