Hockey East signs FSNNE extension

Hockey East and Fox Sports Net New England have renewed an exclusive, multiyear deal that will ensure Hockey East games will be seen on FSNNE for a fourth straight season.

The deal, which extends the contract through the 2001-2002 season, includes nine regular season games, two or three HE tournament quarterfinal games, both semifinal games and the championship. It also means 20 percent of the league’s 108 games will be carried on live television.

“We are very pleased with the increasing amount of exposure we will be receiving this season and beyond,” said HE commissioner Joe Bertagna in a press release. “Their network has enabled us to reach fans that would otherwise be out of our range or influence and we look forward to sharing that advantage for years to come.”

FSNNE currently reaches more than 3.5 million viewers in Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont and more than 70 million households nationwide.

Counting broadcasts by FSNNE and local stations in New England, 39 Hockey East games are scheduled to be televised this season.

In other FSNNE-Hockey East news, former Boston College star and Boston Bruin Tim Sweeney has joined the FSNNE broadcast team as color analyst for the network’s 14-game Hockey East lineup. Sweeney joined Eric Frede, former sports director at WVII (Channel 7) in Bangor, for his first broadcast last Sunday night (B.U.-B.C).

FSNNE’s next Hockey East telecast is Saturday as Maine hosts Boston University at 7 p.m. Bangor station WABI (Channel 5) is airing Friday’s B.U.-Maine game live at 7 p.m.

Orsillo to broadcast Sox on NESN

Don Orsillo joins New England Sports Network as the new play-by-play man for Boston Red Sox telecasts.

Orsillo, who has been the play-by-play voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox since 1996, replaces Bob Rodgers, who returns to the studio to provide live updates on other games and host the Red Sox pregame (Red Sox Digest) and postgame recap shows. Rodgers replaced Bob Kurtz in the Red Sox broadcast booth for the final month of the 2000 season after Kurtz was hired to call Minnesota Wild NHL games in his native state.

Rodgers asked to return to his role as studio host so he could continue to coach baseball at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston, Mass.