The San Antonio Rampage, in conjunction with the Texas Stars and Houston Aeros, today announced that State Farm will be the title sponsor for the Lone Star Faceoff series, an inaugural intrastate competition between the three Texas-based American Hockey League (AHL) clubs.
 
“The Lone Star Faceoff is just one of the ways Texas-based State Farm agents in Houston, Austin and San Antonio can support Texas hockey fans,” said Ronnie Vandiver, Texas Zone Marketing Manager for State Farm. “We can't think of a better way, than to have a round-robin playoff system determine which team is the best in Texas. Texans love good competition and State Farm is always eager to be a part of it.”
 
In addition, FOX Sports Network will broadcast six State Farm Lone Star Faceoff games throughout the remainder of the season in four Texas markets, including Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio on a combination of FOX Sports Southwest, FOX Sports Houston and FOX Sports Plus. FOX Sports hockey analyst and former National Hockey League defenseman Brent Severyn will serve as the color commentator for all six broadcasts.
 
“As part of our ‘Hockey Night in Texas’ initiative, we’re excited to showcase the talented AHL teams and players across the state,” said FOX Sports Southwest Senior Vice President/General Manager Jon Heidtke. “This series will give fans throughout the state a chance to witness the exciting style of hockey played in Texas and will allow them to follow the future stars of the NHL on television. We look forward to a successful partnership as we continue to promote hockey in Texas.” 
 
 

FSN Broadcast Schedule
Date	Time	Visiting Team	Home Team	Venue
Saturday, Feb. 27	7:35 p.m.	Texas Stars	Houston Aeros	Toyota Center
Sunday, Feb. 28	5:00 p.m.	San Antonio Rampage	Texas Stars	Cedar Park Center
Wednesday, Mar. 3	7:00 p.m.	Houston Aeros	San Antonio Rampage	AT&T Center
Friday, Mar. 5	7:35 p.m.	San Antonio Rampage	Houston Aeros	Toyota Center
Saturday, Apr. 3	7:00 p.m.	Houtson Aeros	Texas Stars	Cedar Park Center
Thursday, Apr. 8	7:00 p.m.	Houston Aeros	San Antonio Rampage	AT&T Center

* Check your local provider for channel listings
 
“The ability to broadcast Lone Star Faceoff games is a great opportunity to help grow the game of hockey in Texas,” said Frank Miceli, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Spurs Sports and Entertainment. “We hope to engage an audience that may not have otherwise been exposed to hockey and particularly this spirited rivalry.”
 
The competition originated from a collective desire among the three participating teams to celebrate and promote the sport of hockey in the Lone Star State. The competition’s title was chosen by fans through an online poll posted on each of the three clubs’ respective Web sites.
 
Terms of the competition state that each team will face off against the other two Texas teams on 12 occasions (six home, six away), respectively, during AHL regular season play.  The club holding the most points between the three participants at the end of the season will be deemed champion and receive the State Farm Lone Star Faceoff trophy.  The Stars currently lead the State Farm Lone Star Faceoff standings with 19 points (9-2-0-1). The Aeros have 15 points (7-6-1-0) and the Rampage have 13 points (5-6-3-0) in the standings.
 
There are 15 remaining State Farm Lone Star Faceoff games, including tonight’s matchup between the Rampage and the Texas Stars at 7:30 p.m. at Cedar Park Center.