Mark Fleischer starts his second stint as the television play-by-play voice for Minnesota Duluth men's hockey when the Bulldogs make their Charter Media debut Oct. 19-20 against St. Cloud State at the DECC.
Fleischer, 41, of Duluth held the same position for two years in 1996-98 when KDLH-TV, Channel 3, carried the Bulldogs. He'll be joined this season by former UMD captain Judd Medak, 28, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, now living in Duluth. Medak spent last season as an analyst for home games on KDAL-AM 610 with Bruce Ciskie.
Charter Media, which signed a one-year deal with UMD last month to carry a minimum of 10 games in 2007-08, agreed to the hiring of Fleischer and Medak last week. Steve Jezierski and Kraig Karakas called 20 UMD games on TV last season on WDIO-TV, Channels 10&13, including the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.
This season's games will be on Charter Channel 15 in the Twin Ports.
"Television is something I wanted to try again, and this will be a challenging job," said Fleischer, who is program director for KDAL-AM 610, and KRBR-FM 102.5 of Midwest Communications. "I'm excited about giving it a try."
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Fleischer, a native of Alexandria, Minn., has worked in almost every sports announcing capacity since starting in the Duluth-Superior market in 1985 with WSSU Radio as a student at Wisconsin-Superior. He has done high school and college sports on radio for KDAL and WDSM-AM 710, and has broadcast the Minnesota high school hockey tournament for 19 of the past 20 years.
He also was the play-by-play voice for the Duluth-Superior Dukes baseball team in the 1990s, has broadcast UMD football and men's basketball, and has hosted sports talk programs including "Googs and Fleisch" with Paul Guggenheimer in 1997. He and former UMD defenseman Norm Maciver broadcast the inaugural season of UMD women's hockey in 1999-2000.
Medak was a UMD right winger from 1998-2002, with 90 points in 144 games. The former Bulldogs captain finished three years of minor-league hockey in 2004-05.
"Mark brings a very well-recognized, well-respected voice to our games, and Judd brings a good deal of knowledge about the team and the WCHA," said Bob Nielson, UMD's athletic director.
"Judd is sharp, knows the game and isn't afraid to speak his mind," said KDAL's Ciskie.
* Peter Provost, local advertising director for Charter Media, said Charter will partner with Mediacom on UMD cable telecasts to reach about 478,000 homes in Minnesota. However, an agreement with Mediacom to have UMD's games in cities like Eveleth, Grand Rapids and Hibbing hasn't yet been finalized, Provost said.
* Charter Media will telecast games involving WCHA teams for all but two weekends from Oct. 19-20 through March 7-8 on Charter 15. Games will be available for replaying through Charter's digital cable box on Channel 999, said Provost.
Charter Media hockey coverage
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2007-08 Regular Season
Oct. 19-20 -- St. Cloud State at Minnesota Duluth
Oct. 26-27 -- Bemidji State at St. Cloud State
Nov. 2-3 -- Alaska Anchorage at St. Cloud State
Nov. 9 -- Minnesota at Mankato State-Mankato
Nov. 23-24 -- Minnesota Duluth at North Dakota
Nov. 30-Dec. 1 -- Minnesota Duluth at Minnesota State-Mankato
Dec. 7-8 -- Wisconsin at Minnesota State- Mankato
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Dec. 14-15 -- Colorado College at St. Cloud State
Jan 4- 5 -- North Dakota at St. Cloud State
Jan. 11-12 -- Minnesota State-Mankato at Minnesota Duluth
Jan. 18-19 -- Minnesota at Minnesota Duluth
Jan. 25-26 -- St. Cloud State vs. Minnesota State-Mankato
Feb. 1-2 -- Minnesota Duluth at Wisconsin (tentative)
Feb. 8-9 -- Alaska Anchorage at Minnesota State-Mankato
Feb. 22-23 -- Michigan Tech at St. Cloud State
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Feb. 29-March 1 -- Wisconsin at St. Cloud State
March 1-2 -- North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth
March 7-8 -- Minnesota Duluth at Minnesota (tentative)
