HERSHEY, Pa. — The American Hockey League announced today that WPMT-TV FOX43 in Central Pennsylvania has been selected as the recipient of the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the 2022-23 season.
The James H. Ellery Memorial Award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding media coverage of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1964-65 and honors the late Jim Ellery, who served the AHL for 17 years as league secretary and publicity director until his death in 1964.
Under the leadership of station president and general manager Chris Topf, FOX43 has been the flagship television partner of the Hershey Bears for the last three seasons. In 2022-23, led by sports director Todd Sadowski and featuring reporters Andrew Kalista, Lyndsay Barna and Evan Brooks along with executive producer Ed Albert, the station partnered with Great Save Productions to broadcast 10 regular-season games from Giant Center – including the Bears’ renowned Teddy Bear Toss game. And for the first time, FOX43 added road broadcasts to its schedule, airing games from Cleveland, Lehigh Valley and Toronto.
FOX43 also provided comprehensive coverage of the Bears’ run to the 2023 Calder Cup championship, televising all games during the final two rounds of the postseason with NBC Sports Washington picking up the broadcasts and select games also airing on MSG Network in New York and NHL Network nationally. The FOX43 team was on site in Hershey and in Coachella Valley during the entire Calder Cup Finals series, producing daily coverage and feature stories, providing behind-the-scenes access to the championship celebration, and covering the Bears’ return home – all culminating in a 30-minute special dedicated to the franchise’s Calder Cup win.
In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.