With the 2022 Winter Olympics approaching, Beijing has officially kicked off a new ice and snow season.

On October 20, the "War Horse Cup" the 3rd National College Ice Hockey League was grandly opened at Beijing Aozhong Ice Hockey Stadium. The opening ceremony was attended by the following leaders and guests: Mr. Shen Zhen, Deputy Secretary-General of the Joint Secretariat of the Student Sports Association under the Ministry of Education, Vice President of the International University Sports Federation and Vice President of the Chinese University Sports Association, Mr. Si Liang, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Ice Hockey Association, Mr. Zhou Yunjie, Chairman of ORG Technology Co., Ltd., Mr. Kan Junchang, Vice Principal of Harbin Sport University and Branch Chairman of the Chinese University Sports Association Ice and Snow Sports Branch, Mr. Wang Yufeng, Secretary-General of Jilin Student Sports Association and Deputy Chairman of the Ice and Snow Sports Branch of the Chinese University Sports Association, Mr. Wang Kaizhen, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of Capital Institute of Physical Education and Sports, and Mr. Zhang Zhi, Dean of the Ice and Snow College of Beihua University, and so on.

The National College Ice Hockey League is hosted by the China University Sports Association and operated exclusively by Beijing Aozhong Sports Development Co., Ltd. A total of 17 collegiate teams coming from all over the country took part in the League this year. The competition is divided into the regular matches and the finals. The regular match season lasts from October 19th to 23rd. The top three teams of each group will participate in the finals held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Central Stadium from November 8th to 14th.

The 3rd National College Ice Hockey League is the only national ice hockey game in the education system. It has created more opportunities for college students to participate in ice hockey sport, and also cultivated more strengths to be delivered for ice hockey programs in our country. The emergence of the National College Ice Hockey League fills the gap in school-level ice hockey leagues at the domestic higher education stage and is an important part of improving the system of school sports ice hockey games. As the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing are approaching, it is of great practical significance to the development of campus ice hockey and domestic ice hockey sports.

Director of the Competition Department of the China University Sports Association, Cheng Jie said that the league has a positive driving effect on the development of ice hockey in primary and secondary schools. The College Ice Hockey League not only enables more universities to join, but also opens up an upward channel for ice hockey in primary and secondary schools, especially the secondary schools. More students who have long practiced ice hockey in secondary schools can continue to participate in national ice hockey competitions after entering college and university, it also helps to improve the standard of collegiate ice hockey league.

The National University Ice Hockey League is divided into High-level group and Sunshine group, the former is composed of 5 teams each from Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing Sport University, Harbin Sport University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Jilin Sport University; the latter is composed of 12 teams categorized under two groups of AA and AB, Group AA consists of 6 teams from Renmin University of China, Peking University, Shougang Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, and Anhui Xinhua University, Group AB consists of 6 teams from Hebei Institute of Communications, Henan Polytechnic University, Qiqihar University, Yantai University, Harbin University, and Heihe University.

After a compact and content-rich opening ceremony, the High-level group Jilin Sport University team and Harbin Institute of technology team played against each other immediately. As far as the actual strength of both parties is concerned, the ice hockey team of Jilin Sport University, which has only been established for one year, is composed mainly of students majoring in ice and snow sports as well as athletic training, and most of them belong to the abecedarian of ice hockey with zero foundation. They won fourth place in the open group of the National College Tournament last year.

In contrast, the Harbin Institute of Technology team participated in the ice hockey league for the first time. Because the team absorbed many ice hockey players such as Hu Tianyu, Zhang Wenqinghuai and Wang Chuxiong, etc., it is recognized as one of the ice hockey teams with strong strength in the match this time, with an aspiration to win the league championship. The competition process and results of the contest can demonstrate the strength of the Harbin Institute of Technology team, indeed the team carries off an auspicious start in the first match.