AHL Broadcast Becomes Awkward After Play-By-Play Guy Learns On Air That His Color Commentator Lost His Coaching Job 

During a lull in play between the Rochester Americans and the Providence Bruins, longtime play-by-play broadcaster Don Stevens did what any good announcer would do and decided to fill the moment with some mindless banter. Stevens gave his color commentator, Ric Seiling, an opportunity to talk about his ongoing work as coach of the Buffalo Beauts—a women’s professional hockey team —and plug the upcoming game they were going to play on Saturday. There was only one problem: the Beauts had fired Seiling just an hour before the game he was calling had started. What follows is the awkward momentary exchange as Stevens finds out about his color commentator’s firing in real time.

Seiling appeared to take the news in stride. Picken Splinters caught up with the former coach after the game and he told them he never considered missing the chance to call the game, even with the recent bad news.

“I enjoy doing this, I enjoy watching the Amerks,” Seiling said. “I always joke, I can watch a hockey game, get my two cents in and nobody argues with me.”

The only worse than this awkward moment is the fact that being a coach of a professional women’s hockey team required Seiling to work other jobs, and his full-time gig is at an M&T Bank where he’s the vice president/dealer commercial services regional manager.