WHL AND ROOT SPORTS™ ANNOUNCE ‘FRIDAY NIGHT ICE’ BROADCAST SCHEDULE

January 12, 2015 Press

CALGARY, AB – ROOT SPORTS and the Western Hockey League (WHL) announced today the 8-game broadcast schedule that will bring live WHL action into 3.4 million homes across five U.S. states during the 2014-15 WHL Regular Season. This is the sixth year of partnership between WHL and ROOT SPORTS.

One of the premier development League’s in the World, the Western Hockey League will showcase the top rated NHL prospects live 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 begins Friday, January 16^th as the Vancouver Giants will host the Tri-City Americans at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, BC.

“Our ROOT SPORTS WHL Friday Night Ice hockey broadcasts showcase the NHL stars of tomorrow for hockey fans throughout the Pacific Northwest and other regions of the United States along with our great WHL U.S. Division rivalries,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison.

“We continue to enjoy a strong partnership with the WHL and are pleased to be able to put the league’s best on display,” stated Mark Jorgensen, Senior Vice President/General Manager of ROOT SPORTS.

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

The complete ROOT SPORTS 2014-15 WHL telecast schedule is below. Please check with your cable or satellite provider regarding ROOT SPORTS channel information in your area.

**2014-15 WHL on ROOT SPORTS Broadcast Schedule**
All times listed are PT. Territorial restrictions may apply.

Schedule subject to change

Date	Visiting Team	Home Team	Time

Friday, January 16, 2015	Tri-City	Vancouver	7:30 PM
Friday, January 23, 2015	Everett	Kelowna	7:05 PM
Friday, February 6, 2015	Portland	Seattle	7:35 PM
Friday, February 20, 2015	Tri-City	Everett	7:35 PM
Friday, February 27, 2015	Spokane	Tri-City	7:05 PM
Friday, March 6, 2015	Seattle	Portland	7:00 PM
Friday, March 13, 2015	Portland	Spokane	7:05 PM
Friday, March 20, 2015	Everett	Victoria	7:05 PM

For full broadcast details visit: https://northwest.rootsports.com/

ROOT SPORTS is the home of the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders FC, Portland Timbers, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Big Sky Conference and Mountain West Conference. The network reaches 3.4 million households 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 regional sports networks are operated by DIRECTV Sports Networks LLC in the Northwest, Pittsburgh and Rocky Mountain regions. The three networks combined reach 9 million households 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 300 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.