Big hockey events like the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Winter Classics and even the Olympics draw attention to what the opportunity means for the players and coaches.
But, what about the officials?
This past weekend, four lucky women got the chance to referee, what was believed to be, the first female midget AAA outdoor hockey game between Prince George’s Northern Capitals and the Greater Vancouver Comets.
Melissa Brunn got to wear orange around her arms as one of the two lead officials Sunday morning (Jan. 19) at Ernie Sam Memorial Arena, an experience she likely won’t forget to put on her resume.
“This was a bit of a surprise, I definitely didn’t think that I was going to be one of the people to get to be the first to do this,” said Brunn in an interview with PrinceGeorgeMatters, adding ‘working hard consistently’ pays off in many ways.
“I thought, eventually, if they had a next one, maybe that one was going to be mine, but just working hard consistently, showing up and just being passionate about something, just like the players are passionate about playing, we’re passionate about calling the game and making hockey better all over B.C.”
.@NCapitalsfmaaa, @GVanComets, @BCHockey_Refs & support staff are all smiles while posing for the commemorative group photo to close out the first Female Midget AAA #BCWinterClassic 📸 Perfect weather for the morning game | #CityOfPG #FortStJames #BCHockey @PGMatters pic.twitter.com/BZxMw5fCYm
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) January 19, 2020
The 24-year-old lived in Prince George for work before eventually moving to Kelowna to pursue a degree in Kinesiology at UBC-Okanagan.
Before the move, she helped officiate hockey games in the city, alongside locals Grace Barlow and Danika Kroeker, and has been calling games in the B.C. Female Midget AAA League for almost three seasons.
The seventh season as a licensed referee for Brunn has already taken her as high as Canada’s national under-18 women’s championships in Manitoba, where she got to show her stripes for the first time to certain loved ones.
“My family is all from there. My grandparents are used to coming to watch me play, so seeing me in stripes was a bit different. I’d like to do that again and maybe work some medal-round games in that kind of tournament and potentially, hopefully, get into the IIHF as we move forward. That may be a little bit in the distance, but it’s nice to have a little bit of an extra big step to take up and aim for.”
Picture day 😁 #cheesing #reflife @HockeyCanada #U18Nationals @HC_NWU18 #morden #winkler pic.twitter.com/yfEK3MDJkB
— Danika Kroeker (@Danika_Kroeker) November 8, 2019
As she said, Brunn intends to take her career the full distance, hoping the 2020 B.C. Winter Classic can help her journey to big international competitions.
Now living in the Okanagan, where she claims there’s more refereeing gigs, Brunn credits the BC Hockey officiating program’s development of the female game to where she is now.
“It’s very concentrated, so I have more opportunities to grow there. Then we had a switch-in role for the female program when Dan Hanoomansingh took it over, so he pinpointed a bunch of people in the area and has really expanded the female program in the last three years or so. [...] This weekend, the girls’ games were pretty physical, so we’re trying to keep the physicality in the female game but also rewarding players for speed and skill as well.”
Brunn officiated in all three games this weekend between the Caps and the Comets, acting as a lineswoman for the first two tilts in the Vanderhoof and Fort Forum Arenas.
She believes the female midget AAA league has changed for the better, especially when it comes to expanding northern programs to add sports schooling for athletes and officials.
“It may be taking away from some smaller communities, but it also draws them into a bigger place and making sure that all the people that need to be getting noticed get those opportunities,” she explained.
“They have all these options available to them and having a really strong northern program, I think that really helps draw everything in, so it’s nice to have that up here.”
When asked what will keep her involved with refereeing hockey for the foreseeable future, she simply said it's the love of the game.
“When I go home, I’m going to watch hockey, not like basketball or something else,” chuckled Brunn.
“So, just being very attached to the enjoyment of the game and I think, deep down, most of the refs are there to better the game in whatever way possible. A lot on the male side have played junior, a lot on the female side have played a high level of female hockey, so to continue to be involved with high-performance hockey in anyway you can, this is just the way I’m giving back after it's given me a good way to grow up and everything like that. It’s been able to push myself competitively as well, so that’s why I stay involved.”
Brunn suited up in the 2020 B.C. Winter Classic with fellow Prince George official Rachel Robillard, Patricia Gove (Summerland) and Megan Howes (Burnaby).
