COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fans will be able to enjoy more National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) games on television this coming season as the conference has reached a two-year agreement with American Sports Network (ASN) to broadcast at least 18 NCHC games over that span, NCHC Commissioner Josh Fenton announced Tuesday.

“We are excited to work with ASN and the Sinclair Broadcast Group to deliver exciting hockey to fans across the country,” Fenton said. “The ability to more widely distribute great NCHC action to our passionate fan base remains a focus for our member institutions. This new partnership with American Sports Network allows us to continue building our television platform.”

As part of the agreement, ASN will distribute a minimum of eight games during the upcoming 2015-16 season and televise at least 10 NCHC contests in 2016-17 with the opportunity to add more games each season based upon the availability of NCHC games and ASN’s schedule. The 2015-16 ASN TV schedule will be announced with the NCHC’s overall TV schedule closer to the start of the season. Games selected to air on ASN will be centered on member institutions that have limited local/regional television exposure from their home venues.

“We're proud to enter into this relationship with the National Collegiate Hockey Conference,” commented Doron Gorshein, COO of Sinclair Networks Group. “This initiative extends our sports brand, deepens our connection to our communities, and enhances localism. We’re pleased to enter into this relationship. This agreement makes our offering more robust and helps take ASN to the next level.”

American Sports Network is composed of 162 Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned and operated television stations nationwide with 376 channels in 79 markets, many in the NCHC footprint, which combine to reach approximately 43 million households in the United States. ASN has also developed an affiliate network of regional sports networks to increase the per-game potential distribution to more than 60 million households on average.

Fans looking to watch games on ASN can find them on Sinclair Broadcast stations in their local markets, as well as on Regional Sports Networks across the country. To find ASN in your area, click here. All NCHC games aired on ASN will also be available on NCHC.tv, the conference’s digital streaming network.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is the largest and one of the most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country with its 162 stations and affiliations with all the major TV networks. American Sports Network, which launched in 2014-15, produced 250 college events in nine sports in its first year and plans to air more than 375 events in 2015-16.

With the addition of ASN, the NCHC bolsters its television lineup even more. Like last year, the conference will again have 14 games shown nationally on CBS Sports Network in 2015-16, as well as several games distributed nationally on FOX College Sports. Also similar to 2014-15, select games originating out of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State will be televised on FOX Sports North and elevated to FOX College Sports. The full slate of NCHC televised games will be revealed in September.

The NCHC is coming off a banner year in 2014-15 in which six of eight NCHC teams made the NCAA Tournament, a record for percentage of teams from one conference (75 percent), with two making the NCAA Frozen Four. The NCHC drops the puck on its third season Oct. 3 with five exhibition games while all eight NCHC teams open the regular season Oct. 9-10.

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