The State of Ohio has issued Guidelines for Contact Sport Practices and Non-Contact Sport Competitions. Tam O’Shanter is opening back up for some games and scrimmages in July and will be following the State’s guidelines. Masks should be worn into the Rink and when exiting the Rink, but are not required on-ice for Officials.

Please take a few minutes to review the State of Ohio Guidelines and reach out to your Scheduler if you have questions or concerns.

USA Hockey has a great resource that shows the differences between USA Hockey, NFHS, and NCAA Rulebooks.  Click here -> 2019-20_Rules_Comparison to view the document.

When the USA Hockey Board of Directors ratified the Declaration of Safety, Fair Play and Respect in June of 2019 its intent was to create a culture that eliminates: 1) hits to the head, 2) hits from behind and 3) late hits.

The onus on modifying the culture lies with everyone in the game, from players, coaches, and officials to media, parents, fans and administrators.

Link to Full USA Hockey Declaration

Link to Video with Examples, etc.

While the focus of the Declaration is largely around changing the culture and mindset involved with body checking, there is also language that deals with unsportsmanlike conduct centered around banging on the boards to celebrate a body check.

It should be noted that USA Hockey supports legal body contact and body checking. The culture shift is an on-going effort to eliminate 1) hits from behind, 2) late hits and 3) hits to the head by more clearly defining body checking and putting forward clear examples of what is acceptable and unacceptable.

USA Hockey has a great resource of Rule related videos to give visual examples of rule interpretations and proper techniques.  Click HERE to access the Youtube Channel.  Content is updated every few weeks during the season.

“If You’re Looking For Ricky Purcell, He’s Probably at the Rink.” <- USA Hockey Magazine Article By Greg Bates, 10/20/18, 10:30AM MDT

Registration for new Ohio High School Ice Hockey Officials opens on September 15th, 2018 and closes on October 15th, 2018.  Here’s the link to register with OHSAA:

Make sure to include a copy of your USA Hockey registration status with your OHSAA application to avoid any problems.

Any questions on the process, let us know by submitting a question here: Contact

Please make sure you renew your OHSAA certification by Saturday, June 30. All OHSAA certifications will expire at midnight on June 30 and anyone who has not completed their registration will not be eligible until their registration is complete. Also there will be a $50 late registration fee after this date. Make sure you forward a copy of your registration confirmation email to me so we can keep our record of available officials updated.

Lastly, if you are interested in working the HS summer tournament on July 7-8 and you have not contacted me, please send your registration confirmation and a message letting me know of your interest. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at anytime.

Bill Medlen
​Official Assignor – ​NHC
419-680-4899
willymed3@aol.com

Congratulations, you have reached the Web Site for the Northwest Ohio Ice Hockey Officials Association – NOIHOA for short.  Spend some time looking through our information, contact us with corrections, comments, and suggestions for missing content.

If you are looking to learn more about how to become an Ice Hockey Official, click on the New Officials menu.  If you are an established USA Hockey or OHSAA Official and are interesting in working games in our area, click on the How to Join Us menu.