LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Associate AD for Communications and Creative Content Ashley Robbins has announced the hiring of John Leahy as the new River Hawk hockey radio play-by-play broadcaster. Leahy fills the vacancy left by longtime voice of the River Hawks, Bob Ellis, who retired in 2024 after his 40th season in the role.

"I'm thrilled to welcome John Leahy to our team as the next voice of River Hawk hockey," said Robbins. "Skill, veteran experience, and thorough knowledge of UMass Lowell hockey and Hockey East were all of vital importance to us in finding our new broadcaster and I feel as though John will bring the perfect combination of those things to our community."

Leahy brings widespread knowledge to Lowell through his 29 years of on-air experience. Most recently, he served as the television play-by-play voice of Merrimack College men's and women's hockey on ESPN+ in 2023-24, covering every home game. This was a transition from the radio play-by-play role at Merrimack that he held for 17 years from 2005-2022, so he is no stranger to the Hockey East.

"We are happy to add John Leahy as our new play-by-play announcer," said UMass Lowell Ice Hockey Head Coach Norm Bazin. "He brings a wealth of experience and a deep familiarity of Hockey East. He also possesses a deep understanding for the college hockey scene in New England. Welcome to River Hawk Nation!"

During his time at Merrimack, Leahy appeared on ESPNU as a rinkside reporter, commentated on an outdoor game at Fenway Park and called four games from TD Garden in Boston. He was also involved in a multitude of projects to promote the Hockey East, including a book titled "Breakaway Wisdom," involving interviews with coaches of Hockey East, a blog titled "Hockey on the Radio," promoting awareness of hockey play-by-play broadcasters and a weekly Hockey East Week in Review segment for the radio station in Concord, N.H.

He brings a familiarity with the city of Lowell as well, as he served as the radio play-by-play voice of the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League from 2011-2019. In 2011, he split time with the Spinners and the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am League, as the Tornadoes' public address announcer. Leahy was named the full-time voice of the Spinners in 2013 and called two games from Fenway Park. It was with the Spinners when he surpassed the 1,000-game mark for baseball broadcasts in his career and became a two-time winner of the New York-Penn League's Warner Fusselle Award for Radio Broadcasting Excellence in both 2016 and 2018.     

"It is with the greatest of humility and excitement that I accept the privilege of becoming the next radio voice of UMass Lowell hockey," said Leahy. "The River Hawks have a long tradition of excellence that I am thrilled to embrace and be a part of. I'd like to thank Coach Bazin and the entire UMass Lowell community for this tremendous opportunity. I'm excited to get started!" 

It all began in 1995 in Stoughton, Massachusetts, where he got his start as a play-by-play announcer on Stoughton Cable 9 Sports Network, covering high school hockey, basketball and football for 10 years, while also broadcasting Yawkey League Baseball, professional wrestling and North Shore Spirit baseball (Can-Am League) in the years 2003 and 2004.

In 2005, the North Shore Spirit brought Leahy onto the team as their lead play-by-play announcer for their radio broadcasts. When the franchise came to an end in 2007, Leahy moved on to provide play-by-play for the Kalamazoo Kings baseball club of the Frontier League for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, before joining the Florence Freedom for the 2010 season.

Along his journey, he has also dipped his toes into other Hockey East hockey programs as a radio and television voice, such as Providence, Northeastern and New Hampshire. His wide range of talents also covers the podcast industry, as he launched his podcast "Airing It Out, Files from Leahy's Broadcast Booth" in 2020. Leahy is also an active musician and has dived into the world of audiobook narration as of 2020.

Leahy earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts in 1989, before attending the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in 2005.