The Olympic referees and linespersons are set for the Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
Seven officials are returning from the 2022 Winter Olympics. Referees Kelly Cooke, Cianna Murray, Elizabeth Mantha, Anniina Nurmi are back, as is ref Julia Kainberger who moves to referee after working the lines in ’22. Alex Clarke and Justine Todd are the two returning lineys from Beijing.
Todd and referee Zuzana Svobodova – then a linesperson – also suited up for the 2018 Olympics in South Korea.
Svobodova is working her fourth games, having also taken the ice for the 2014 Sochi games and 2010 in Vancouver.
Vanessa Stratton, a member of the IIHF’s Officiating Committee, spoke about the benefits of the returning officials.
“The level of experience and skill that those officials bring, the number of games they have worked together, and the camaraderie that exists, is at an elite level. But, you always need to bring in some new folks to help challenge, push, and develop. So we do have a few who are new to the program and some who are early into their officiating careers. But they have been able to jump into the group, fit right in with our experienced officials, and create a really cohesive group.”
Here are the 22 officials working women’s hockey at the 2026 Olympics:
Referees
Kelly Cooke #29 (USA) – PWHL
Melissa Doyle #62 (USA) – PWHL
Ida Henriksson #14 (SWE)
Samantha Hiller #12 (USA) – PWHL, AHL
Julia Kainberger #27 (AUT)
Cianna Murray #13 (CAN) – PWHL, AHL
Elizabeth Mantha #15 (CAN) – PWHL, AHL
Michelle McKenna #10 (CAN) – PWHL
Shauna Neary #9 (CAN) – PWHL
Anniina Nurmi #11 (FIN)
Zuzana Svoboda (CZE)
Amanda Tassoni (USA) – PWHL, AHL
Linespersons
Sarah Buckner #56 (USA) – PWHL
Jennifer Cameron-Ward #84 (USA) – PWHL
Alexandra Clarke #7 (CAN) – PWHL, AHL
Laura Gutauskas #63 (CAN) – PWHL
Kristyna Hajkova #16 (CZE)
Jessica Lundgren #22 (SWE)
Tiina Saarimaki #64 (FIN)
Justine Todd #50 (CAN) – PWHL, OHL
Kirsten Welsh #4 (USA) – PWHL, AHL, ECHL, OHL
Erin Zach #60 (CAN) – PWHL
There’s plenty of professional experience, with 15 of the officials working this season in the PWHL, six in the AHL, and one in the ECHL.
Stratton also talked about the selection process in identifying the 22 officials tapped for the Olympics.
“We were down to a group of 30 officials heading into Olympic Qualifications in February 2025. Once those tournaments were over, our coaching group selected the 24 officials that would go to Women’s World Championships in Czechia in April 2025. At that point, we had identified our core group of referees for the Olympic Games but still needed to select 10 linespersons from the 12 that were going to Women’s Worlds. Once Women’s Worlds was completed, our coaching group decided on the final 10 and everyone was notified soon after IIHF Council approved the nominations in May.”
Officiating coaches are Stacey Livingston (USA), Melissa Szkola (USA), Vanessa Stratton (CAN), and Anna Wiegand (SUI).
The tournament gets under way on February 5, with the Gold Medal Game slated for February 19.
Congratulations to the referees and linespersons selected to work the Women’s Ice Hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics!
