April 18, 2024, Mississauga, ON – …. The Ontario Junior Hockey League, in conjunction with the Ontario Hockey Association, would like to congratulate the officials who have been chosen as candidates for the OJHL’s Nutrafarms Championship Series.
“These officials have worked hard all season and have earned a spot in our championship series,” said Rob MacGregor, the OJHL’s Director of Officiating. “In addition, we would like to thank all the officials who have officiated our games throughout the 2023-24 season.”
The OJHL’s Nutrafarms Championship Series begins Friday night in Collingwood. Teams taking part in the best-of-seven series are the Collingwood Blues and Trenton Golden Hawks. They’re competing for the Buckland Cup and a berth next month’s Centennial Cup national championships in Oakville.
Referees selected: Dan Emerson, Brendan Kane, Connor Mallon, Matt Perrault, Steven Picco, Dan Ransom, Mike Ricica, Josh Schein and Shane Steenhoek.
Linespeople selected: Adam Burnett, Jordan Freland, Adam Hoppe, TJ Hunter, Kelson McRobbie, Owen Polan, Derek Riseborough, Matthew Sgromo and Mackenzie Wright.
“All the officials in this league are amazing,” MacGregor said. “They all work so hard during the season and it’s unfortunate we can only select a certain few for our finals. There are some excellent officials who did not get chosen for our finals. Their dedication and commitment to the officiating program is outstanding. They drive across Southern Ontario all winter with the hope that they have a chance for a playoff game, let alone the league championship.
“We have a very experienced crew this year, with some other officials doing the OJHL finals for the first time. Four of the officials (Kane, Schein, Burnett, and Hunter) have been chosen by Hockey Canada to work the Centennial Cup in Oakville in May and another official (Emerson) did the World Jr. A Challenge gold medal game in December in Nova Scotia.”
“The officials are like players, they are very excited about being chosen to officiate in the OJHL Nutrafarms Championship Series and they take great pride in being part of the finals.”
About the OJHL – “ League of Choice”
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 24 member clubs. A proud member of the CJHL and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including U SPORTS, the NCAA, CHL, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL has had more than 45 NCAA Division I scholarship commitments already this season.
