While rosters are still being built for the 2026 women's hockey tournament at the Milano Cortina Olympics, one roster, that of officials, has been announced. USA and Canada lead the way with the most officials selected to serve as referees and linespersons for the 2026 Olympic Games.
From the United States, Kelly Cooke (Boston, Mass.), Melissa Doyle (White Bear Lake, Minn.), Samantha Hiller(Boulder, Colo.) and Amanda Tassoni (Smithfield, R.I.) will serve as referees in the women’s tournament, while Sarah Buckner (Duluth, Minn.), Jennifer Cameron-Ward (Hollywood, Fla.) and Kirsten Welsh (Pittsburgh, Pa.) will serve as linespersons.
From Canada, Cianna Lieffers (Cudworth, SK), Elizabeth Mantha (Montréal, QC), Michelle McKenna (Moose Jaw, SK), and Shauna Neary (Herring Cove, NS) will serve as referees in the women's tournament, while Justine Todd (Woodville, ON), Laura Gutauskas (Brampton, ON), Alex Clarke (Drake, SK) anbd Erin Zach (Elmira, ON) will serve as linespersons.
Officials from other nations selected include Ida Henriksson (SWE), Julia Kainberger (AUT), Anniina Nurmi (FIN), Zuzana Svobodova (CZE) who will serve as referees, while Kristyna Hajkova (CZE), Jessica Lundgren (SWE), Tiina Saarimaki (FIN)
The IIHF has also selected Vanessa Stratton (Windsor, ON), women’s head coach of Hockey Canada’s Officiating Program of Excellence, to serve as an officiating coach for the women’s tournament, as well as Stacey Livingston (Utica, N.Y.) and Melissa Szkola (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) as officiating coaches.
The 2026 Olympic Winter Games will take place February 4-22 in Milan and Cortina, Italy.