ISOBEL CUP PLAYOFFS TO FEATURE ALL-FEMALE BROADCAST TEAM

ISOBEL CUP PLAYOFFS TO FEATURE ALL-FEMALE BROADCAST TEAM

Kate Scott, A.J. Mleczko and Caley Chelios will be on-site March 26 and 27 for NBCSN

March 19, 2021 (Brooklyn, N.Y.) – The National Women’s Hockey League, in association with NBC Sports, today announced the on-air talent for the Isobel Cup playoffs, presented by Discover, featuring Kate Scott calling play-by-play, AJ Mleczko as an analyst, and Caley Chelios as a rink-side reporter. The all-female on-air broadcast team will be on-site at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Massachusetts, on March 26 and 27 for the Isobel Cup semifinals and championship final on NBCSN.

“We can’t wait to drop the puck in Boston and showcase the NWHL like never before,” said NWHL Commissioner Tyler Tumminia. “Our partnership with NBC Sports is monumental for the visibility of our league and the all-female presence of Kate Scott, AJ Mleczko, and Caley Chelios will deliver a memorable experience for American television viewers and our athletes who are ready to put their skill and resiliency on full display as they compete to raise the Isobel Cup.”

Scott has been a leader in sports broadcasting, becoming the first woman to call an NFL game on the radio, the first to call football for the Pac-12 Networks, and as the play-by-play announcer for the first all-female NHL broadcast in the United States on NBCSN. Previously, Scott spent six years as the first full-time female voice on the Bay Area’s KNBR 680-AM, winning an Emmy for her work, and five years at the Pac-12 Networks. Scott continues to call games for the Networks, the West Coast Conference, Stadium, and NBC Sports and co-hosts “The Game” on 95.7 FM in San Francisco.

Mleczko, who joined Scott for the first all-female NHL broadcast in the U.S., currently serves as an NHL analyst for NBC Sports and provides New York Islanders coverage for MSG Networks. She’s also served as a women’s hockey analyst for five Winter Olympic Games on NBC and has covered hockey for Turner, New England Sports Network (NESN), Universal Sports, and the NHL Network. Prior to her broadcasting career, Mleczko led the U.S. women’s hockey team to a gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and a silver medal at the Salt Lake Games in 2002. She was inducted into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, and into the Harvard Hall of Fame in 2014.

Chelios is in her fifth season as a hockey reporter and broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Fox Sports Sun, and first as an analyst on the Lightning’s radio network after two seasons of doing color for road games. She also hosts a segment on ‘The Wraparound’ that airs weekly on Fox Sports Sun. In 2019 she appeared as a studio analyst at TSN covering the International Women’s Hockey Rivalry Series, which was simulcast on NHL Network. Chelios attended Northwestern University, where she earned a degree in journalism and played lacrosse. She was a member of the Wildcats’ 2012 national championship team.

The broadcast team will take to the air on March 26, when top-seeded Toronto takes on Boston in the first semifinal game at 5 p.m. EST, followed by Minnesota facing off against Connecticut. The winners compete for the Isobel Cup at 7 p.m. EST on March 27. All three games will be televised on NBCSN and streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app exclusively in the U.S., and streamed via Twitch in Canada and other international markets.

About the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL)
Established in 2015, the NWHL was the first professional women’s hockey league in North America to pay its players. The mission of the league is to fuel the continued growth of the sport and brand of pro women’s hockey. The league is made up of the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, and the Toronto Six. Visit NWHL.zone and follow on Twitter and Facebook @NWHL and Instagram @NWHL.zone.

About the Isobel Cup
The Isobel Cup is the championship trophy of the National Women’s Hockey League. It takes its name from Lord Frederick Arthur Stanley’s daughter, Isobel, who shared his love of the game and is known to be one of the first female hockey players in Canada. Isobel, along with her brothers, encouraged her father to purchase a silver cup to award to the best amateur hockey team in Canada. The Stanley Cup, as it was later named, became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League.

The front of the Isobel Cup reads: “The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup 1875-1963. This Cup shall be awarded annually to the greatest professional women’s hockey team in North America. All who pursue this Cup, pursue a dream; a dream born with Isobel, that shall never die. EST. 2016.”

Media Contact 

Paul Krotz 

647-505-8010

pkrotz@nwhlhq.com