The PWHL announced their 2024-2025 roster of officials, including the addition of Katie Guay who will serve as the Associate Director of Officiating. It remains a goal of many governing bodies, including the IIHF itself to get more women into officiating at high levels, and the PWHL has done that early with 38 women set to work as linespeople or referees next season. It represents 58% of the league’s officiating roster.
One way organizations have been targeting women to join officiating, is by recruiting recent alumni of high level women’s hockey programs including U Sports, ACHA, and the NCAA. Guay herself spent four seasons playing NCAA DI hockey for Brown University, including as captain in her senior season.
Of the 38 women joining the PWHL’s officiating team this season, many are past players. Here’s a look.
-
Kelly Cooke – In another world, Cooke might be a player, not official in the PWHL. After a four year career at Princeton, Cooke spent two seasons playing in the CWHL with the Boston Blades, winning a Clarkson Cup in 2014-2015 on a team that also included Hilary Knight, Brianna Decker, Tara Watchorn, and several other players with significant national team experience. The following season Cooke won the first Isobel Cup title with the Boston Pride. Following that season, Cooke became the Director of Player Safety for the NWHL, marketing a first step toward her professional officiating career.
-
Marie-Eve Couture – Couture played in the original iteration of the NWHL with the Quebec Avalanche during the 2005-2006 season, and later played in the CWHL with the Quebec Phenix.
-
Kirsten Welsh – One of the most accomplished linespeople in the game, Welsh is also one of the best former players that will step on the ice this season in the PWHL to officiate. Welsh was a tough customer herself on the Robert Morris blueline where she amassed 91 points in 128 career games, along with 259 PIMs.
-
Melissa Doyle – The White Bear Lake, Minnesota product spent her high school days at the hockey hotbed Hill-Murray before playing four seasons at Gustavus Adolphus College. Considered one of the top NCAA DIII programs nationally, Doyle served as team captain in her senior season during the 2013-2014 campaign.
-
Sydney Harris – A former defender from Pueblo, Colorado, Harris played for several top minor hockey programs including the Chicago Fury, Dallas Stars Elite, and with her Pueblo County High School team. After that, Harris played a season in a men’s junior league suiting up for the Colorado Rampage in the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. It was then onto Elmira College where Harris played five seasons, captaining the Soaring Eagles for two seasons.
-
Elizabeth Mantha – A key member of one of hockey’s storied families, Mantha spent three seasons playing U Sports hockey for the University of Montreal and represented Canada at the Universaide in 2015. She also played a handful of games in the CWHL prior to university with the Montreal Stars.
-
Alexandra Clarke – who played three seasons with the Weyburn Gold Wings of the Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League (SFU18AAAHL) before playing NCAA Division III hockey at the College of St. Scholastica in Minnesota.
-
Chelsea Rapin – Growing up playing for Honeybaked and Little Caesars in Michigan, Rapin went on to play four seasons with the University of Vermont Catamounts. In her senior season during 2011-2012, Rapin was Vermont’s captain.
-
Laura Schmidlein – From 2015 to 2019, the Massachusetts product played NCAA DIII hockey at Amherst College. The defender played 99 career games at the level.
-
Laura White – The New Jersey born official started her on-ice career as a defender. She played for the Princeton Tiger Lillies 19-U team before making the jump to NCAA hockey with Robert Morris University. She spent two seasons playing D1 hockey at RMU from 2005-2007.
-
Ali Beres – Hailing from British Columbia where she played for the Pacific Steelers, Beres moved east to play U Sports hockey for Western University. Beres spent four seasons with the Mustangs winning a national title in 2014-2015 as a rookie, and returning to the national championships again in 2018.
-
Erika Greenan – A former forward through the Team Illinois and Chicago Mission programs that played four seasons of NCAA DIII hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
-
Sarah Buckner – A Minnesota product from Duluth, Buckner spent four seasons on the Augsburg University blueline at the NCAA DIII level.
View the original article to see embedded media.
