Minnesota Hockey Officials Association

MHOA Fall Board Meeting

The Minnesota Hockey Officials Association Fall 2020 board meeting will be held virtually via Zoom on Sunday, September 20 at 7:00pm. If you would like to attend, please email Brian Thul at stripesmn@gmail.com.

COVID-19 Preparedness

The MHOA board of directors has approved a plan for officials to remain as safe as possible throughout the 2020-2021 season, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. All officials are expected read this document thoroughly and to follow these guidelines throughout the season.

MHOA COVID-19 Preparedness Document

3rd Annual MHOA Scholarship Golf Tournament

The 3rd Annual MHOA Scholarship Golf Tournament, supporting officials in their education and development was held at Madden's in Brainerd, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, we had repeat champions! Congrats to Al Zutz, Steve Dowling, Andy Dokken, and Glenn Hagberg

From left to right: Al Zutz, Steve Dowling, Andy Dokken, and Glenn Hagberg

MHOA Spring/Summer Meeting 2020

The Spring/Summer meeting for Minnesota Hockey Officials Association will be held virtually this year on Thursday, July 9th, at 7:00pm. If you would like to attend, please contact Brian Thul (stripesmn@gmail.com) for an access code.

Scholarship Fund for Officials

Each year, the Minnesota Hockey Officials Association offers scholarship awards to hockey officials in Minnesota who will be graduating high school. These scholarships are one-time awards that do not need to be repaid and may be used toward education at any post-high school institution. In 2021, the Minnesota Hockey Officials Association will offer scholarships for registered officials.

For more information, see the announcement letter and application below.

Minnesota Hockey Officials Association Scholarship Program Information

Minnesota Hockey Officials Association Scholarship Program Application

Directive on Hateful Speech

The president of USA Hockey, Jim Smith, has issued a directive, effective immediately, that all racial or derogatory slurs that are penalized under rule 601 (e.3) must carry an automatic match penalty instead of the game misconduct penalty originally specified in the rulebook.

Match penalties also include a 5 minute major component to them. Officials, this means that any player now penalized under this rule will be ejected from the game and another player must sit for 5 minutes to serve the aforementioned major component of the match penalty.

Please review the full letter from Mr. Smith below.

Directive on Hateful and Derogatory Speech

Declaration of Player Safety

This year, USA Hockey has published a Declaration of Player Safety, Fair Play, and Respect. It is expected that all officials read, understand, and abide by this declaration. To that end, a video has been created that discusses the declaration and how you, as an official, can help ensure Minnesota Hockey's compliance with this, as well as enforcement of all rules highlighted in this document.

Also attached is an example video of acceptable vs unacceptable body checks.

Please keep these items in mind as you officiate games for Minnesota Hockey during the 2019-2020 season and beyond.

Registration now open for 2020-2021

Registration for Officials is now open for the 2020-2021 season. Please login to your USA Hockey profile at https://courses.usahockey.com/public/ to register for a seminar.