ECHL Reading Royals

WTVE, Royals Join Forces To Air All-Star Game

January 20, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL and WTVE TV51 today jointly announced that WTVE will carry the live television broadcast of the 2006 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Bud Light from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, on Wednesday, January 25, at 7:00 pm pst (10:00 pm est). This marks the first time in team history that the Royals have joined forces with a local television station to televise the ECHL All-Star game.

Three members of the Royals' team, T.J. Kemp, Greg Hogeboom, and goaltender, Cody Rudkowsky, were selected to represent Reading in the game, along with Head Coach Karl Taylor, who will lead the American Conference squad. Yesterday, the ECHL announced that Royals' forward, Mike Kompon, was added to the American Conference roster to replace Kurtis McLean of the Wheeling Nailers, who is currently with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. Kompon, a second year pro from Thunder Bay, Ontario, is the Royals' leading scorer with 42 points in 31 games. Kompon currently leads the ECHL in assists with 33, seventeen of which have been collected on the power play. Selected as the United Hockey League's Rookie of the Year last season, Kompon is currently riding an eighteen game point streak (3g - 24a = 27 points), the longest in the ECHL this season.

WTVE is an independent television station broadcasting from Reading. WTVE's over the air signal reaches three major television markets, including the Philadelphia metropolitan area and large segments of central and eastern Pennsylvania. In addition, WTVE is currently carried on cable systems stretching from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Western Berks County in Pennsylvania, reaching over 1.5 million households. In the Reading area, WTVE is carried on Channel 24 on the Comcast Cable Network and Channel 26 on Service Electric TV. Please check your local listings for areas outside the Reading vicinity.

Gordon Kaye, the general manager of the Royals, stated, "we're extremely pleased to work with WTVE TV51 to televise the 2005-06 ECHL All-Star Game. We believe that it's important for our fans to have this opportunity to see how the representatives of our team perform against the league's best. This also serves as an excellent way for hockey fans in this region to get a close look at the skill level of players in the ECHL, which has truly developed into the primary ‘AA' feeder league for the National Hockey League. This broadcast is a tremendous opportunity to celebrate our sport, our league, our players, and our coach in what should be a fun, exciting, and entertaining game."

George Mattmiller, the general manager of WTVE TV51, stated, "the broadcast of the 2006 ECHL All-Star game provides WTVE with an excellent opportunity to expand our sports coverage within our broadcast region. This event permits us to showcase the quality play in the ECHL in what we expect to be an NHL-quality broadcast. We here at WTVE believe that the Royals' organization is an important part of Reading and the surrounding communities, and this broadcast is another facet of the organization's efforts to reach out to the people of our region. WTVE is proud to be a part of this effort."

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