CRANBERRY TWP — A few times a week during the winter and spring, Ryan Mill makes the trek from Cranberry down Interstate 79 to PPG Paints Arena. Once inside, he takes his place and prepares for three hours of intense hockey action, using the physical gift he’s been given to, hopefully, send fans home happy.

While Mill isn’t exactly taking shifts with the likes of Crosby and Malkin, he is a part of the action, his clear, measured voice booming over the public address system as the red goal lights flash and the packed crowd bounces along to the celebratory music, exchanging high fives.

“Thhhhheeeee Pittsburgh goal ...,” the common refrain begins, followed by Mill putting his unique take on the scorer’s name.

For nine years, Mill has been the voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, serving as the team’s public address announcer, a role steeped in history for the club. But for Mill, his connection to the team is no different from the fans who pay to sit in the stands below his perch.

That job is one in a career that Mill ever believed could happen: relying on his voice to pay the bills as both an announcer and a voice-over actor

“If you would have asked me when I was 14 years old ‘do you think you can work for yourself voicing something, I would say no,” he said.

A full story appears in the Butler Eagle.