– Friday Night Hockey starts tonight with Calgary Hitmen vs. Edmonton Oil Kings at 9:40 p.m. ET / 7:40 p.m. MT on Sportsnet ONE– 
– HOCKEY CENTRAL panel primes fans with pre-game, intermission and post-game analysis– 
– CHL game every Friday night on Sportsnet; match-ups confirmed through to Nov. 16 -
– Multiplatform coverage across TV, radio, digital and print, all season long –  

Calgary, AB - Game on! Friday Night Hockey hits the ice for the first time this season as the reigning Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings host the Calgary Hitmen tonight on Sportsnet ONE.  Puck drop is at 9:40 p.m. ET / 7:40 p.m. MT (following the conclusion of the Canada vs. Cuba soccer match). As Canada’s premiere destination for all things CHL, Sportsnet will broadcast more than 45 CHL games during the 2012-13 season, including a game every Friday night during the regular season and playoffs, the six game Subway Super Series, the 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

For tonight’s Friday Night Hockey broadcast, HOCKEY CENTRAL host Daren Millard will be joined by analysts Nick Kypreos and Damien Cox for pre-game, intermission and post-game analysis. Play-by-play announcer RJ Broadhead and analyst Sam Cosentino will call the game while Mark Spector reports from rinkside. Roger Millions will host the Alberta showdown. 

On Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, Friday Night Hockey features the reigning Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights hosting the Erie Otters.  Rob Faulds hosts the Midwest Division match-up while Broadhead and Cosentino return to the broadcast booth to call the game. HOCKEY CENTRAL host Jeff Marek will work alongside Kypreos and Cox to break it all down with pre-game, intermission and post-game coverage.

Below are the key details of Sportsnet’s Friday Night Hockey coverage across all platforms:

TV- Sportsnet

• Sportsnet will broadcast a CHL game every Friday throughout the regular season and has confirmed match-ups through to Friday, Nov. 16 (please see below for schedule)
• Sportsnet is home to the six game Subway Super Series featuring CHL players vs. Team Russia starting on November 5; the 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Halifax on January 16; and the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Saskatoon from May 17-26
• Connected  and HOCKEY CENTRAL keep fans up to date with all the latest news, highlights and scores from the CHL all year long

Digital – sportsnet.ca
Coverage of the 2012-13 CHL season on sportsnet.ca includes:

• Patrick King will preview every Friday Night Hockey game each week and will host a live chat with fans during the games
• King will also present his World Junior Power Rankings tracking the players eligible to crack the Canadian team  for the 2013 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Russia
• Cosentino and King prime fans for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft with a monthly Top-10 CHL prospect ranking.  Each week, King tracks player performance in the CHL with his popular Hot/Not feature
• Monthly CHL Power Rankings featuring the top 20 teams in the league
• Regular features on the CHL’s top players
• Scores, news and highlights

Radio – Sportsnet 590 The FAN and Sportsnet 960 The FAN

• Sportsnet 590 The FAN and Sportsnet 960 The FAN keep fans connected to the CHL with scores, interviews and updates
• Sportsnet 960 The FAN is home to Calgary Hitmen games with Brad Curle calling play-by-play while Ken Thrower provides the analysis. Pat Steinberg, Bryn Griffiths and Josh Humphries provide pre-game, intermission and post-game coverage.  Curle also hosts The Husky Hitmen Hour every Saturday at 1 p.m. MT covering the Hitmen and WHL news

Print – Sportsnet magazine

• Sportsnet magazine will provide regular coverage of all the biggest CHL stars

Broadcast Schedule – Friday Night Hockey (confirmed to date)

October

• Friday, Oct. 12, Calgary @ Edmonton, 9:40 p.m. ET (Sportsnet ONE)
• Friday, Oct. 19, Erie @ London, 7 p.m. ET (Sportsnet ONE)
• *Friday, Oct. 26, Moncton @ Blainville-Boisbriand,7 p.m. ET (Channel assignment TBA)

November

• *Friday, Nov. 2, Oshawa @ Guelph, 7 p.m. ET, (Channel assignment TBA)
• *Friday, Nov. 9, Halifax @ Gatineau, 7 p.m. ET , (Channel assignment TBA)
• *Friday, Nov. 16, Regina @ Vancouver, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, (Channel Assignment TBA)

Note: Sportsnet will announce the schedule for its Friday Night Hockey broadcasts following Nov. 16 on a week-by-week basis

Broadcast Schedule – Subway Super Series

Sportsnet’s Subway Super Series broadcast schedule is as follows:

November

• Monday, Nov. 5, Russia @ QMJHL, 7 p.m. ET (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, Pacific)
• Wednesday, Nov. 7, Russia @ QMJHL, 7 p.m. ET (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, Pacific)
• Thursday, Nov. 8, Russia @ OHL, 7 p.m. ET (Sportsnet ONE)
• Monday, Nov. 12, Russia @ OHL, 7 p.m. ET (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, Pacific)
• Wednesday, Nov. 14, Russia @ WHL, 10 p.m. ET (Sportsnet ONE)
• Thursday, Nov. 15, Russia @ WHL, 10 p.m. ET (Sportsnet ONE)

About Sportsnet
Sportsnet connects Canadian sports fans to their favourite teams and athletes, using five platforms: TV, Radio, Print, Online and Mobile. Sportsnet is Fuelled By Fans, and delivers storytelling on a local, regional, national and global level.  The multiplatform brand consists of Sportsnet, sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Sportsnet 960 The FAN, Sportsnet magazine, Sportsnet Mobile and the Hockey Central app on iPad and Playbook.  Sportsnet is the Canadian leader in NHL and MLB television broadcasts and is home to 162 Toronto Blue Jays games, plus MLB Playoffs and the World Series.  Sportsnet is an official broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and also offers an exciting sports lineup including the NFL, the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, the Memorial Cup, and soccer programming with UEFA Champions League, Barclays Premier League, MLS Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and Canadian national team matches for men and women.  Connected is the network’s nightly news program, providing regional and national coverage of the day’s events in the world of sports.