Starting today, Universal Sports will air up to 10 games of the World Hockey Championships which are taking place in Germany. Usually, NHL players not participating in the playoffs will take part in the World Championships so you’ll see Alexander Ovechkin playing for Russia and others who have also represented their countries in the Olympics. Here’s the press release from Universal.
Universal Sports’ World Hockey Championships Coverage Includes LIVE Games from Host Country GermanyGames Begin Today with USA vs. Germany LIVE at 2PM ET, and Conclude Monday, May 24Opening Game Could Set World Record for Hockey CrowdLos Angeles, May 7, 2010: Universal Sports’ 2010 coverage of the World Hockey Championships starts off with a huge matchup, as Team USA takes on host Germany LIVE at 2:00 PM ET on Friday, May 7. The game will be played at Gelsenkirchen’s soccer stadium, Veltins-Arena, and is expected to draw a sellout and world-record crowd of more than 76,000 fans.Team USA will be led by star L.A. Kings defenseman Jack Johnson, and Team Germany will be led by Buffalo Sabres forward Jochan Hecht. Other NHL stars participating in the championships include Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, playing for Team Russia, and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, playing for Team Sweden. Games throughout the championships will also be held in Cologne and Mannheim, Germany, as well as Gelsenkirchen.Universal Sports will televise as many as 10 games, either live or same-day delayed, throughout the two-plus weeks of play, while UniversalSports.com will offer 13 live games on a premium basis. The Universal Sports broadcast team consists of Anaheim Ducks’ play-by-play announcer Johnny Ahlers, joined by analyst Jim Fox of the Kings (May 7 and 9), and Ducks’ Brian Hayward (remainder of the games). 2010 marks the 4th consecutive year that Universal Sports has televised the World Hockey Championships.Online viewers will be able to purchase pool and tournament games for $.99, gold and bronze matches for $1.99 each, or a bundle for $14.99 next week at www.universalsports.com/premium.Visit http://www.universalsports.com/ice-hockey/index.html for the complete schedule, video highlights, recaps and photo galleries.
One more press release post coming up.