Like that famous saying goes, this thread is useless without pics. Here is the typical setup I used last weekend.
I try to get as close to center ice and as high up as possible. There was one rink this weekend where there was a massive concrete pillar just left of center, so it would've blocked the view of one half of the ice. Fortunately, most rinks have decent sightlines.
This is an ideal setup. Everything is to the right of the tripod, and my laptop is sitting up a bit (on the carry-on) so I don't have to stoop too low to fiddle with OBS or YouTube Studio. I usually try to get the microphone as far away from me (and from others) as possible. Often, I will try to tape it up as high as possible on a wall or railing.
The green cord is my 75ft extension power cord. Finding a nearby power outlet can be a real challenge. It's often what I spend the most time doing when at an unfamiliar rink; sometimes going to places in the rink that the public is usually not allowed to go. I use copious amounts of duct tape if I have to cross common walkways or stairs; if I can wedge it against the wall, I will tape it down every 10 feet or so.
I got a bit creative and tossed the power cord over the sprinkler line.
Occasionally, I will find an ethernet line running somewhere (the blue cable in the picture above). Ethernet connections obviously are a lot more stable than wireless. I will trace it to the source and see if I could possibly plug in my laptop to it. One rink had a wireless router kind of hidden at the top of the bleachers at center ice; that was nice since the wireless network had capped bandwidth. At another rink, I had to plug in my power cord in a conference room. It also had an ethernet port, but I didn't have a cable long enough--hence my purchase of a 50-foot cable. It was a shame since the wi-fi was terrible (T-Mobile was non-existent), so I couldn't livestream.
Here is a better shot of my immediate command center. Obviously I track the game with the camera. The fluid head arm is so smooth, I can operate it with one finger. On the tablet below, I have the Keep the Score webpage open and you tap to add/remove goals to each team, I also use it to track the period number. If I had someone helping me, you can also add a countdown clock that the person could tap to start/stop the time. I have seen some slick implementations where you can point a camera at the scoreboard, and the software will automagically track everything displayed (goals, clock, and penalties) and overlay it on the stream. In the lower-right corner is a small window with the YouTube stream so I can see if the stream is being laggy or not.
Example of a Keep the Score control panel.
Since my kid needs to be at the rink an hour prior to puck drop for dryland, it gives me plenty of time to set everything up. If a power outlet is nearby, I can slowly get everything up and running in about 30 minutes. Then I do a few speed tests of the network bandwidth. If the bandwidth is sufficient, I schedule a stream in OBS (which sends it automagically to YouTube), then I post the YouTube link to our Team Chat for parents to share with friends/family. I typically start the stream at the scheduled time (even if the game will start late), but I don't start recording a local copy until their 3-minute warm-up is over.
To be a little more transparent about my setup, I already had the laptop ($600), tablet ($150), and camera ($500). Tablet is definitely optional, and you don't need to spend a ton on a camera. The rest of my expenses were as follows...
Tripod - $120 (on sale during Amazon Prime Days; paid with Amazon Prime Visa points)
Microphone - $30 (early Black Friday sale at Best Buy)
Power strip - $15
USB-C hub - $22
HDMI video capture adapter & 25 ft cable - $33
Ethernet cable - $12
Camera power adapter (so I don't have to use a battery) - $22
The stuff above basically stays in my dedicated streaming bag. The rest of the stuff (cables, chargers, etc.) are constantly repurposed for other trips and at home.