Four Sask. hockey officials selected to work 2026 Olympic Games
Four Saskatchewan hockey officials have been selected to work the 2026 Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy this February.
Referees Cianna Murray, from Cudworth, Sask. and Moose Jaw's Michelle McKenna will work the women's tournament alongside linesperson Alex Clarke, from Drake.
All three women officiate in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and have previously worked multiple IIHF World Women's Hockey Championships between them.
For Clarke and Murray, the 2026 games will be their second Olympics, after being selected to officiate the Beijing Games in 2022.
Clarke became the first woman to officiate in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in September 2021 and she is one of the first to officiate in the American Hockey League (AHL). Murray also worked games in the WHL the past two seasons.
Meanwhile, Yorkton's Tarrington Wyonzek will be working the men's tournament.
Wyonzek has worked two IIHF World Junior Championships, and two IIHF World Men's Hockey Championships.
'Officiating at the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of an amateur official's career,' said Hockey Canada officiating manager, Dan Hanoomansingh in a media release.
'These officials have been working tirelessly towards this goal for the last four years, and it is a credit to their determination and skill that they have made it a reality.'
Women's group play in Italy begins Feb. 8, 2026, with the men dropping the puck Feb. 11.
Gold medal games are scheduled for Feb. 19 and 22 respectively.
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On the global stage and in the Japan Soccer League, Kunishige Kamamoto excelled. Playing for the national team, he scored 75 goals in 76 matches. Japan's Kunishige Kamamoto competes against Spain at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Kamamoto scored a hat trick in Japan's 3-1 group stage victory. (©SANKEI) Kunishige Kamamoto, a prolific goalscorer in the 1960s, '70s and early '80s, died on Sunday, August 10 of pneumonia at an Osaka hospital. He was 81. Playing for the Japan national team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Kamamoto was the tournament's top scorer (seven goals). He helped Japan earn the bronze medal, its best-ever finish in an Olympic men's soccer tourney. Brazilian legend Pele, who passed away in December 2022, once called Kamamoto "a great striker." It was the ultimate compliment for the Kyoto native. Others have described Kamamoto as "Japan's goal machine." Kunishige Kamamoto in action at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. 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Yanmar Diesel Soccer Club's Kunishige Kamamoto scores the winning goal against Eidai Soccer Club in a Japan Soccer League match in December 1974. (©SANKEI) Kamamoto was a seven-time Japanese Football Player of the Year. In 2005, he was the first inductee of the Japan Football Hall of Fame, which was established that year. Kamamoto played his entire pro career for the Yanmar Diesel Soccer Club, the forerunner of the Cerezo Osaka, in the Japan Soccer League from 1967-84. And he was named to the JSL's Best XI team 14 times, highlighting his sustained standard of excellence. In his 251 Yanmar Diesel appearances in the JSL, the Waseda University alum scored a jaw-dropping 202 goals while leading the JSL in goals in seven seasons. He also notched 51 goals in 48 Emperor's Cup matches over the years. Led by Pele and Giorgio Chinaglia, among others, the North American Soccer League's star-studded New York Cosmos played the Japan national squad in September 1977. 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"The thoughts and prayers of the AFC and the Asian football community are with the family and friends of Kunishige Kamamoto, as well as with the JFA, during this difficult time." Influential German mentor Dettmar Cramer (left), who is considered the father of modern Japanese soccer, and Kunishige Kamamoto attend a Japan Football Hall of Fame ceremony in May 2005 in Tokyo. (©SANKEI) Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto paid tribute to Kamamoto this week. "Mr Kamamoto was truly an unparalleled striker," Miyamoto said in a statement. In a video posted to the "Timeless Legends" YouTube channel, the narrator provides a revealing portrait of how Kamamoto thrived on the field. "Inspired by Portugal's legendary Eusebio, a thunderous shot, quick movement and a killer instinct for goals ― he had it all," the narrator said. 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"My eulogy was meant to express my gratitude for the great legacy he left behind in the world of soccer." Tashima added, "There was no one who loved soccer and the Japanese national team as much as he did. I want to carry on that spirit and fully support the players and coaches at next year's [FIFA] World Cup." Kunishige Kamamoto scored 202 times in 251 matches for Yanmar Diesel in the Japan Soccer League. (©SANKEI) Goalkeeper Kenzo Yokoyama, who competed with Kamamoto at the Mexico City Olympics, remembered his former teammate as a technically sound player. "He always emphasized how important it was to stop the ball before shooting, and he practiced that technique extensively," Yokoyama recalled, NHK reported. "I was also trained by receiving hundreds of his shots." chairman Yoshikazu Nonomura expressed his profound appreciation for the impact that Kamamoto had on his soccer career and the sport in Japan. "I have been taught by Pele, [Diego] Maradona, Zico and Kamamoto since I was a child, and I am extremely grateful to them," Nonomura said, according to NHK. "Kamamoto's presence as a player and coach has played a major role in shaping the soccer world as we know it today. I would like to continue to develop the soccer world that he helped build." Born April 15, 1944 in Kyoto's Ukyo Ward, Kunishige Kamamoto attended Yamashiro High School before enrolling at Waseda University in 1963. During Kamamoto's college years, he established himself as a prolific scorer. He was the Kanto University League's No 1 scorer for four consecutive seasons. As a professional footballer for Yanmar Diesel, the muscular 179-cm Kamamoto served as player-manager from 1978-84. Gamba Osaka manager Kunishige Kamamoto (right) gives instructions to forward Akihiro Nagashima in May 1993. (©SANKEI) From 1991-94, he was the manager of Matsushita Electric/Gamba Osaka, before and after the launch of the in 1993. Gamba became a part of the team's name in '92. Throughout the years following his retirement, Kamamoto helped develop the sport in his homeland. He conducted more than 1,200 soccer clinics in Japan, Kyodo News reported. He was the JFA vice president from 1998-2008, a transformative era for Japanese soccer. The Samurai Blue qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1998, and Japan co-hosted the World Cup along with South Korea in 2002. Kunishige Kamamoto (18) and Hidetoshi Nakata participate in an exhibition game, the Plus One Football Match, in June 2008 at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. (KYODO) As a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, Kamamoto served in the House of Councillors from 1995 to 2001. And in 2014, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, recognizing his societal contributions through soccer. Yanmar's Kunishige Kamamoto (left) pursues the ball in a Japan Soccer League match against Hitachi in December 1971. (©SANKEI) Author: Ed Odeven Find Ed on JAPAN Forward' s dedicated website, SportsLook . Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven .
