Minnesota Hockey Officials Association

Neck Laceration Protection

USA Hockey To Require Use of Neck Laceration Protection New Rule Change To Go In Effect on August 1, 2024 St. Paul, MN – January 28nd, 2024 – At its Winter meetings today in Orlando, FL, the USA Hockey Congress approved legislation that will require the use of neck laceration protection (neck guards) for players in all age classifications, other than adults, as well as for all on-ice officials under the age of 18. Neck guards will be required effective August 1, 2024 and must be worn during all games and practices. Minnesota Hockey, as an affiliate member of USA Hockey, adheres to the rules and regulations as put forth by USA Hockey. Today’s rule change will apply to all of Minnesota Hockey’s (13) Districts and (130) plus member Associations. USA Hockey has long recommended the use of neck laceration protection as well as cut resistant protection for other vulnerable areas of the body. In November 2023, the USA Hockey Safety and Protective Equipment Committee, at the request of the USA Hockey Board of Directors, began looking at potential rule modifications specifically related to neck laceration protection. The work of this committee and their overall evaluation was instrumental in forming the rule changes adopted today during USA Hockey’s Congress. “The safety of our members has always been paramount and will remain at the forefront of our efforts now and into the future,” said MN Hockey President Steve Oleheiser. “We will continue to work closely with all relevant stakeholders close to and affected by this rule adoption as we work through its implementation as a mandatory equipment item.” An official USA Hockey statement regarding this change may be found on the USA Hockey website at:https://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/1298379

Register Today with MHOA!

Minnesota Hockey Officials Association (MHOA) is a great resource for your officiating experience. Minnesota Hockey highly recommends all officials become an MHOA member. MHOA uses the membership fees to create scholarships, maintain mentoring programs, evaluate officials, fund developmental camps, and subsidize Minnesota Hockey State Tournament officials’ expenses.

You must be a member of MHOA to work Minnesota Hockey Regional and or State tournament games. MHOA training camps are only available for members of MHOA.

As a member of MHOA you would be entitled to one vote on any issue requiring the consent of the general membership, provided the member has completed the USA Hockey registration process. For the 2024-25 season, all officials will have a membership fee of $10. This fee will be collected in conjunction with your USA Hockey Officials registration and can be accessed by clicking the link below.

USA Hockey Member Registration

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MHOA 7th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament

From left to right: Jeremy Reed, Keith Oleheiser, Steve Oleheiser and Kevin Souja

The 7th Annual MHOA Scholarship Golf Tournament, supporting officials in their education and development was held this summer. Congratulations to our winners Jeremy Reed, Keith Oleheiser, Steve Oleheiser and Kevin Souja.

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. 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.