NBC Sports Group to provide unprecedented coverage of 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool

IPC Ice Sledge Hockey and NBC Sports Group announced on Wednesday (15 April) an unprecedented 40 hours of coverage of the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool in Buffalo, New York, USA, culminating with live coverage of the gold medal game on Sunday, 3 May, at 2:30pm ET on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN).

As part of NBC Sports Group's comprehensive coverage, NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will provide complete streaming coverage of all 20 games from the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool, beginning on Sunday, 26 April.

"Following the unprecedented live coverage of the final between Russia and the USA during Sochi 2014, we are delighted to be working with NBC Sports Group again to bring ice sledge hockey to fans in one of its most prolific territories," said Xavier Gonzalez, IPC Chief Executive Officer. "The sport has gained huge popularity in the US and worldwide in the last 12 months, and this agreement shows that major broadcasters are continuing to recognise the value and demand for para-sport, as well as representing a fantastic opportunity for new partners for Buffalo 2015."

"We are thrilled to continue to work closely with the IPC to bring Paralympic sport to the US audience," said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics, and President, Operations & Strategy, NBC Sports Group. "Team USA's victory over Russia in the gold-medal final was one of the great stories of the Sochi Paralympic Games, and we're excited to showcase sled hockey to a national audience once again."

NBCSN will telecast up to three games featuring the US National Sledge Hockey Team, beginning on Wednesday, 29 April, at 10:30pm ET, when Team USA faces Italy in preliminary-round action, followed by a semi-final match on Friday, 1 May, at 10:30pm ET. Both games will air following live Stanley Cup Playoff coverage on NBCSN as same-day delay presentations, prior to NBCSN's live coverage of the gold medal game on Sunday, 3 May at 2:30pm ET.

Games airing on NBCSN will feature the game commentary team of Marc Zumoff (play-by-play), Sochi 2014 ice sledge hockey gold medallist Andy Yohe, and two-time Olympic women's ice hockey medallist AJ Mleczko (reporter).

The commentary team for games exclusively streaming on Live Extra will feature retired three-time US Paralympian Taylor Lipsett, from the Sochi 2014 gold-medal winning squad, and former Canadian hockey player and coach Brent Pope, who voiced ice sledge hockey at Torino 2006 and Sochi 2014. The duo's commentary will also be part of IPC Ice Sledge Hockey's own live coverage of the whole tournament at Buffalo2015.com.

Team USA looks to build off of its performance at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, highlighted by a 1-0 win over Russia in the gold medal final, which was broadcast live on NBC. NBC Sports Live Extra will live stream the USA v Russia preliminary-round matchup on Sunday, 26 April, at 8pm ET.

NBC Sports Group's coverage of the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool follows its unprecedented coverage of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, which featured 52 hours of coverage across all five Paralympic winter sports.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA COVERAGE

NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will provide streaming coverage of the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store.

NBC Sports Group's 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships A-Pool coverage schedule (all times in ET):

Sunday, 26 April

Preliminary Group A - Norway v Czech Republic, NBC Sports Live Extra, 9:30am

Preliminary Group A - Japan v Canada, NBC Sports Live Extra, 1pm

Preliminary Group B - Germany v Italy, NBC Sports Live Extra, 4:30pm

Preliminary Group B - Russia v USA, NBC Sports Live Extra, 8pm

Monday, 27 April

Preliminary Group A - Japan v Czech Republic, NBC Sports Live Extra, 9:30am

Preliminary Group A - Norway v Canada, NBC Sports Live Extra, 1pm

Preliminary Group B - Italy v Russia, NBC Sports Live Extra, 4:30pm

Preliminary Group B - Germany v USA, NBC Sports Live Extra, 8pm

Wednesday, 29 April

Preliminary Group B - Germany v Russia, NBC Sports Live Extra, 10:30am

Preliminary Group B - Italy v USA, NBC Sports Live Extra, 2pm

Preliminary Group A - Czech Republic v. Canada, NBC Sports Live Extra, 5:30pm

Preliminary Group A - Japan v Norway, NBC Sports Live Extra, 9pm

Preliminary Group B - Italy v USA *, NBCSN, 10:30pm

Thursday, 30 April

Qualifying round - TBA, NBC Sports Live Extra, 4:30pm

Qualifying round - TBA, NBC Sports Live Extra, 8pm

Friday, 1 May

Semifinal round - TBA, NBC Sports Live Extra, 4:30pm

Semifinal round - TBA , NBC Sports Live Extra, 8pm

Semifinal round - TBA*, NBCSN, 10:30pm

Saturday, 2 May

Qualifying round - TBA, NBC Sports Live Extra, 4:30pm

Qualifying round - TBA, NBC Sports Live Extra, 8pm

Sunday, 3 May

Bronze medal game, NBC Sports Live Extra, 11am

Gold medal game, NBCSN, 2:30pm

*denotes same-day delay

For further information, please visit www.ipc-icesledgehockey.org, www.twitter.com/IPCISH, www.facebook.com/IceSledgeHockey or www.ParalympicSport.TV.

Alternatively, please contact Lucy Dominy, IPC Public Relations & Campaigns Manager on e-mail: lucy.dominy@paralympic.org.

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