A founding member of the BGSU women's club hockey team, Kendall Linnenkugel '21 is now part of the broadcast crew for the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. (Contributed photo)
Kendall Linnenkugel ’21 became the color analyst for the Toledo Walleye after applying broadcast skills to hockey games at BGSU
During her time at Bowling Green State University, Kendall Linnenkugel ’21 developed her skills as a broadcast journalism student and helped found the BGSU women’s club hockey team in her free time. As a professional, she combined both paths as the color analyst for the Toledo Walleye, becoming one of the very few female announcers in men’s hockey.
Key Highlights
Alum: Kendall Linnenkugel '21
Involvement: Founder, BGSU women's club hockey
Position: Hockey color analyst
A home in pro hockey
Now the color analyst for the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL, Kendall Linnenkugel ’21 called her first hockey game as a student at Slater Family Ice Arena, the home of the Falcons’ Division I hockey team.
Paving the way
In addition to finding her niche at BGSU, Linnenkugel also helped create the women’s club hockey team. Despite its humble beginnings, the program had its best-ever year in 2026, winning a program-record 21 games.
Building on tradition
Bowling Green, the only school in Ohio to win a men’s hockey national championship, has a long history in hockey broadcasting. Hall of Famer Mike Emrick '76 and two current NHL play-by-play broadcasters – Everett Fitzhugh ’11 of the Seattle Kraken and Steve Mears ’02 of the Columbus Blue Jackets – are Bowling Green grads.
“The field experience that I got at BGSU has a huge hand in what I’m doing for my broadcasting career today. I would never have been able to work for the Walleye if I had not ended up in broadcasting at BG.”
KENDALL LINNENKUGEL ’21
BGSU ALUMNA
TOLEDO WALLEYE COLOR ANALYST
Over and over, Kendall Linnenkugel ’21 kept challenging herself to do difficult things.
She chose ice hockey as her sport, opted for goaltender despite being 5-foot-3, relearned how to skate to play the notoriously difficult position, played on the boys’ team because her high school did not field a girls’ team, and virtually lived at her city’s ice rink to practice her craft. As a student at Bowling Green State University, she helped found the women’s club hockey team, a labor of love in which the team competed in its early days with just seven players on the roster.
But it was one night at Slater Family Ice Arena that brought several facets of her life together to reveal the professional path that she ultimately took.
Now a color analyst for the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL – and one of the very few female announcers in men’s hockey – Linnenkugel first broadcast a hockey game at BGSU. Her friend, Ryan Vallon ’21, did the student play-by-play for the Falcons’ Division I games during their tenure at the University, and he invited her to shadow him for a game.
When she ascended the stairs into the press area, the broadcast journalism student found there was nothing passive about the experience for which she had signed up.
“When I got up to the press box, there was a headset sitting there,” she said. “I said, ‘Ryan, what’s that?’ He said, ‘You’re calling the game tonight.’ I got thrown to the wolves with that one, but I called the game and never looked back.
"I said, ‘Ryan, I’m so incredibly mad at you, but also, thanks for doing that.’ It was the coolest thing I had ever done, and I couldn’t wait for the next game.”
Like many students, Linnenkugel faced a crossroads during her time in college. She originally arrived at BGSU set on becoming a TV meteorologist, and she began accumulating regular repetitions in front of the camera through her coursework and with BG24.
Midway through her junior year, Linnenkugel said she began to doubt her original vision and question what she would do next.
Vallon, however, was looking for a broadcast partner and saw a ready-made candidate. Linnenkugel already had developed skills through her program at BGSU, and her perspective as a goaltender naturally bolstered a hockey broadcast. The pair continued calling the Falcons’ games, which Linnenkugel enjoyed so much that she began to seriously consider hockey broadcasting as an option after graduation.
The original nudge seems prescient, as Linnenkugel is now right beside Toledo’s longtime hockey play-by-play voice, Matt Melzak, calling the Walleye.
“As she got comfortable, you really saw the training wheels come off pretty quickly and you saw her being more of herself on the broadcast,” Vallon said. “I’m really happy for her and proud of her that she took it to the next level with the Walleye and has been Matt Melzak’s right-hand person on the telecast.
“I can say I’m not surprised one bit that she was able to get where she is.”
Years later – with BGSU women’s club hockey now established and thriving – Linnenkugel said the connections she made and experiences she gained at the University proved to be major assets for her career.
Linnenkugel started with several behind-the-scenes roles for the Toledo Mud Hens, including running the Jumbotron, video ribbons inside Fifth Third Field and other video production before getting her chance behind the mic.
At each step, she said she felt prepared for what was next.
“I didn’t think it would happen the way that it did, but I ran with it, and I’m so thankful for the education that BG gave me from the communications side of things,” she said. “There are not many schools that give students the broadcast opportunities that BGSU does. I didn’t even know that at the time I applied, but it almost feels divine in hindsight.”
Sometimes, Linnenkugel said she takes a moment at a rink to appreciate the circumstances that preceded a recurring position in the world of pro hockey.
With the benefit of time, Linnenkugel said she’s thankful her time at BGSU gave her the opportunity and the confidence to pivot into a role that she loves.
“The field experience that I got at BGSU has a huge hand in what I’m doing for my broadcasting career today,” Linnenkugel said. “I would never have been able to work for the Walleye if I had not ended up in broadcasting at BG. There’s no way it would have happened.”
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Updated: 10/26/2026 07:18PM