The United States Premier Hockey League was honored to have its six-week Hub City Tampa event lauded by ESPN's John Buccigross, the leading hockey broadcaster and promoter for the "Worldwide Leader In Sports."
To his audience of more than 395,000 followers, Buccigross tweeted the following:
As junior leagues throughout North America shut down or cancelled seasons the @USPHL got creative and created a Hub event in Tampa to keep the kids playing while putting safety first for players, coaches & staff. 40+ teams from all over the US headed to Tampa including... pic.twitter.com/DtAzfkEGBI
— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) January 25, 2021
..the Women’s PWHPA All-Stars.
— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) January 25, 2021
*850+ players competing over the six week Hub event
*300+ league games played
*50+ D1 committed players at the Hub
*13 players on NHL Central Scouting Players to Watch List.All-Star Games, and Lightning’s Dave Mishkin/Phil Esposito broadcasting game pic.twitter.com/XeS5LIgreG
All games broadcast on @myhockeytv. Teams living in condominium suites at the Saddlebrook Resort. Masks & social distancing when indoors except for when in suite, locker room or on ice.
— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) January 25, 2021
Off ice recreation at Saddlebrook: golf, tennis, fishing, swimming Ect. pic.twitter.com/a9e8aA0PVh
Buccigross began working for ESPN in 1996, making 2021 his 25th anniversary at the network. He has proven to be the biggest supporter of the sport of hockey at ESPN, formerly hosting the network's NHL 2Night program. In 2010, he began the "#bucciovertimechallenge" on Twitter, offering the public to win merchandise with that hashtag if they are the first to correctly predict the overtime game-winning goal-scorer in an NHL game, and he's also expanded that promotion to other leagues, including the NCAA.
He became NCAA college hockey's largest proponent on ESPN, and coined the phonetic catch-phrase "cawlidge hawkey."
The USPHL thanks John Buccigross for his support of the Hub City Tampa event, and will continue to provide unprecedented access to hockey games for its players during the COVID-19 pandemic in a specially-designed controlled community environment where the health and safety of its players and staff is the top priority.