Wally Shaver, the radio play-by-play voice for Gophers hockey for the past 10 years, will be back for an 11th season.
Except this year, the broadcasts will be on ESPN1500 and not WCCO-radio. Glen Sonmor was Shaver's color analyst most of last season until he retired late in the season.
A replacement for Sonmor has not been determined yet, Shave said, but he expects somebody to be selected in a couple weeks.
Shaver also expects the weekly Don Lucia Show to return, too. Probably on Mondays again from Park Tavern in St. Louis Park.
So is Shaver optimistic about the 2011-12 season? "I really am," said Shaver, who also covered the Gophers on TV for seven years with Frank Mazzocco. "We got done too early as a team last year."
Alaska Anchorage upset the Gophers in the first round of the WCHA playoffs last March.
"We've had four years of subpar finishes," Shaver said. "i'm anxious to see what this team can do."
Shaver said from a broadcasting perspective, he is happy all the Gophers game will be one station this season. "Before we had 45 to 60 percent ot the game on 'CCO and the rest moved around. This is a lot better."
