While you may not have been a hockey fan before the Olympics, the exciting Gold Medal rematch between the United States and Canada was a great showcase for the sport. With the playoffs on the horizon, now is a great time to tap into the NHL season with these iPhone apps that shoot and score.
Puck news
There are a number of hockey news-related apps. Pro Hockey Live (NHL) is very similar to iApp Ventures’ other releases, such as Pro Football Live and Pro Baseball Live, offering a kind of hockey-centric version of Sportacular and ESPN ScoreCenter.
The Hockey News has the basically same info as Pro Hockey Live, but instead of multiple news sources its info comes from TheHockeyNews.com. It’s also free, so it’s sure to develop a fan base. NHL: Hockey News is in the same vein as the other two. While it has the most sources, the current version is buggy and the app is surprisingly slow.
If you are only concerned about news from your team and not the rest of the league, the “Hockey Fans” series offers specific apps for each NHL team. Unfortunately, the app’s news and media sections have linking issues, as in the St. Louis Blues app I found many stories and videos about blues music and few about hockey.
Blue line gaming
The five-on-five simulation app gamers have been craving hasn’t yet made its way to the iPhone, though Ice Stars Hockey is a three-on-three experience that is about as close to an actual hockey game as you will find. Even fighting is included in this game that hopefully will lead to a more realistic, NHL-licensed effort in the future.
Don’t be fooled by Backyard Hockey. Despite an icy background, this is an air hockey game with an ice hockey façade. It’s not bad but it won’t satisfy your NHL-gaming needs.
Fantasy hockey hasn’t taken off like fantasy football or baseball. My Fantasy Hockey Draft is not a cheat-sheet app, but is instead a draft utility that allows leagues to keep track of their draft and export it.
Odds and endboards
For puckheads who are trying to find their way to the arena or even to a local hockey retailer, HockeyGPS can help you find information on all kinds of hockey-related locations around North America. This free app can be a little frustrating to use, but it is loaded with potential.
Hockey Quiz: NHL 101 and follow-up 201 and 301 quizzes boast 50 questions about the league, with 101 being the easiest quiz and 301 being the most difficult. A limited app with questionable replay value, hockey trivia buffs will nonetheless find some enjoyment from these apps.
If you find yourself craving a live game experience without the actual game, check out NHL Songs and Goal Horns. Predictably, this app includes the audio of all 30 NHL team’s post-goal celebrations – with multiple audio files for some teams. It’s not exactly like being at the game, but still a cool app.
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