24 Jun Season of winning for UND alum and St. Louis Blues
What was to be a semester-long video production internship with the St. Louis Blues turned into a season-long job for Andrew Marsh, who received an insider view of his favorite hockey team’s historic Stanley Cup triumph. Photo courtesy of Andrew Marsh.
On May 21 in Enterprise Center, the home ice of the St. Louis Blues, Andrew Marsh shadowed the in-game entertainment director of the National Hockey League as his hometown team faced off against the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference finals.
From the locker rooms, Marsh watched the Clarence Campbell Bowl roll out on the rink to the Blues, the team he has cheered for since childhood. He struggled to contain his elation.
“I [was] watching my favorite team go to the Stanley Cup [playoffs] for the first time in my lifetime and I [was] out there watching them celebrate on the ice,” Marsh recalled. “It was so surreal because I wanted to yell and scream but I had to be professional at the same time and walk around and help this guy out. It was crazy.”
At the time, Marsh, a University of North Dakota communications alum and current graduate student at Lindenwood University, served as stage manager for the Blues – a job he assumed after a semester of producing videos for the team as an intern.
Season for the books
It all began with a message on Twitter.
Courtesy of Andrew Marsh.
A friend of Marsh’s sent him a post from the Blues on internship openings. Marsh applied and spent last fall semester earning academic credit while chronicling in the behind-the-scenes and on-ice action of the team.
Several of his videos streamed during games, eliciting glee from thousands of spectators on the stands.
“That was really cool to see all the hard work pay off and watch people enjoy the videos and get compliments for them,” he said.
But Marsh received more than praise. What was supposed to be a semester-long internship turned into a season-long engagement when the Blues asked him to stay on as a stage manager.
Keeping his videography duties, in that new role, Marsh also found himself responsible for pre-game band and national anthem arrangements as well as the selection of contestants for commercial-break competitions.
Yet, it was not an “overbearing job,” he said. After the intermission, it would be mostly done, allowing him to revel at the battles on the ice in a season that saw the Blues chart an 11-game winning streak and rise from the bottom of the rankings to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Last Wednesday, after half a century, the Blues lifted the coveted trophy for the first time ever. On Saturday, in downtown St. Louis, the team was feted by scores of fans who lined the streets for the Stanley Cup parade.
Marsh was there in the “middle of things,” filming the Blues’ victorious march. “It was a very electric environment to say the least,” he said. “It was awesome.”
The future is sports
With a remarkable season down the hockey annals for the Blues, Marsh is hardly dawdling.
He is the public address announcer and emcee for the River City Rascals, a minor baseball league team based less than an hour away from St. Louis.
There are “rumblings,” he said, that he might rejoin the Blues. Or, he may pursue a position with the local radio station that covers the team. Ultimately, he aspires to be a sports broadcaster for a major network.
Marsh with Ryan O’Reilly, who received the Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Photo courtesy of Andrew Marsh.
What is foremost for Marsh, however, is completing his master’s degree in mass communications – with a focus on sports broadcasting – at Lindenwood University, where he co-hosts his own on-air show and does play-by-play commentating and sideline reporting.
While Marsh’s vim for sports began to bud in his early years and now defines his career goals, it was at UND where he first seized it professionally.
Pursuing a major in communications and a minor in graphic design here, he shot videos for Athletics’ streaming service, UND Insider, and assisted with audio management at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Marsh graduated in 2018 – with more than a diploma.
“Working around the hockey team at UND thought me so much professionalism,” he said. “Everything around the hockey program at UND is like a professional hockey team. Being in that environment for two years really helped me with the environment at the Blues. It was such an easy transition.”