from Jeff Miller of the OC Register,

... the real painful part is how 3-on-3 has evolved – or maybe that should be devolved – into a game of keep away, the most gifted players in the world reduced to twirling in circles while displaying nothing more breathtaking than their ability to be patient.

In a game where aggressive, even agitative play traditionally has been rewarded, overtime has, in some ways, taken hockey backward.

And backward really is the direction 3-on-3 frequently travels, players with the puck willingly retreating from the offensive zone in order to make line changes and regroup while the other team is trapped on the ice searching for its next breath.

“It’s almost like it’s a basketball game,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said, “where you’re throwing it around the court and not letting the other team have possession.”

Yeah, the old stall tactic, the one once famously employed by Dean Smith at North Carolina, at least until everyone became so fed up and bored that college basketball finally added a shot clock.

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