The concept of cross-ice hockey is a better utilization of a full sheet of ice while simultaneously providing better practice/game experience to smaller/younger players

In 1976, George Kingston did a study of hockey games played on a full ice surface

He found that:

• In a sixty minute hockey game between 6-8 year old children, the average player had possession of the puck for 20.7 seconds
• Top professionals were also timed, no player had the puck more than 85 seconds
• Youth players had an average of less than 0.5 shots per game and professionals only 1.5 shots
• In a sixty minute children's game, the actual playing time was 20 minutes, 38 seconds
• Individual players are on the ice every third of fourth shift resulting in even less ice time

The study concluded that:

• For young players in the "full-ice game model" of development, the youngest players would require 180 games for 60 minutes of actual puck possession time for stick handling, shooting, and passing and receiving
• Professional players would require 60 games to ensure 60 minutes of puck control skill development
• Many youth players "never" touch the puck in the game

To this end, cross-ice hockey was conceptualized wherein rather than conduct games and practices on a 200 ft sheet of ice, young players skate cross-ice on 85 ft. width of rink. This allows for a program to place more players on the ice during an ice slot and is more effective for players in terms of enhanced learning and playing time. 

• Better Development
• More touches/ More involved
• More players per ice session
• Coaches able to be more involved in teaching