Recent News

The LAHOA Executive Board and the Board of Directors would like to congratulate Andrew Wilk on being selected to work the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals! This will be Andrews first time working the finals. Andrew has been refereeing hockey since he was 15. He spent 3 years in USA Hockey’s Officiating Development Program and has spent the last 5 years refereeing professional hockey in the ECHL and AHL. The series is between Newfoundland and Toledo. Games 1 & 2 are being playing in Newfoundland. The series will shift to Toledo for games 3, 4 & 5. Andrew will be working games 4 & 5 in Toledo on May 31st and June 1st. Game 1 was played on Friday, May 25. Newfoundland took a 3-0 lead and Toledo came back and tied it up, 3-3, sending the game to overtime where Newfoundland ended up winning. They lead the best-of-7 series 1-0.

Congratulations again to Andrew Wilk on this amazing accomplishment. He joins a select few of LAHOA officials who have been selected to work the ECHL Finals. Good luck in the Kelly Cup Finals, Andrew!!!

The LAHOA Executive Board and the Board of Directors would like to congratulate Eric MacDonald and John Lindner on their selection to work the Finals in their respective league!

Eric McDonald

Eric has been living in Chicago, Illinois this season, working full time in the USHL. He also skated games in the AHL and SPHL. Eric was chosen to work the SPHL Presidents Cup Finals and will now cap off a great season by working the USHL’s Clark Cup Finals!

John Lidner

John lived in Dallas, Texas this season working half of his games in the NAHL and the other half in the USHL. When it came down to playoffs, his assignments came in the NAHL. John has been selected to work the NAHL’s Robertson Cup Finals!

Congratulations to Eric and John on a great season and ultimately, making it to the end in their respective leagues!

LAHOA is proud to announce & congratulate LAHOA official Tyler Hascall on being assigned his first United States Hockey League (USHL) games! Tyler will be refereeing a game between the Madison Capitals and the Muskegon Lumberjacks in Madison, WI on April 5th with fellow LAHOA official Niko Diehr, who will be manning the lines. The next night, on April 6th, Tyler will referee a game between the Dubuque Fighting Saints and the Chicago Steel in Dubuque, IA. Tyler has been living in Texas this season working for the North America Hockey League (NAHL). Often times, near the end of the season, officials who have been performing well in their respective leagues, in this case, the NAHL for Tyler, will be given the opportunity to get a “taste” of the next level, the USHL. This is a good sign for Tyler, who lived in Montana last season working primarily Jr A Tier 3. Up next for Tyler after a weekend “up top” is the NAHL playoffs. Good luck this weekend and the rest of the way!

LAHOA Jr & Pro Officials

LAHOA member Andrew Wilk has been selected for the 29th Winter Universiade Games in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Students aged 17 to 25, and graduates who have received an academic degree or diploma in the year preceding the competitions are allowed to participate in the competition. Wilk will be the only American official on the men’s side joined by 17 other officials from around the world.  The games will be held from the opening ceremonies March 2nd through the closing ceremonies March 12th with 50 countries competing in 11 sports.  In an exciting coincidence, Wilk’s younger brother Austin, a junior at Lindenwood University near St Louis, Missouri, will be representing team USA as a defenseman at the games.  Wilk has said this will be the first time both he and his brother will be participating at the same tournament.  IIHF rules prohibit Wilk from officiating team USA games. 

Congratulations Wilky!

2018 Under 17 Four Nations Cup

The best hockey players under the age of 17 from Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States descended upon Plymouth, Michigan to compete in the 2018 Under-17 Four Nations Cup presented by Hines Park Lincoln at USA Hockey Arena from December 11-15.

LAHOA members Eric McDonald (Linesman-USH ODP) and Andrew Wilk (Referee-AHL) were both selected by USA Hockey for the week long tournament. When it came down to gold medal assignments, McDonald & Wilk were both got the call! The game finished with a 3-2 overtime thriller won by Russia over Team USA.

Congrats to Andrew Wilk and Eric McDonald on these assignments and way to go out there and represent LAHOA!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every year LAHOA likes to show their support in every way that we can. We would like to remind you that, as a LAHOA member, you are allowed to wear pink laces and wear pink tape on your whistles and fingers from October 1st to October 31st.

For the whole month of October there will be random games throughout the association that the officials will be given pink referee and linesman sweaters to where during their games. If you are working any league other than SCAHA or CAHA, please reach out to your referee in chief for instructions on breast cancer awareness policies.

We hope to see many officials contribute this year by showing support for the Susan G. Koman foundation and representing LAHOA during breast cancer awareness month!

The LAHOA Executive Board and the Board of Directors would like to congratulate the following officials on being selected to work the 2018 Vegas Rookie Face-off!

• Tyler Hascall (Corona)
• Andrew Wilk (Newport Beach)
• Tanner Nua (Las Vegas)
• Steve Walsh (Temecula)
• Steve Berry (Huntington Beach)
• Neil Campbell (Aliso Viejo)
• Alex Rounds (Laguna Beach)

Here is what you need to know:

Taking place at City National Arena, six teams, including the Golden Knights, will take part in the inaugural event. Rookies from the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks will travel to Las Vegas for the showcase.

The four-day event will feature three games on Saturday, September 8, three games on Sunday, September 9 and three games on Tuesday, September 11. Monday, September 10 will be a practice day for teams. Games 1 and 3 will take place on the Summerlin Hospital Rink, while Game 2 will be played on Star Nursery Rink.

Congratulations to our officials!

As you may have heard by now, longtime LAHOA member, Brian Blumberg, passed away last weekend. Brian’s family has extended the invitation to all that knew Brian to join the Celebration of Brian’s Life.

Thursday, September 6th from 6-9pm

Business Expo Center

1960 S. Anaheim Way

Anaheim, CA. 92805

Recently LAHOA sent officials up to San Jose to work the Pacific District Girls’ and Women’s Championships. The 16u championship game was officiated by an all women’s LAHOA crew! Wearing the bands was Brittany Trani and on the lines were Kristina Wampler and Bridget Gonzalez! What a great out of market representation of our female LAHOA officials on the District stage! Congratulation to you ladies!

On February 13, 2018, the Los Angeles Kings American League affiliate, Ontario Reign, hosted Eisbären Berlin (German Professional Hockey League) in an International Friendly at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA. LAHOA is proud to recognize it’s officials selected to work the game! The crew consisted of referee Andrew Wilk (Newport Beach) linesman, James Parker (Irvine) linesman, Brent Tubbs (Long Beach) and referee, Ryan Hersey from the San Diego Hockey Referees Association (SDHRA). Congratulations on your continued success!

The frozen friendly was played in front of a crowd of 8,749 screaming fans. A lot of which were from Germany who came out to support their team. “They had several full sections of fans who stood and chanted for the duration of the game. It’s like a premier league soccer game.” said referee Andrew Wilk. “At one point they started a ‘conga’ line!” When asked about the style of play Andrew said, “Berlin played a lot of a east to west style while Ontario had a much more physical game.” When all was said and done, Ontario won 6-3 in a game that featured NO penalties. Now that’s game management!

Congratulations! Finish the season strong! 

AHL Box Score Berlin @ Ontario