NEW YORK AND TORONTO (November 14, 2025) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has established a leadership team responsible for the PWHL’s Officiating Department, representing a significant commitment by the League to its Officials and to the continued growth of the game. The new structure will strengthen pathways for training, communication, logistics and performance development, and it will help ensure a consistent, world-class standard of officiating across all PWHL markets.
For the 2025-26 season, Bill McCreary (Director of Officiating, Strategy & Performance), David Taveroff (Director of Officiating, Operations), and Katie Guay (Director of Officiating, Training, Development & Recruitment) will form the leadership team and work collaboratively to ensure consistency, professionalism, and excellence across every PWHL game. Each of these accomplished individuals brings extensive experience, deep knowledge of the game, and a commitment to integrity, fairness, and growth.
“As the PWHL continues to grow and strengthen its foundation, it’s critical that we continue to elevate the standard of our officiating,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. “Officiating is central to the success of our on-ice product. It defines the standard of play, safeguards the integrity of competition, and contributes directly to the trust and confidence of our fans, players, and partners. The professionalism, preparation, and decision-making of our PWHL Officials reflect the League’s values and the competitive excellence we strive to deliver each night for our fans.”
The PWHL Officiating Team for the 2025-26 season will consist of 30 referees and 29 linespersons from across North America. The roster of 59 officials, which includes 37 women and 22 men, features a total of 52 returnees and seven new linespersons.
A highlight for the PWHL Officiating Team is the nomination of 15 members by the IIHF for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina. The group includes: referees Kelly Cooke, Melissa Doyle, Samantha Hiller, Elizabeth Mantha, Michelle McKenna, Cianna Murray, Shauna Neary and Amanda Tassoni, and linespersons Sarah Buckner, Jennifer Cameron, Alexandra Clarke, Laura Gutauskas, Justine Todd, Kirsten Welsh and Erin Zach.
Rulebook
In conjunction with these enhancements to the PWHL’s Officiating Department, the League has also introduced updates to its official Rulebook for the 2025-26 season. There are two primary changes to the Rulebook related to a team’s third goalkeeper and the removal of the coach’s challenge to video review triggered by the PWHL Central Situation Room (CSR). A summary of the changes is as follows:
Rule 5.1 / Rule 5.3:
· A Team shall be composed of three (3) goalkeepers who shall be under contract to the Team they represent.
· The moment a goalkeeper is injured and incapacitated and therefore unable to play further, she shall be immediately replaced by the second goalkeeper on the listed playing roster for that game. The injured goalkeeper shall be retired from the playing roster and will no longer be eligible to return to play. A new substitute (third goalkeeper) should be immediately replaced on the players bench with full goalkeeper privileges.
Rule 38:
· In addition to Goal Review Procedures outlined in Rule 37, the CSR Official or the On-Ice Officials may initiate a review of the following scenarios:
o Missed Game Stoppage Event in the Offensive Zone Leading to a Goal.
o Scoring Plays Involving Potential “Interference on the Goalkeeper”.
o Penalty situations for “Delaying the game – puck over the glass”.
· A Team is not permitted to request a review, therefore the process for initiating a Coach’s Challenge, including the right to initiate a Coach’s Challenge and the results of an unsuccessful Coach’s Challenge are no longer applicable.
For more information about the application of the rule changes, click HERE to access a downloadable PDF of the 2025-26 PWHL Official Rulebook.
2025-26 PWHL Officiating Team
Leadership:
· Bill McCreary (Director of Officiating, Strategy & Performance)
· David Taveroff (Director of Officiating, Operations)
· Katie Guay (Director of Officiating, Training, Development & Recruitment)
Referees:
· Grace Barlow (Vancouver, BC) #22
· Kyle Bauman (River Falls, WI) #18
· Brandy Beecroft (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) #33
· Andrew Bell (Downingtown, PA) #6
· Jenn Berezowski (Quinte West, ON) #4
· Hillary Brennan (London, ON) #40
· Jarrett Burton (Kingston, ON) #8
· Alexandra Clarke (Griffin, SK) #7
· Kelly Cooke (West Roxbury, MA) #29
· Marie-Eve Couture (Chambly, QC) #20
· Jared Cummins (Williamsville, NY) #14
· Melissa Doyle (White Bear Lake, MN) #48
· David Elford (Kitchener, ON) #11
· Damian Figueira (Toronto, ON) #32
· Beatrice Fortin (Sherbrooke, QC) #26
· Sydney Harris (Monument, CO) #28
· Jack Hennigan (Toronto, ON) #44
· Samantha Hiller (Gurnee, IL) #12
· Chad Ingalls (Woodstock, ON) #25
· Jake Kamrass (Cumming, GA) #3
· Tatu Kunto (San Diego, CA) #17
· Bobby Jo Love (Corvallis, OR) #5
· Elizabeth Mantha (Longueuil, QC) #15
· Amy Martin (Winnipeg, MB) #31
· Michelle McKenna (Regina, SK) #10
· Cianna Murray (Saskatoon, SK) #13
· Shauna Neary (Halifax, NS) #49
· Laura Schmidlein (Quincy, MA) #23
· Lacey Senuk (Toronto, ON) #39
· Amanda Tassoni (Bradford, RI) #21
Linespersons:
*Denotes New PWHL Officials
· Ali Beres (Brant, ON) #67
· Melissa Brunn (Kelowna, BC) #73
· Sarah Buckner (Plymouth, MN) #66
· Antoine Bujold-Roux (Ottawa, ON) #72
· Colleen Butler (Sunshine Hills, BC) #59*
· Jenny Cameron (Northborough, MA) #71
· Jessica Chartrand (Val-des-Monts, QC) #63
· Patrick Dapuzzo (Rutherford, NJ) #77
· TJ Dockery (Lockport, NY) #70
· Joanie Duchesneau (Montréal, QC) #74
· Chase Eising (Wilden, BC) #87*
· Stephanie Gagnon (Princeville, QC) #76
· Katie Glover (Seattle, WA) #89
· Erika Greenen (Sugar Grove, IL) #88
· Laura Gutauskas (Woolwich, ON) #68
· Harrison Heyer (Carlsbad, CA) #79*
· Spencer Knox (Clarington, ON) #81
· Anthony Lapointe (Montréal, QC) #78
· Amy Laroche (Port Coquitlam, BC) #62*
· Dustin McCrank (Guelph, ON) #84
· Heidi Niskanen (Natick, MA) #58*
· Greg Offerman (Fitchburg, WI) #95
· Luke Pye (Belle River, ON) #80
· Marlowe Schott (Elmira, ON) #86*
· Sophie Thomson (Halifax, NS) #75
· Justine Todd (Kawartha Lakes, ON) #50
· Kirsten Welsh (Conway, PA) #64
· Matthew Williams (Courtenay, BC) #61*
· Erin Zach (Cambridge, ON) #60
The 2025-26 PWHL season opens on Friday, Nov. 21 and will include a total of 120 regular season games.