Sports stats

ECHL ECHL

B2 Networks Broadcasts 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game Skills Competition

January 17, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced that the Skills Competition at the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game presented by Bud Light and Jackson Rancheria will be broadcast live online by B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider of the ECHL".

It is the first time in its 11-year history that the event has been broadcast.

B2 Networks is providing the event free of charge through the ECHL web site beginning at 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 22 with commentary provided by Jack Michaels of the Alaska Aces and Dan Weiss of the Phoenix RoadRunners. The video broadcast requires a cable modem or DSL line with a minimum connection speed of 300 Kbps and Windows Media Player 9 or higher.

Hosted by the Stockton Thunder and the City of Stockton at Stockton Arena, the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game presented by Jackson Rancheria and Bud Light will be played on Jan. 23.

"The ECHL skills competition has created some very memorable moments during previous competitions," said Richard Brosal, B2 Networks Executive Vice President. B2 Networks is proud to give all ECHL fans the opportunity to witness the next great performance during the 2008 event."

The ECHL and B2 Networks signed a three-year agreement in March 2007 that is giving ECHL fans the largest and widest variety of services and options ever offered since B2 Networks began providing them the opportunity to watch their teams online in 2004.

B2 Networks broadcast the "Opening Day" game from Johnstown including a specially-produced pregame show featuring interviews with league founder Henry Brabham, commissioner Brian McKenna and commissioner emeritus Brian McKenna. It carried the video and audio broadcasts of the 2007 ECHL All-Star Game and has broadcast every game of the conference finals and the Kelly Cup Finals each of the past four years.

The first hockey game ever broadcast by B2 Networks was the Las Vegas Wranglers in February 2004 and the first hockey championship broadcast by B2 Networks was the 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game Notes
Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game is presented by Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel and Bud Light.

Game will be televised live at 10 p.m. ET on NHL Network for sixth-consecutive year.

Telecast available online free-of-charge through ECHL web site on B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider of the ECHL".

Broadcast carried live on XM Radio for third consecutive year on NHL Hockey Play-by-Play (XM Channel 206) at 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 23 in the United States on XM Radio and in Canada through XM Radio's partner, Canadian Satellite Radio.

The NHL Radio broadcast will be broadcast on KGEO-AM 1230 in Bakersfield, Calif.; 1640 WTNI and 1490 WXBD in Biloxi, Miss.; 1350 KTIK - The Ticket in Boise, Idaho; 790 ESPN Radio, The Deuce in Fresno, Calif.; AM-970 ESPN Radio in Modesto/Stockton, Calif.; ESPN 910 The Team in North Charleston, S.C.; KKAT AM 860 in Salt Lake City; 1420 KSTN-AM in Stockton, Calif.; and WKWK 97.3 FM in Wheeling, W.Va.

Stanley Cup and Patrick J. Kelly Cup will be on display at all events.

Henry Brabham, Patrick J. Kelly, Nick Vitucci and Chris Valicevic will be inducted as the inaugural class into the ECHL Hall of Fame at a luncheon on Jan. 23.

Diane and Tom Husband of Phoenix are the winners of the Chase Chevrolet "Win A Trip to the ECHL All-Star Game" contest, receiving roundtrip transportation to Stockton where they will stay at the new Sheraton Stockton Hotel at Regent Pointe, the official host hotel of the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game.

Game-worn jerseys and game-used pucks from the All-Star Game and Skills Competition will be auctioned online at MeiGray.com.

ECHL
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08, the ECHL is the Premier 'AA' Hockey League and the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 25 teams playing 900 games in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08.

The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL in 2007-08, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 341 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 in 2005-06 and 26 in 2006-07. There have been 196 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past five seasons.

There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is head coach of the Washington Capitals.

The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 18 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.

In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players.

In the last five seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.

Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

Check out the ECHL Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 17, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central