Even the most casual hockey fan would have to admit this is an especially exciting time for the sport. We’re in the middle of the NHL season, the World Junior Hockey Championships just ended and Olympic hockey is about a month away. That’s a lot of hockey news to follow, and while iPhone users have plenty of iPhone app options to follow the greatest sport on ice, many of them are limited to NHL news.
And that, in a nutshell, is what stands out about The Hockey News iPhone app (free). It is, of course, heavily focused on the NHL, but it is also one of the few iPhone apps that offers news on things like Olympic hockey and minor league hockey.
Followers of the magazine and Web site will see many similarities in this iPhone app, as the iPhone app essentially boils down to a somewhat limited version of the Web site (like SI.com and NBC Sports Mobile). The home page is divided into headlines, columns, blogs and features, while it also includes scores, stats and standings.
The Hockey News iPhone app has two view modes, one of which is a list-type view that is very similar to a news feed. The other is a unique view that shows a single story, along with a short blurb and allows you to “slide” to the next story.
Honestly, neither is all that impressive. The iPhone app works quickly and it works well, but it’s not going to blow you away.
The Hockey News also isn’t for any hockey fan. If you only care about news from the NHL, you may as well just stick with Sportacular, as it does a fantastic job at that. But if you want news on minor league transactions and columns on the World Junior Championships, then I can’t think of a better iPhone app.
THN is a free download, so even if you’re not familiar with the Web site or magazine, it’s worth downloading.
