There is a loud whistle and people are shouting. The clock is ticking down as the player glides down the ice, guiding the puck in front of him.
With a quick flick of the wrist, the puck flies into the net, scoring the victorious point of the game. As the crowd erupts and his teammates tackle him in shear joy, his only thoughts are “This is hockey.”
Hockey is the main focus of Quest TV’s sports program, Hockey Round Table.
The show began at the beginning of this year’s NHL season in early October with Glenn Giangrande, Joseph Tasca and Brad Weiner hosting.
According to Giangrande, co-host of the program, Hockey Round Table provides “an even balance of fact-based discussion and opinion based banter.”
The men discuss hockey issues concerning the league’s most valuable players as well as whether or not hockey can survive in financially strapped markets such as in Columbus, Ohio or Nashville, Tennessee.
Joe Tasca is responsible for preparing the format and statistics for the show. He also acts as the moderator between his co-hosts. Some portions of the show are adlibbed.
The behind-the-scenes crew consists of Justin Weiner, director, Mike Tobin, cameraman, James Matroni, sound operator, and Rob Schultz, graphics designer.
Together, the cast and crew have developed a productive show and are making new plans for the future.
The members of the Hockey Round Table are considering the possibilities of including a call-in segment, guest appearances, and public access off campus.
The show’s existence has caught the attention of many people on campus.
The round table panelists have discovered a fan club in one of the dormitories on campus that is in support of their program.
Giangrande points out the success of the program.
“The key is balance. We each have different, distinct personalities that we bring to the table and we mesh well,” he said.
The Hockey Round Table is taped on Sundays at 2 p.m. in Studio A in the School of Mass Communications. The show airs repeatedly off the Quest TV reel on channel 30.