FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 31st, 2018

NBC SPORTS PRESENTS 2019 BRIDGESTONE NHL WINTER CLASSIC® FEATURING BRUINS & BLACKHAWKS FROM NOTRE DAME STADIUM TOMORROW AT 1 P.M. ET ON NBC

Mike “Doc” Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire Call the Action; Mike Tirico Hosts On-Site with Kathryn Tappen, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick

Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden Voices Feature on Three-Time Stanley Cup Champion and Former Notre Dame Football and Hockey Player Bill Nyrop

Jeremy Roenick Learns to Irish Step Dance with Assist from Notre Dame Leprechaun

Mike Tirico to Interview NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman During Second Intermission

Grammy Award-Winning Band Weezer to Perform During First Intermission

STAMFORD, Conn. – December 31, 2018 – NBC Sports presents the 11th installment of the NHL’s signature regular-season game on New Year’s Day, as Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins face off against Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.

Mike Tirico will host the network’s Winter Classic pre-game coverage alongside the NHL Live studio team of host Kathryn Tappen, and analysts Mike Milbury, Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick. Six-time Emmy Award-winner and La Fontaine, Ind., native Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk, and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call from Notre Dame Stadium.

Tomorrow’s game will mark the Blackhawks’ fourth Winter Classic, while this will be the Bruins’ third appearance in the annual New Year’s Day game.

Following are highlights from NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2019 NHL Winter Classic:

Mike Tirico to interview NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: Tirico will interview NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman during the second intermission of Winter Classic coverage on NBC. The segment will also include special 2019-20 event announcements from Commissioner Bettman.

Notre Dame traditions: Coverage throughout the day will highlight elements unique to Notre Dame, including Touchdown Jesus, the painting of the gold football helmets and the ‘Play Like a Champion Today’ sign.

Tim Layden feature on Bill Nyrop: The second intermission will include feature voiced by Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden on Bill Nyrop, a former Notre Dame hockey and football player during the early 1970s. Nyrop, who grew up in Edina, Minn., won the Stanley Cup three times as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first-ever Notre Dame hockey player to win the Stanley Cup. He passed away on New Year’s Eve of 1995 at age 43 after a battle with colon cancer.

Jeremy Roenick learns Irish step dancing: Following a season where he walked the plank at NHL All-Star Weekend, joined Cirque du Soleil, participated in the Winnipeg whiteout, and went over 165 mph around Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jeremy Roenick will kick of 2019 learning to Irish step dance with an assist from the Notre Dame leprechaun.

Weezer: Grammy Award-winning band Weezer will headline the entertainment for the 2019 NHL Winter Classic, with their performance airing live on NBC during the first intermission.

2018-19 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports will deliver coverage of a record 109 regular-season games during the 2018-19 season, highlighted by the debut of “Wednesday Night Hockey” on NBCSN, which will showcase the network’s most diverse schedule since it acquired NHL rights prior to the 2005-06 season, as well as NHL’s current and rising stars. All games will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app to authenticated users via TV Everywhere.

Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive NHL coverage this season.

STREAMING COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming platforms for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will provide live streaming coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.

– NBC SPORTS –