New England Sports Network drops the puck tonight on its fifth straight season and 23rd overall of Hockey East television coverage with the debut of Hockey East Friday Night.

The first game of the HEFN schedule is No. 8-ranked New Hampshire at No. 5 Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., at 7 p.m. The broadcasts will have a Maine flavor for local hockey fans as Lewiston native and former Portland Pirates radio voice Tom Caron will provide play-by-play and former University of Maine Black Bear hockey players Bob Beers and Brendan Walsh will serve as host and analyst in the studio, respectively.

Caron is in his 13th year at NESN and has served as the regional sports network’s lead college hockey play-by-play man since 1996. His broadcast partner is Tim Sweeney, a former Boston College and Boston Bruins player.

Beers played four seasons at UMaine and played eight NHL seasons with four different teams, including the Bruins. He is in his sixth season as WBZ radio’s color analyst for Boston Bruins game broadcasts.

Walsh played at Boston University and UMaine, winning an NCAA national championship with the Black Bears in 1999. After playing pro hockey for five years, he served as an assistant hockey coach at Northeastern University for a year and a half.

NESN’s third HEFN telecast this season will be Jan. 25 from Orono as the Bears host Boston College. Maine’s March 1 game at Vermont (7:30 p.m.) will also air live on NESN.

NESN, now in the fourth year of a five-year contract with Hockey East, is airing nine regular-season Hockey East games, the women’s tournament championship game (tape delay), one men’s quarterfinal, both semifinals and the league championship game.

Nothing beats a new set of Sox

Looking for something on which to use those Christmas gift cards? Here are just the things for Red Sox fans.

. The 2007 Boston Red Sox World Series collectors’ edition was released Dec. 11 and is on most video store shelves. The eight-DVD boxed set features every game broadcast – complete and uncut – from the World Series and games five, six and seven of the American League Championship Series. The set includes more than 20 hours of coverage and includes 30 minutes of bonus footage and interviews.

A unique addition to this set is an enhanced, alternative audio track feature that allows viewers to pick which broadcasters they listen to: Fox Sports, Red Sox radio network, Colorado Rockies radio network or Fox Sports en Espanol. Another bonus comes in the form of SleeveStats, which provide stats, trivia and game summaries on each DVD cover.

The set retails for $79.95, but is being sold locally as low as $59.95.

. Major League Baseball Productions’ official 2007 World Series Film DVD narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon has enjoyed brisk sales since arriving in stores in late November and can usually be found for a much lower price than its suggested retail of $19.99.

The DVD includes more than 75 minutes of World Series footage, almost 40 minutes of bonus material, exclusive sound via wireless microphones and interviews with players, coaches and team personnel.

. New England Sports Network has capitalized on its status as the official Red Sox TV flagship with a year-in-review DVD titled “Champions Again: The Story of the 2007 Boston Red Sox.”

The 80-minute video chronicles the season, from early showdowns with the New York Yankees to the final out of the postseason. It also includes highlights like the ninth inning of Clay Buchholz’s no-hitter and bonus material such as a moose hunt with Jonathan Papelbon and amusing broadcast moments by Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo.

The DVD is available throughout most major New England video retailers and sports specialty shops such as Olympia Sports for $19.95. It can also be ordered directly by calling 1-877-9-REDSOX (1-877-973-3769).

aneff@bangordailynews.net

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