I know for Squirt games I have about 3 minutes of warm-up time whereas HS games have 5 minutes – this means some warmup songs like Du Hast, Enter Sandman, Down with the Sickness, etc. have short and longer versions. I also have playlists for 1st period (pre-game while resurfacing the ice, pregame warmups, National Anthem, etc.) and late game (Right Now, Final Countdown, Pulsar, Edge of Glory, etc.). My iPod is the Classic 6 with the scroll wheel. Yes, there’s a momentary delay in hearing a horn sound for a goal since I need to verify that someone actually scored before I can sound the buzzer! I just make sure the goal sound & goal cheer music are at the top of the playlist so I can quickly scroll to them. I totally agree that it’s important to edit for playtime and to organize according to situations – doing this helps me find the right song fairly quickly. I think people’s expectations at the local ice rink are less lofty than what they’d expect attending a UW Badger hockey game at the Kohl Center. Still means you don’t just play any old thing! I get really frustrated going to games at neighboring rinks and hearing “Final Countdown” in the middle of the 2nd period. Grrrrr. My announcing is limited to telling the crowd who got what penalty, who scored & who got assists, and special announcements (get those chuck-a-pucks before they’re gone, reminders to rowdy parents to calm down & keep it civil, etc.). At the beginning of the tournament I’ll tear all the rosters out of the program so that I can change my matchups at the start of each game. I use these same paper rosters throughout the tournament – handy for writing down phonetic (?) hints on how to pronounce those tricky Central & Eastern European last names so common to teams from the Stevens Point, WI area, etc.

As you can see, my routine is very basic compared to the many things you do as a pro announcer! Thanks for posting hints to help folks like me do the best job possible.