PHF Introduces Broadcast Team for 2021-22 Season
November 12, 2021 - Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) News Release
(Brooklyn, N.Y) - The Premier Hockey Federation is proud to introduce its broadcast team for the 2021-22 season. The roster features eight play-by-play announcers and five analysts bringing all of the action to life for fans across the United States live exclusively on ESPN+. Half of all PHF regular-season games are also available live through the ESPN International distribution network that includes TSN and TSN Direct in Canada, with the other half of all regular-season games streaming live on Twitch.
"We've assembled a talented group of game announcers and production teams to present the most extensive live media coverage of professional women's hockey ever seen in this country," said Michael Cohen, Executive Media Consultant for the PHF. "Our goal is to grow the game by documenting the action on the ice and providing the platform to tell the stories of these amazing athletes."
The voices calling the play in the PHF this season are Josh Eastern, Steve Goldstein, Joe Malfa, Brandon Ross, Sean Saint Jacques, Mark Schoenster, Kelly Schultz, Josh Tolle, and Erica Ayala for select Twitch broadcasts. Ayala will also serve as a regular analyst along with Lyndsey Fry, Katie Gaus, Kaylyn Kyle, and Alexis Pearson.
The 2021-22 PHF campaign features a total of 60 regular-season games plus special events and the Isobel Cup Playoffs. All games are produced by VISTA Worldlink with a team led by Executive Producer Mike Freedman who successfully produced all PHF games during the 2021 season.
2021-22 PHF Broadcast Team:
Erica Ayala (@elindsay08)
Erica L. Ayala is entering her sixth season broadcasting women's hockey for the PHF. She has served as a color analyst and rinkside reporter for the Boston Pride, Connecticut Whale, and the Metropolitan Riveters. Erica has also served as a broadcaster for NWHL All-Star Weekends in Minnesota (2018), Nashville (2019), and Boston (2020). Erica's writing has been published in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, espnW, and more. Erica is the host of Locked on Kraken, a daily podcast covering the Seattle Kraken.
Josh Eastern (@JoshEastern)
Josh Eastern is excited to be back for a second year covering the PHF! Since graduating from Indiana University in 2019, he has broadcasted in various leagues including the NWSL, USL, Concacaf events, and more. You can find him on Twitter, tweeting about his new found love of the Seattle Kraken.
Lyndsey Fry (@lyndsey_fry_18)
Olympic Silver Medalist and Chandler, AZ native Lyndsey Fry is the first person, male or female, from Arizona to represent Team USA in ice hockey at the Olympics and the first athlete from Arizona to win a medal in the Winter Olympics. Prior to competing in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, she competed on two U18 national teams and one senior national team in the World Championships where she won two gold medals and a silver. The Harvard University graduate earned an MBA from Arizona State University then started Lyndsey Fry Hockey, traveling to other non-traditional hockey markets in the Western U.S to run camps for young girls. She joined the Arizona Coyotes in 2018 and now serves as the Senior Director of Hockey Development Business Strategy as well as the President of the Arizona Kachinas girl's hockey association which she cofounded for the organization. As of 2021, Fry has served as the Coyotes' Radio Color Analyst and is eager to continue her broadcasting career with the PHF this season!
Katie Gaus (@katie_gaus)
Katie Gaus is in her seventh year working in pro hockey and recently kicked off her third season covering the NHL's Florida Panthers as a digital reporter for the team, as well as a sideline reporter on Bally Sports. Last season Gaus made her debut covering women's hockey for the PHF as a color analyst covering the regular season and the 2021 Isobel Cup Final. She also served as host of the 2021 Draft and first-ever International Draft, both streamed live on Twitch.
Steve Goldstein (@goldieonice)
Steve Goldstein is a sports broadcasting veteran nationally and in the South Florida market where he is the longtime hockey voice of the NHL's Florida Panthers now in his 15th season as TV play-by-play announcer. The 2019 NSMA Sportscaster of the Year, Florida, Goldstein also calls the NFL's Miami Dolphins for preseason games on CBS Miami, is an international and domestic tennis play-by-play voice for the US Open and other events for the USTA and Tennis Channel, and anchors news and sports on CBS 4 Miami. His extensive experience also includes coverage of the Stanley Cup Final and several Winter Olympic Games. This is his second season calling PHF action.
Kaylyn Kyle (@KaylynKyle)
Kaylyn is a former NWSL and Canadian international soccer player who has represented her country over 100 times. She's competed in two women's World Cups and won bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. She began her broadcasting career with TSN in 2017 after retiring from soccer. She's no stranger to the hockey rink growing up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with a father who played professional hockey.
Joe Malfa (@MalfaJ98)
Joe Malfa was able to identify every team in the 4 major sports leagues by their logos before he started Kindergarten. His family knew from a young age he would end up working in sports, and play-by-play broadcasting was the path he decided to pursue. Joe went to the University of Maryland to study broadcast journalism, graduated a proud Terp in December of 2019, and has been calling games professionally ever since.
Alexis Pearson (@alexismirjana)
Alexis Pearson was born and raised just outside the Twin Cities and grew up dreaming of working in the sport of hockey. She's now doing just that after graduating from St. Cloud State University with degrees in Broadcast Journalism and English. She's a member of the Minnesota Wild Radio Network, a color commentator for the PHF and the cohost of the Bardown Beauties podcast. When she's not working in sports she's watching sports, usually with her dad.
Brandon Ross (@BrandonRoss99)
Brandon Ross is a versatile broadcaster who has called more than a dozen different sports ranging from the big four to sailing. He currently serves as the lead TV announcer for Marist College lacrosse, soccer and volleyball while also broadcasting on ESPN3, ESPN+ and NESN for other schools around the Northeast. His first foray into calling professional sports came in 2019 when he was named the voice of the Burlington Royals-then the Rookie-Advanced MiLB affiliate of Kansas City-at age 20. Brandon graduated from Syracuse University in December 2020.
Sean Saint Jacques (@SSaintj7)
Sean is play-by-play broadcaster from New Jersey currently commentating on the USL Championship, USL League One and NWSL. He also covers multiple sports for the Big East Digital Network and is a proud Seton Hall and WSOU alum.
Mark Schoenster (@Schports)
Hailing from the state of Virginia and earning his broadcasting degree from West Virginia University, Mark Schoenster is looking forward to being a part of PHF broadcasts this year. When not geeking out over sports, Mark spends his time swimming and playing old Nintendo games that definitely have better remakes.
Kelly Schultz (@kellyschultz)
Kelly Schultz has been the radio play-by-play announcer for Bemidji State University Women's DI Hockey since 2007. In 2018, she became the play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Whitecaps during their inaugural Isobel Cup winning season. Kelly has also been on the call for the 2019 and 2020 NWHL All Star Games in Nashville and Boston, respectively. She got her first taste of professional women's hockey as
the Rinkside Reporter for the 2018 NWHL All Star Game in her hometown of St. Paul. In 2021, Kelly was the color commentator for the broadcasts of the NCAA Women's College Ice Hockey Quarterfinals. Besides hockey, she is also the play-by-play announcer for Bemidji State DII women's soccer, basketball and softball.
Josh Tolle (@JoshTolle7)
Josh Tolle is a multitalented broadcaster with play-by-play experience at the professional and collegiate level. For three seasons he was the voice of the Superior RoughRiders a junior hockey team in Colorado and has called various hockey games around the states for the past six years. In 2018, he began calling games for the NWSL. He has also called games for the USL, Concacaf, and the U.S. Open Cup. He has provided play-by-play for various other sports including football, basketball, baseball and volleyball. Since 2015 he has been the voice of Colorado School of Mines Athletics.
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