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Photo / YouthSportsPLUS MADE IN MINNESOTA | By Elizabeth Boger A lifelong hockey fan and former Brainerd Amateur Hockey Association president, Shawn Sundquist knew he needed to find a way to broaden access to the game and provide a high-quality streaming service. Especially during State Tournament time, there wasn't neces- sarily a single, quality place to stream games. That all changed several years ago when he started streaming games through MNHockey.TV, a channel through his company YouthSportsPLUS. "Each year gets stronger and stronger," Sundquist said. " We broadcast all of the youth State Tournament games, and a major- ity of the Regional games, all on behalf of Minnesota Hockey." Those games have been well-received and have had very strong viewership, thanks to Sundquist's mission of finding the best possible technology. "During the pandemic, I was researching how to do exactly what we're doing today," Sundquist said. "One thing led to another, and we stumbled upon Spiideo as an option. The deci- sion was made that we needed to partner up with somebody that had a desire to grow in youth sports in particular." Spiideo's world-class, cloud-based technology uses fixed camer- as, which allows MNHockey.TV to remotely schedule and broad- cast games. The fully automated solution also utilizes an indus- try-leading Custom Area Autofollow, which records the entire sheet of ice and follows the action as it unfolds on the ice. YouthSportsPLUS has nearly 30 play-by-play announcers on staff, though they don't necessarily need to travel to a rink to broadcast games. They can do play-by-play either onsite or through an app. Showcasing Minnesota Hockey So far this season, YouthSportsPLUS has streamed more than 20,000 youth hockey broadcasts through MNHockey.TV, plus 1,600 boys and girls high school games, and has become Minnesota Hockey 's official live streaming partner. "We're certainly not doing it alone," Sundquist said. "We've partnered with very respected governing bodies like Minnesota Hockey, the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association, and the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association. We also stream select sections in all sports and have relationships with various regions." YouthSportsPLUS is striving to get as many teams as possible to join its network, with the goal of providing an environment where there's a single place to go for fans, players and coaches. " We see this as a good way to keep community-based hockey in Minnesota—to give these players the opportunity not only for grandpa and grandma and aunts and uncles to view their games, but also to give them coaching tools," Sundquist said. Those coaching tools include video analysis tools for coaches and players all in the same system. Spiideo's intuitive interface also allows collaboration with coaching staffs and the ability to build personalized highlight reels. It is used by both youth and NHL teams alike. "We're passionate about Minnesota hockey—its culture, its tra- dition, the players and the families," Sundquist said. "I've met my very best friends in hockey across the state, and with our own association. I truly believe that there's a movement and I truly believe that we're good at it. We're really good at live streaming, using Spiideo's technology, the artificial intelligence and the ability to showcase these players both as individuals and as teams." How Spiideo's technology has helped MNHockey.TV reach thousands of fans Streaming at Full Strength M A R C H 2 0 2 3 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M 11 The Minnetonka Skippers review a controlled entry live on Spiideo Perform during practice.