Mollica, along with producer Tim Pabst, leads a crew of approximately 30 people working behind the scenes to get the game on the air. For home games at Scottrade Center, their crew consists of 12 camera operators, a graphics producer, one technical director, a scoreboard operator and a crew of audio engineers, replay editors and more.
Half of that crew works inside the TV truck, which is tucked away under the stands on the event level at Scottrade Center. The other half is scattered throughout the arena, standing behind cameras or sitting in the broadcast booth calling the action.
"The crew in St. Louis, I can't say enough about them. Seriously, they're some of the best in the country and they make me look good," said Mollica, who has been directing Blues games for 17 years. Before that, he directed hockey games for ESPN, Outdoor Life Network (which rebranded to Versus) and eventually, for NBC and the NBC Sports Network. "We have such a great working relationship, we have such a good team. I can't say enough about our producer Tim Pabst - I've never had a producer that I've enjoyed working with more. And the announcers - John Kelly and Darren Pang - our group is amazing!"
A lot happens before the game goes on the air. In the mornings, Mollica and Pabst sit down with Kelly and Pang to discuss the hockey storylines they will feature in the game.
Which players will they highlight? What video packages will they show? Which player is on a hot streak? Who will be interviewed on the bench prior to the game?
In the afternoon, they meet with the rest of the crew to discuss those storylines and what they need to be ready for.
"My role is pretty vast. I'm in charge of preparing for the game," said Pabst, who has been producing Blues games since the 1997-98 season. "That includes getting all the sponsorship information from the office, organizing the promotional items and any other storylines that develop that we want to show the fans for a given game. We have a rough game plan in place for what we think is going to happen, but what I've learned in my many years of doing this is once the puck drops, anything can happen. Once the game starts, I follow the trends of the game and support that through video, replays and graphics."
Check out the clips below for a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes in the TV truck during a 4-1 St. Louis Blues win against the Vancouver Canucks on March 23.