College Hockey

UMass Lowell Hockey Names John Leahy As New Play-By-Play Man

Published

3 months ago

August 22, 2024

Christopher Hurley

(Courtey photo courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics)

LOWELL – A familiar voice will be calling the shots with the UMass Lowell River Hawks hockey team this season.

Former Lowell Spinners announcer John Leahy has been hired as the team’s new radio play-by-play broadcaster.

Leahy fills the vacancy left by longtime voice of the River Hawks, Bob Ellis, who retired in 2024 after his 40th season in the role.

“It is with the greatest of humility and excitement that I accept the privilege of becoming the next radio voice of UMass Lowell hockey,” said Leahy. “The River Hawks have a long tradition of excellence that I am thrilled to embrace and be a part of. I’d like to thank coach Bazin and the entire UMass Lowell community for this tremendous opportunity. I’m excited to get started.”

No stranger to Hockey East, Leahy brings widespread knowledge to Lowell through his 29 years of on-air experience. He most recently served as the television play-by-play voice of Merrimack College men’s and women’s hockey on ESPN+ from 2023-24. It was a successful transition from his radio play-by-play gig at Merrimack, which he held for 17 years from 2005-22.

According to Ashley Robbins, UMass Lowell associate AD for communications and creative content, Leahy is the perfect person for the job.

“Skill, veteran experience, and thorough knowledge of UMass Lowell hockey and Hockey East were all of vital importance to us in finding our new broadcaster,” said Robbins. “I feel as though John will bring the perfect combination of those things to our community.”

River Hawks hockey coach Norm Bazin also agrees.

“He brings a wealth of experience and a deep familiarity of Hockey East,” said Bazin. “He also possesses a deep understanding for the college hockey scene in New England. Welcome to River Hawk Nation.”

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During his time at Merrimack, Leahy appeared on ESPNU as a rinkside reporter. He’s commentated an outdoor game at Fenway Park, while calling four games from TD Garden. He’s also been involved in a multitude of projects to promote Hockey East, from books and blogs to his Hockey East Week in Review segments.

In addition, Leahy brings a familiarity with the City of Lowell as well. He served as the radio play-by-play voice of the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League from 2011-19. He split time with the Spinners and the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am League, as the Tornadoes’ public address announcer in 2011.

Leahy was named the fulltime voice of the Spinners in 2013, calling two games from Fenway Park. It was with the Spinners when he surpassed the 1,000-game mark for baseball broadcasts in his career and became a two-time winner of the New York-Penn League’s Warner Fusselle Award for Radio Broadcasting Excellence in both 2016 and 2018.

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Leahy got his start in 1995 as a play-by-play announcer on Stoughton Cable 9 Sports Network. He covered high school hockey, basketball and football for 10 years. He also kept busy broadcasting Yawkey League Baseball, professional wrestling and North Shore Spirit baseball (Can-Am League) from 2003-04.

The North Shore Spirit brought Leahy onto the team in 2005, as lead play-by-play announcer for radio. When the franchise came to an end in 2007, he moved on to provide play-by-play for the Kalamazoo Kings baseball club of the Frontier League from 2008 to 2009. He then joined the Florence Freedom for the 2010 season.

Along the way, he also dipped his toes into other Hockey East hockey programs as a radio and television voice, such as Providence, Northeastern and New Hampshire. His wide range of talents also covers the podcast industry, as he launched his podcast “Airing It Out, Files from Leahy’s Broadcast Booth” in 2020. Leahy is also an active musician and has dived into the world of audiobook narration as of 2020.