MSG NETWORKS HONORS LONGTIME NY ISLANDERS STATISTICIAN ERIC HORNICK

MSG NETWORKS HONORS LONGTIME NY ISLANDERS STATISTICIAN ERIC HORNICK

By: Matthew Blittner

On Saturday January 21st, MSG Networks honored longtime New York Islanders statistician Eric Hornick for his continued excellence over the past 35 years.

Hornick first started in a January 21, 1982 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the old Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders would win 6-1 that night, to begin a historic 15-game winning streak. With that, not only was a winning streak born, but so was a career.

Hornick, sat down with yours truly to discuss his career and how things have changed in his field since 1982.

HOW YOU GOT STARTED; “I was an 18-year old high school student, and I was fortunate enough to go to highschool with Jiggs McDonald’s daughter. I got to know him and I got to know her. When the ‘81 playoffs came around, that was Jiggs’ first year with the Islanders and I brought him some materials and we struck up a relationship. Then by the middle of the next year, in January of ‘82 I had been added to the broadcast team, and I’ve never left in 35 years.”

DID YOU THINK IT WOULD LAST?: “ I never in my wildest dreams thought it would last 35 years. I remember about a month into it, I had Jiggs’ broadcast partner Eddie Westfall, sign a copy of a media guide he was on the cover off, thinking that if this ends at least I have this nice souvenir; it’s been fun, but it hasn’t ended.”

THOUGHTS ON YOUR LONGEVITY: “Part of it is luck, part of it is I’ve worked with amazing people, from Sports Channel to Fox Sports Net to MSG; the people and our broadcasts have changed, but I’ve worked with enough talented people, that saw the value I bring, and it’s one of the reasons that I enjoy coming to the building 35 nights a year.”

HOW HAS THE JOB CHANGED?: “The biggest difference is technology.  In the old days if I wasn’t at a game, there wasn’t much I could do. I would talk to Jiggs (McDonald) pregame, but I couldn’t email it, I couldn’t put it on Twitter, those things didn’t exist back then. It’s all changed over the decades, now even at a road game I can communicate with the truck, with our guys, now Brendan [Burke], Butch [Goring] and Shannon [Hogan], almost the same as if I’m sitting next to them.”

BIGGEST CHALLENGE NOW: “Always trying to be better, that would be an appropriate challenge. I’m always looking to incorporate new things into the broadcast. In recent years we’ve talked power play shots, we’ve started to talk about shot attempts, or Corsi, and trying to pass these along to the audience without losing those who aren’t hockey aficionados. In a television capacity it’s really important. I’ve gone from being the young guy to the veteran and my knowledge of Islanders’ history comes into play on a regular basis. When something unusual happens, I have the information to back it up.”

FAVORITE STAT: “We’ve seen over time that the Corsi stats tell a better story than shots on goal or plus/minus. It’s something that you’re going to see become more mainstream over time. With player stats you’re going to see who's doing well on face-offs and who is playing with who during the game. I’m just following what Brendan and Butch are saying and try to back up the story or observation that they are making.

“I remember watching Bossy [Mike Bossy] get 50 in 50 and watching the build up to game 50. Like everybody, I started as a fan, and I’ve had the opportunity to work with him which was great.”

ROSTER OF PEOPLE YOU’VE WORKED WITH: “I really only regularly worked with three play-by-play guys: Jiggs McDonald, Howie Rose, and now Brendan Burke. In terms of analysts: Eddie Westfall, Joe Micheletti, Billy Jaffe and Butch Goring. We’ve had a number of studio hosts; Shannon Hogan does it currently, but when I started it was Stan [Fischler]. However, it’s the people (on our production team) that nobody knows, that work hours and hours before the game, that all hockey fans owe a big thanks.”