ECHL ECHL

Michael, LeVine Broadcast Opening Day For B2 Networks

Published on October 17, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL and B2 Networks announced that John Michael and Bruce LeVine will be the announcers for the pregame show and the game broadcast for the special "Opening Day" game featuring the Wheeling Nailers at the Johnstown Chiefs at Cambria County War Memorial on Oct. 18. The pregame and game are being broadcast live on B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider of the ECHL".

As a part of the 20th Anniversary celebration, B2 Networks is providing, free of charge, the 30-minute pregame show that will be available to all hockey fans around the world while B2 Networks Power Play Season Pass holders from ECHL teams can watch the "Opening Day" free of charge as well.

Michael is the director of broadcasting and voice of the Lake Erie Monsters, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, while LeVine is Senior VP of Sports Programming for B2 Networks.

Michael was the radio voice of the Springfield Falcons of the AHL each of the last two seasons after serving as the play-by-play broadcaster for Johnstown from 2003-05. He was chosen as a member of the NHL Radio broadcast of the 2005 ECHL All-Star Game and was selected as the ECHL Broadcaster of the Year following the 2004-05 season.

LeVine has announced and produced more than 1,000 live events for the NHL, Arena Football and the ECHL, including the play-by-play for the All-Star Games in 1996, 1998 and 2001. The voice of both the Louisiana IceGators and the Arkansas RiverBlades, he has received multiple honors and awards including an Emmy Award.

B2 Networks will be providing an enhanced game experience with its mobile production unit, including the use of multiple cameras and revolutionary triangulation communication system resulting in a top-quality broadcast for hockey fans worldwide. The pregame show, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, and between period interviews will feature Commissioner Brian McKenna, league founder Henry Brabham and Commissioner Emeritus Patrick J. Kelly as well as other league dignitaries.

Fans that purchase a "Power Play Season Pass" from B2 Networks will be able to watch the game free of charge while others will be able to purchase it for only $6.

The Power Play Season Pass is a new package for the ECHL that will provide fans with complete coverage of their favorite team on a worldwide basis. B2 Networks Power Play Season Pass allows subscribers to watch their team, home and away, live for every regular season contest at a savings of more than 60 percent off the individual game purchase price. The Power Play Season Pass is available now for $140 and can be purchased at www.echl.com or www.b2livetv.com.

The game between Johnstown and Wheeling is a rematch of Game 7 from the first-ever ECHL Finals. Played on Apr. 12, 1989 in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Cambria County War Memorial, the Carolina Thunderbirds defeated the Johnstown Chiefs 7-4 to win the Riley Cup, which was presented to the ECHL champion from 1989-96. The membership relocated to Wheeling, W.Va. prior to the 1992-93 season, and after four seasons as the Thunderbirds became the Nailers in 1996-97.

B2 Networks has broadcast ECHL games the past four seasons, including the 2007 ECHL All-Star Game as well as 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.

B2 Networks
B2 Networks is a premier provider of reliable and secure international television and pay-per-view broadcasting systems. Our worldwide network of arenas, stadiums, local venues and data centers are currently in use to distribute live sports and events to personal computers, television screens, mobile devices and commercial venues around the world. Working with organizations such as the AHL, ECHL, NLL, IHL, USHL, NAHL, Arena Football Leagues, Fitness Universe and selected NCAA and NAIA conferences and member institutions, B2 Networks has established itself as a leader in innovative global direct to home, mobile and television broadcasting. For the B2 Networks' Programming Guide visit www.B2livetv.com, or for information about B2 Networks, visit www.B2now.com.

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

ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league that will have 25 teams playing in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08, including the Mississippi (Biloxi) Sea Wolves, who return after missing two seasons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the expansion Elmira (New York) Jackals.

The Stockton Thunder and the City of Stockton will host the 16th Annual ECHL All-Star Game at Stockton Arena on Jan. 23, 2008 and the 11th Annual ECHL All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 22, 2008.

For the fourth straight year and the 10th time in the last 11 years, the ECHL had more than four million fans attend its games in 2006-07 and averaged 4,101 fans per game.

The total attendance for the regular season and the Kelly Cup Playoffs is twice as many fans as the total attendance for the WNBA, Arena Football League and Major League Soccer and four times greater than total attendance for both the National Lacrosse League and af2.

There have been more than 66 million fans who have attended over 15,000 games since the ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in three states.

There have been 333 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 188 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past six seasons and 69 former ECHL players were on the opening-day rosters of NHL teams.

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

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 and for the past 17 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.

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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.


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