Broadcaster Profile- Cody Chrusciel, UMass Minutemen

The warm weather is finally upon us after an unforgiving winter and a winter that saw some incredible hockey played in the region. But just because the temperatures are rising doesn't mean that my look into the world of hockey radio broadcasters will disappear. With that said, I'd like to move on to profile another hockey radio broadcaster who saw time with the UMass Minutemen in 2014-15 and a good friend, Cody Chrusciel.

Cody Chrusciel's very recognizable voice was heard last season on the call of UMass Minutemen hockey splitting play by play time with John Hennessy alongside Brock Hines on the UMass Sports Network. The Wayne, N.J. native is a UMass grad who has a broad range of sports broadcasting credentials to his credit. Cody is also a sideline reporter for UMass football and is active in his production and promotion of the "UMass Sports Insider": television program. He also has been on the call for UMass women's basketball for the Atlantic 10 Digital Network and UMass All Access.

Graduating with an M.S. in Sports Management from UMass in 2011, Cody also has seen his share of minor league baseball over the years, doing play by play for the Tennessee Smokies (Chicago Cubs AA affiliate), and the New Jersey Jackals independent team in the Can-Am league (which is where I first met him), as well as the Sussex Skyhawks, also in the Can-Am. He also worked at Army covering lacrosse and also worked in the Philadelphia Philles organization in the video services department as well as with the ECHL's Trenton Devils in their broadcasting department.

As far as hockey goes, Cody was at the microphone for the longest game ever played in college hockey history on March 6, 2015 at the Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana, in a first round playoff game between UMass and Notre Dame (a game which the Minutemen won 4-3), alongside Brock Hines. Although this record could be broken at some point, it certainly could stand for a while and will be an impressive notation on his resume regardless. He has also been at the mike for the University of New England's hockey program.

Here is a sample of Cody's work with the Minutemen, as you can hear Cody's work enriches the deep tradition of play by play voices for the Minutemen. Check it out at https://soundcloud.com/cody-chrusciel/hockey-highlights-umass-minutemen-2014-15.  Included in the clip is Cody's call of the game winning goal in the 5 OT win at Notre Dame, scored by UMass's Shane Walsh.

To learn more about Cody, I invite you to check out his website at www.codychrusciel.com. You will find his resume, background, play by play clips, and so much more.

UMass hockey can be tuned in at WHMP 1400 and 1240 AM on the dial. You can also access Minuteman hockey on the TuneIn radio app for your smartphones and tablets, or by visiting the following link:

http://www.umassathletics.com/umass-sports-network.html .

Cody has accepted a position at Princeton University commencing in the 2015-16 season, and I'd like to wish him well in his new endeavor!