Players registered for Mites with a birthdate between 6/1/2013-5/31/2014 (or in 3rd grade) will be placed in the Mite 3 division. Most Mite 3 players will have 3 or 4 years of organized hockey experience.

Mite 3 ice times are usually 1-1.5 hours long every Saturday and Sunday at Minnehaha Academy Ice Arena (though occasionally at Parade Ice Garden, Northeast Ice Arena, Richfield Ice Arena, and other surrounding area arenas). Pre-season clinics run from the first weekend in October through the end of October and the regular season spans from November through March. Including these clinics, the Mite 3 division can expect between 40-50 hours of ice. Additional outdoor practices or dryland training sessions may be scheduled to supplement this ice time.

Mite 3 curriculum continues heavy focus on individual skill development (skating, puck handling, passing, shooting) but also aims to prepare players for the Squirt level by increasing focus on team and situational awareness, introducing 5v5 full ice play and rules (off-sides, icing, change on the fly). Ice times in the first half of the season will be similar to Mite 2 with coaches primarily using station-based practice plans, cross-ice 3v3 or 4v4 scrimmages, etc. Instruction, drills and games will progress in difficulty and intensity, which increase competition level. In the second half of the season, practices and game play will transition to full ice 5v5 play.

Mite 3 teams will play a mix of other MHA Mite 3 teams as well as teams of similar age from other associations. Between December and February, Mite 3 teams may visit arenas of other District 3 associations (New Hope, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Orono, Delano, etc.) as part of a circuit of scrimmages to create variety in competition. Each Mite 3 team will also typically play in one 3v3 jamboree and one 5v5 jamboree during the season.

Schedules will be posted on the MHA website calendar and can be found using the tagging function at the bottom of the page to highlight your team. Additionally, the parent(s)/guardian(s) listed on a player's registration will be invited to join the player's team page in the SportsEngine mobile app where they can access the schedule, roster and team chat functionalities.

Teams will be formed the last week of October based on equal distribution of players and coaching resources. Players may also request one friend to be paired with, if desired (Friend Request Form). At the beginning of the season, for 3v3 play, teams will generally consist of 7 or 9 players. At the mid-point of the season, each team will be paired with another team to create a 5v5 team of 14-16 players (this will show as a separate team in your SportsEngine app). Mite 3 jerseys are the same for each team - reversible black/white. Team jerseys and hockey socks will be distributed on or before the first team practice.

Each team requires 2-3 volunteer coaches, typically parents or other relatives, that must register to coach with MHA and complete a number of certifications and trainings.  Each team also requires a team manager to organize team events such as parties, bonus/outdoor ice, etc. to help create a memorable team experience.