AHL American Hockey League

All-Star Game to Reach 40 Million Homes

Published on January 6, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA ... The 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic, now just four weeks away, will be televised coast to coast to more than 40 million households on no fewer than 12 regional television partners in the United States and Canada.

The top players in the American Hockey League head to Portland, Maine, for this year's annual showcase at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The event begins on Feb. 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET with the 2003 Pepsi AHL All-Star Skills Competition, and concludes with the 2003 AHL All-Star Game on Feb. 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The New England Sports Network will produce the telecasts, airing both night's events live. One-time Portland Pirates announcer Tom Caron will be joined in the broadcast booth by former Maine Mariners winger Andy Brickley. Caron and Brickley currently work broadcasts of the Boston Bruins for NESN.

"NESN is very excited to be producing and airing the 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic," said Rick Abbott, the network's vice president of programming. "For our New England viewership, the excitement of AHL hockey is a great fit."

The 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic will reach audiences in major U.S. markets including New York; Boston; Chicago; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Florida; Denver; Salt Lake City and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, NHL Center Ice, the National Hockey League's digital cable and satellite package, will offer both night's events live to their subscribers in the United States.

Rogers Sportsnet, which is seen in more than seven million homes across Canada, will air the Skills Competition on a delayed broadcast prior to its live national coverage of the All-Star Game on Monday night.

All-Star Skills Competition - TV Schedule

NHL Center Ice (U.S. subscribers) -- Live

NESN -- Live

MSG Network -- Live

Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh -- Live

Fox Sports Net Chicago -- Feb. 3 – Noon CT

Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain -- Feb. 3 – Noon MT

Rogers Sportsnet (national) -- Feb. 3 – 4pm ET

CN8 (Comcast Network) -- Delayed, TBA

All-Star Game - TV Schedule

NHL Center Ice (U.S. subscribers) -- Live

NESN -- Live

Rogers Sportsnet (national) -- Live

Fox Sports Net New York -- Live

Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh -- Live

Fox Sports Net Chicago -- Live

Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain -- Live

Fox Sports Net Bay Area -- Live

Comcast Sportsnet-Philadelphia -- Live

Comcast Sportsnet-Mid-Atlantic -- Feb. 8 – 1pm ET

Sunshine Network -- Delayed, TBA

STREAKS ALIVE! ... Several teams went streaking into the new year, led by the Hamilton Bulldogs, who are unbeaten in their last 15 games (13-0-2-0). Hamilton has also earned a point in 20 straight (17-0-2-1) and has won 11 consecutive road games. The Bulldogs are on pace for 58 wins and 126 points this season, which would eclipse the league records of 57 and 124 established by the 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers.

The Providence Bruins are 10-0-1-0 in their last 11 games overall and 7-0-2-0 in their last nine at home, while the Houston Aeros have gone 8-0-1-0 since a 2-0 loss to Norfolk on Dec. 19. On the flip side, the Syracuse Crunch are mired in a franchise-worst 13-game winless skid (0-9-3-1), while fellow Central Division foe Cleveland has dropped eight in a row.

AULD LANG SYNE ... The new year seems to bring out the best in Manitoba goaltender Alex Auld. The former second-round draft pick, who turns 22 on Jan. 7, set a Moose franchise record with nearly eight periods of scoreless hockey, including shutouts of Bridgeport on Dec. 28 and of Utah on Jan. 2.

Auld's streak came one year after the netminder earned Sher-Wood AHL Rookie of the Week honors for stopping 61 of 62 shots and posting three victories during the last days of 2001.

OFF THE ICE ... At Saturday afternoon's Milwaukee-Grand Rapids game, Admirals fan Lisa Belli-Fuchs and her son Alex won a limousine ride directly from the Bradley Center to Lambeau Field in Green Bay and tickets for that night's NFL playoff game... Philadelphia Eagles safety Brian Dawkins dropped the first puck prior to Friday's Phantoms-Penguins game at the First Union Spectrum... Saturday night will be Salute to Duct Tape Night at Cincinnati Gardens, where a duct tape fashion show and duct tape sculptors will be on display and the first 2,500 fans will receive a roll of duct tape in the Ducks' team colors of eggplant, jade and gray... The Lowell Jr. Lock Monsters squirt minor team earned a bronze medal at the 2003 Bell Canada Cup in Ottawa, while the pee wee majors finished second at the New York Cup tournament in Albany.

ETC. ... Ron Wilson, promoted from assistant coach in Saint John after Jim Playfair's ascension to Calgary on Friday, won his AHL head coaching debut that night, 4-2 over Worcester... After missing the first six weeks of the season following hernia surgery, Tomas Surovy of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has 10+13=23 pts. in 20 games... Portland's Maxime Ouellet posted three consecutive shutouts last week... Binghamton rookie goaltender Ray Emery, named to the Canadian All-Star roster last week, was recalled by Ottawa on Friday... A crowd of 8,183 fans, the first-ever sellout at the Arena at Harbor Yard, watched Bridgeport drop a 4-3 decision to rival Hartford on Saturday night... Seeing his first AHL action since the 1993 Calder Cup Playoffs, Joe Sacco had two goals and two assists in two games with Philadelphia over the weekend... With a goal on Sunday, Grand Rapids' Michel Picard became the 36th player in AHL history to score 250 career goals... Rob Skrlac scored for Albany in Sunday's 2-1 win at Hartford, his second career AHL goal and his first in 133 games since Apr. 7, 1999... Justin Papineau's 62nd career goal on Sunday makes him the IceCats' all-time franchise leader... Chicago's Luke Sellars scored a goal and Utah's Corey Hirsch earned the win in net as Canada won the 2002 Spengler Cup tournament with a 3-2 win over the host HC Davos in Switzerland on Tuesday... Houston is outshooting its opponents by nearly a 2-to-1 margin (202-103) over the last five games.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2003


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