COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – While coaches and student-athletes are busy preparing for the 2014-15 season, the officials in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) are also training and sharpening their skills to be at the top of their game for the upcoming season. To do this, NCHC referees and linesmen attend officiating camps throughout September leading up to puck drop.

The NCHC holds four officiating camps annually, one for referees and three for linesmen located around the NCHC’s footprint. The NCHC referee camp took place in Colorado Springs from Sept. 11-13, while the first linesman camp occurred the next day also in Colorado Springs for linesmen located in the Colorado and Nebraska areas. The second linesman camp was just completed outside Detroit on Sept. 20 for linesmen in the Eastern Time Zone, while the final camp will be held outside Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 27 for linesmen from Minnesota and North Dakota.

During the NCHC’s referee camp, the conference’s referees were able to get both classroom instruction and on-ice instruction, while also bonding with each other and building chemistry. On Sept. 11, the referees arrived in Colorado Springs and enjoyed a round of golf while getting to know each other. The official business started Friday morning with an overview and introduction by NCHC Director of Officiating Don Adam, NCHC Director of Hockey Operations Joe Novak and NCHC Commissioner Josh Fenton. After an on-ice training session, veteran NHL referee Brad Watson spoke to the group to highlight Friday, while items such as video replay and on-ice positioning were covered by the NCHC staff. On the final day of referee camp, the referees dissected the NCAA rules changes and new points of emphasis, while also hearing from noted sports psychologist, Gayle Davis, before hitting the ice for another session.

At the one-day linesman camps, the linesmen go through a classroom session for half the day, while getting on the ice for the other half of the day. In the classroom, similar to the referees, NCAA rules changes and points of emphasis are covered, as well as positioning and linesmen responsibilities. Once on the ice, the linesmen are instructed on positioning, while also working on conditioning and skating.

A video recap of the NCHC referee camp, including highlights and interviews with Adam, Novak and Watson, can be seen here (and top right on this page). A photo gallery from the camp is also at the bottom of the page.

The NCHC officials will put what they learned in the camps to use for the first time during the nine exhibition games from Oct. 4-6, before the regular season starts in full.

--NCHCHockey.com--