When you’re tuning into a hockey game, you don’t often think about what happens beyond the play of the game. Think about when you listen to the game on the radio, you know the play-by-play broadcaster is there, but are they doing all the work?
Someone is behind the scenes, noting every sponsor mention, recording key moments and preparing clips before the next commercial break even begins. For radio operator and game producer LiFei Liu-Calver, those behind-the-scenes tasks are what keep a Kamloops Blazers broadcast running smoothly.
During a typical Blazers game, Liu-Calver works at the radio station while broadcaster Jon Keen provides the play-by-play from inside the arena. Liu-Calver is always in the station, no matter which arena across the league Keen might be at. Her role as the radio operator is more important than most people think. She keeps track of sponsor mentions, ensuring all the required sports are met. She also records the game in short segments and prepares highlights for intermission shows.
“It’s kind of like a typical office job,” she said. “But there’s a board in front of you and a lot more going on during a hockey game.”
Liu-Calver gets to the station to start work an hour before the puck even drops. The first 30 minutes of the shift are spent preparing with Keen and either recording pre-game interviews with Keen and his guests or prepping what has already been recorded. Then the show goes live on the air for 30 mins before the puck drops.
“He runs me down what we’re doing for hockey talk, what needs to be played during the postgame or pregame. Then he’ll gimme some interviews. Usually, we start right off the bat, going out of commercials into the pregame,” Liu-Calver said
Once the game begins, the pace picks up quickly. The entire broadcast is recorded in 90-second intervals, allowing her to quickly identify exciting moments from the game for later segments.
“If something exciting happens, you need to mark it down,” Liu-Calver said. “Sometimes it gets confusing because a lot happens in a hockey game, and I’m only listening to it.”
Between periods, those recordings are sorted, and one becomes the “Play of the Period,” a highlight replay that airs during intermission; it is chosen by either Keen or Liu-Calver. If the Blazers have a goal, that takes precedence over any other exciting moment of the game.
Liu-Calver only gets about two minutes to speak with Keen after intermissions; at this time, she has to quickly locate the clip, edit it and prepare it for air.
Once the game ends, the work doesn’t stop. First, the post-game show begins, during which Keen goes through the game summary and stars of the game, and breaks down the biggest moments from the matchup.
After that, he interviews one of the assistant coaches or someone from the other team for the “After The Buzzer” segment of the show. Once that all wraps up, Liu-Calver will edit, save and archive all the files from the night, delete extra recordings and head home.
Liu-Calver said broadcasting wasn’t always the plan; originally, she was a psychology major, but after participating in a Global Skills Opportunity program (GSOP) that took her abroad during her university studies, her interests shifted.
While studying at a private school in Spain in 2022 with the GSOP, Liu-Calver took some classes outside her major.
“ I did like radio cinematography, game design, that kind of stuff. And I remember being really invested in sound and radio production. At that time, I think I kind of knew what I wanted to do.” Liu-Calver said.
As soon as she got home, she applied for her current position with RadioNL and has been there ever since. At the station, she is currently the only woman working as the radio operator for sports games.
“I was 18 at the time,” she said. “So at first I was a little intimidated.”
But over time, she said the experience has helped her grow more confident in the field.
“The behind-the-scenes can be a lot of fun,” Liu-Calver said. “You get to make connections and be part of something people don’t always notice.”
When you listen to your next hockey game, try to think of everything that’s happening beyond the broadcaster calling the game. There are so many moving parts that keep everything running, and without them, the game would never reach our ears.