Border Wars: A USA vs Canada Hockey Fighting Event Is Coming This Summer With Ice Wars Coming Back
Minas Panagiotakis. Getty Images.You may remember when 'Ice Wars' made its debut a few years ago in the spring of 2022. It probably feels like a fever dream at this point, but we had legal, sanctioned hockey fights like this going down for a few weeks.
It was the sport of the future, but unfortunately the present wasn't quite ready for it.
You go into any hockey rink in America today and you'll find some kid who wants to be the next Connor McDavid. You'll find a kid who wants to be the next Andrei Vasilevskiy, or the next Cale Makar, or the next Auston Matthews. But what about that kid who wants to be the next Mathieu Olivier or the next Ryan Reaves? There's no glitz or glamor that comes along with being the next great enforcer.
Ice Wars was giving all of those guys the shine they deserve. Now they don't have to sit on the bench for 55 minutes per game just waiting for their one or two shifts per period to have a chance to fight someone. Now these guys get to go out there and they are the main attraction. It may have gone away for a bit, but now Ice Wars is coming back. And they're bringing a Border War with them.
BKFC -- Ice Wars will be helmed by Nama and will host its first ever event, “Battle of the Borders”, a showdown between U.S. and Canadian ice warriors on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. The inaugural event is slated to showcase twelve head-to-head bouts and feature twenty-four elite fighters from the United States and Canada who will battle in “The Ice Box,” a 900-square foot ice enclosure designed specifically for ice fighting.
If there's one thing the 4 Nations FaceOff taught us, it's that the only thing people love more than being patriotic is hating another country. Not only do you get a chance to cheer for an American to win a fight, but you also get to root for a Canadian to get his ass beat. Vice versa for all you jabronis north of the border.
Fighting in hockey is all about sticking up for your teammates. It's the most selfless act you could do on a sheet of ice. Somebody hits one of your guys in a way you don't like? You drop the gloves, and you let him know about it with your fists. Even if it's not to stick up for one of your teammates, these guys are fighting to fire up the rest of the guys on the bench. Give their team a little bit of life and juice.
Now they get to fight for their country. Not to steal any valor from the Troops or anything like that. But they're literally fighting for their country. These guys would never get a chance to suit up for Team USA or Team Canada in any sort of hockey tournament. But when it comes to smashing your fist through another player's skull? We've got a bunch of Mike Eruzione's out there.