Army West Point Athletics
Friday, Feb. 19 - Hockey on National TV and Oprah
February 19, 2010 | General
Good afternoon from Erie, Pa. Ryan Yanoshak with you this afternoon with a brief BKB update.
I am with Army hockey team as the Black Knights get ready to play Mercyhurst and it has been a busy Friday. Mercyhurst is one of the few places we travel to a day early so we arrived Thursday evening after a long bus ride. Unfortunately, we again had a bus without a VCR, making the seven-hour trip seem even longer.
The team had breakfast this morning and then a quick skate over at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Tonight's game will be broadcast to a national audience on CBS College Sports Network at 8:05 p.m. and the rink is a busy place as television begins its work for the show. Throw in a Mercyhurst women's college hockey game at 4 p.m. and the Ice Center was hopping.
Play-by-play announcer Dave Ryan and color analyst Dave Starman were both at our skate, putting the final touches on their research for tonight's game. Ryan spent some time with Cody Omilusik, Owen Meyer, Eric Sefchik, Marcel Alvarez and Jay Clark and I am sure a lot of the questions the players answered will be used tonight.
Army has not traditionally played well in Erie, Pa., and with only four regular season home games left, these contests are very important for playoff seeds.
If you want to know more, I posted my game notes on Wednesday. Face-off is scheduled for 8:06 p.m. for tonight's contest.
I am working from my hotel room and just saw the coolest thing. As I was watching Oprah (yes I know), Matt Laurer was interviewing a figure skater winner. There was a fan standing between the two of them holding a sign that said GO ARMY on one side and then they would flip it over and it said BEAT NAVY. Good to see support for Army, even at the Olympics.
While a lot of my energies have been focused on preparing for the national broadcast, this is a busy weekend for Army Athletics with a few "stars" on the line this weekend.
The wrestling team travels to Annapolis, Md., for a dual against Navy Saturday at 7 p.m., after the Army basketball teams host Navy at a sold-out Christl Arena. The swimming and diving team is competing at Navy at the Patriot League Championships and the Black Knights are hosting the indoor Patriot League Track and Field Championships at Gillis Field House. In addition, the baseball team is playing in North Carolina and the gymnastics squad is hosting Temple.
My apologies for the brief entry today. I need to do some research for TV and find something to watch on television.
Have a great weekend.
Go Army!
