The ECHL has announced the referees and linesmen for the 2020 ECHL All-Star Classic.
Referees Andrew Bruggeman (#25) and Sean MacFarlane (#4) will handle the event alongside linesmen Chuck Schamel (#97) and Christopher Williams (#62).
“Being selected to work the ECHL All-Star Game is an amazing accomplishment for the selected officials,” said ECHL Manager of Officiating Stephen Thomson. “It will be a highlight moment in their officiating careers and something that they will never forget. I appreciate all of the selected officials’ hard work, dedication and passion for the ECHL and couldn’t be more proud to honor them with working this prestigious event. Again this season, the officials will have great pride in presenting the Mercy Children’s Hospital of Wichita with a donation raised by the entire Officiating Team through the months of November and December.”
The ECHL All-Star Classic is being held on January 22 in Wichita, Kansas, home to the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder. The game will be aired live on the NHL Network.
From the ECHL:
Bruggeman, who is in his fourth season as an ECHL referee and third in the American Hockey League, began his officiating career when he was 12-years-old. Last season, he was selected as a referee for the Kelly Cup Finals, and also officiated the 2019 World Junior Championships in Vancouver. Prior to joining the ECHL, he was selected to work the 2015 United States Hockey League/National Hockey League Top Prospects Game, the 2015 USHL Clark Cup Finals, the 2016 Southern Professional Hockey League President’s Cup Final and the 2017 USA All-American Prospects Game.
A native of Spokane, Washington, MacFarlane is in his third season in the ECHL, as well as the AHL. Last season he worked the Kelly Cup Finals along with the Gold Medal Game of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s U18 World Championships in Sweden. This season, he worked the IIHF World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic. Prior to working in the ECHL, MacFarlane spent time in the USHL and SPHL working the USHL’s Clark Cup Finals in 2016 and 2017 along with the SPHL’s President Cup Finals in 2017.
Schamel is in his sixth season in the ECHL following four seasons as a linesman in the Central Hockey League. Prior to joining the professional ranks, Schamel was an official for USA Hockey, working games for youth and recreation leagues, along with working in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, the North American Hockey League and the Western States Hockey League.
Williams is in his fourth season overall in the ECHL, and his third as a full-time official. During the 2017-18 season, he was selected to work the Conference Finals in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, and last season, earned an assignment to the Kelly Cup Finals. Williams, who is in his second season working games in the American Hockey League, was a full-time official for USA Hockey prior to joining the ECHL, working games in the North American Hockey League during the 2016-17 season.
Five current NHL officials have previously worked the ECHL All-Star Game: refereee Ian Walsh (1997), Brian Pochmara (2001), Justin St. Pierre (2002) and Tom Chmielewski (2011); and linesman Brian Mach (1999).
Congratulations to this year’s ECHL All-Star Classic officials!
(Featured image via ECHL)
