3 days ago
Four Sask. hockey officials selected to work 2026 Olympic Games
Referees Cianna Murray, Michelle McKenna and linespersons Alex Clarke and Tarrington Wyonzek have been selected to work officiate the 2026 Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy. (Source: Hockey Sask)
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.
