PWHL Wraps Up Sophomore Season With Focus on Storytelling, Graphics Presentation in Finals Dome Productions, Raycom Sports serve as the league's production partners By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor Thursday, May 22, 2025 - 7:00 am
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After announcing two expansion franchises in Seattle and Vancouver last month, the six-team Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) concludes its sophomore season over the coming week, with the Ottawa Charge currently up 1-0 on the Minnesota Frost in the best-of-five series to see who wins the Walter Cup.
We want to set the standard for what audiences, sponsors, and media partners expect from a young, ambitious league, says Jeremy Langer, VP, broadcasting and scheduling, PWHL, about what it hopes to achieve with the finals production. Our ownership and advisory board have made a substantial investment into the health and longevity of this league, and you saw that in the way our game-presentation team knocked it out of the park during the Takeover Tour.
It's my team's job, he continues, to ensure audiences at home see the passion and creativity of our fans, the atmosphere in-arena, and the world-class quality of play on display.
Dome Productions produced Game 1 of the PWHL Finals in Ottawa. (Photos: PWHL)
Dome Productions is once again overseeing the Canada-based game productions, and Raycom Sports is producing the U.S. game.
The PWHL's inaugural, 2024 season was a sprint so the league didn't have a lot of planning time for the playoffs. This year, having more time to prepare, the PWHL is very intentional about surpassing the bar set a year ago, Langer says. He believes that the preparation time will produce dividends, particularly in the storytelling and graphics presentation around the finals.
He adds that the PWHL has had three north stars in season two, extending to the postseason and finals: ensuring that fans get to know and recognize the league's players, leaning into the new identities for the six original teams, and putting on a solid, professional show for each game. We will continue to amplify these priorities, highlighting our amazing athletes and the award-winning brands our marketing team created.
Dome Productions and Raycom will produce games onsite in Ottawa and Minnesota, respectively. The production and technical setup, along with the camera and microphone breakdown, is similar for both companies' productions.
For Game 3 and possibly Game 4, Raycom will use its RHD3 production truck with a new EVS system via infrastructure, plus EVS Extra Motion. According to Bill Stafford, VP, engineering and technology operations, Raycom, the company will also be demonstrating artificial-intelligence tracking camera technology.
Among the cameras for all game productions will be four hard cameras, including one super-slo-mo and two handhelds, one of which is super-slo-mo, according to Thomas Jinkinson, senior account manager, client solutions, Dome.
In addition, there will be robotic cameras behind both nets, two panel cameras, and cameras inside both benches and penalty boxes. Ten PCC microphones will be mounted on the glass, and 10 ECM 77b lavs will be used for extra effects. Both referees will have RF microphones for announcing penalties and rulings on specific plays.
Instead of trying to incorporate a lot of specialty items into the broadcast, Jinkinson says, the focus this year was to invest in the people and the technology that we all know works for hockey. Because the storylines on and off the ice are so amazing, we can focus on surrounding the broadcast team with the right people who have been dedicated to this league, many from day one in Toronto on New Year's Day 2024.
Addition of multiple high-frame-rate cameras and replay for this year's finals will enable producers to tell the most compelling stories of the action, says Raycom's Stafford, adding, A significant improvement in production this year is the new PWHL graphics package.
Kenzie Lalonde will serve as play-by-play announcer for all games, alongside analyst Cheryl Pounder and rinkside reporter Rob Pizzo. Host Daniella Ponticelli and analysts Becky Kellar and Alexis Pearson will provide additional pregame and intermission coverage onsite in both markets.
Fans in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market can watch the live coverage on the FanDuel Sports Network; viewers in Canada, via TSN/RDS. Viewers outside both areas can watch live coverage on the PWHL's YouTube channel and via the league website.
Dave Dubiner and Will Robitaille will split director duties for the finals, and Geoff Ives will be game producer. Casey Carter will be the panel and intermission producer. Mike Brock and Rob Reichley will serve as executive producer for Dome and Raycom, respectively.
Playing key roles in the finals will be Raycom's Reichley and Stafford and Dome's Jinkinson, Brock, Production Specialist Jillian Harris, and Director, Dome Digital Services, David August. For the PWHL, the central figures include Media Coordinator Libby Kamen; Manager, Broadcasting and Scheduling, Monica Burke; Senior Director, Brand and Marketing, Ali Bologna; Senior Manager, Digital and Social, Kaylee Herndon; Senior Manager, Marketing, Michael Diana; Senior Director, Partnership Service, Courtney Albin; and Director, Communications, Paul Krotz.
Vendors Gameday Creative, The Academy of Lower Thirds, and TV Graphics have provided important contributions, focusing on graphics and animations.
