WHL Announces ROOT Sports 'Friday Night Ice' Broadcast Schedule

Calgary, AB. - The Western Hockey League (WHL) and ROOT SPORTS™ today announced the 6-game ‘Friday Night Ice’ broadcast schedule that will bring LIVE WHL action into 3.2 million homes across five U.S. states during the 2012-13 WHL Regular Season.  The WHL and ROOT SPORTS are in their fourth season of a multi-year broadcast agreement in which ROOT SPORTS serves as the WHL’s exclusive U.S. Northwest cable home.

One of the premier development League’s in the World, the Western Hockey League will showcase the top rated NHL prospects LIVE every Friday night on ROOT SPORTS.  The broadcast schedule will feature all five WHL U.S. based Clubs: Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans.  WHL on ROOT SPORTS ‘Friday Night Ice’ begins Friday, January 11 as the Tri-City Americans visit the WHL B.C. Division leading Kelowna Rockets at 7:00pm PT.

“The WHL is very pleased to once again showcase the World’s finest hockey prospects on ROOT SPORTS ‘Friday Night Ice’ broadcasts,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison.  “This allows hockey fans throughout the Pacific Northwest and other regions of the U.S. to follow our U.S. Division teams closely during the stretch run for the 2013 WHL Playoffs”.

“We are excited to be able to broadcast WHL games again this season,” said ROOT SPORTS Senior Vice President/GM Mark Jorgensen. “The caliber of teams and players in this league is excellent, and our viewers will greatly enjoy the fast paced action.”

The WHL on ROOT SPORTS ‘Friday Night Ice’ will continue to feature the play-by-play of Ian Furness with analysis provided by former WHL and NHL player Kevin Sawyer.

2012-13 WHL on ROOT SPORTS ‘Friday Night Ice’ Broadcast Schedule

ABOUT ROOT SPORTS™

ROOT SPORTS™ is the cable home of the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders FC, Portland Timbers, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Seattle University Redhawks and Big Sky Conference. The network reaches more than 3.2 million viewers across five states, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, and delivers more than 350 live events each year – all of which are available in high definition.

ROOT SPORTS is owned and operated by DIRECTV Sports Networks LLC, which operates regional sports networks in the Northwest, Pittsburgh and Rocky Mountain regions. The three networks combined reach more than 8.8 million viewers across 18 states and own exclusive programming and distribution partnerships with more than 20 teams and conferences. DIRECTV Sports Networks is a controlled subsidiary of DIRECTV, the world’s most popular television service.

About the WHL

Western Hockey League (WHL) is the largest major junior hockey league in the world today with 22 member Clubs throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.  The WHL attracts over 4 million spectators each season to regular season and playoff games and is a world leader in player development and scholarship opportunities.  Each season the WHL is one of the top leagues from which players are selected from in the NHL Entry Draft.  Currently over 20% of all NHL players are graduates of the WHL.  The WHL is also a leading provider of post-secondary scholarships with over 400 scholarships awarded each year to current and graduate WHL players, more than any other league in North America. The WHL is a member of the Canadian Hockey League (together with the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) which consists of 60 member clubs from coast to coast in Canada and the northern United States.