by – David McPherson
On January 17, King Rebellion will be in Oakville to take on the Oakville Blades – Lacey Senuk will make OHA history as part of an all women’s officiating crew that also includes: Hillary Brennan, Laura Gutauskas and Marlowe Schott. This is the third profile on these outstanding officials.
Cambridge, ON – a broken leg kept Lacey Senuk from carving up the ice as a toddler, but she quickly made up for lost time.
Born in Grande Cache, Alberta, a hamlet on the northern edge of the Rocky Mountains, Lacey played minor hockey with the local boys’ teams during her formative years, ending her minor hockey career with a U18 AAA team in Saskatchewan. From the moment the OHA official slipped on her first pair of skates at eight-years-old, any day on the ice was a good one.
“There are no bad days when you are at the rink,” says Lacey, who played high-school hockey at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a private preparatory co-ed boarding school in Wilcox, Sask.
One of the many reasons why the days are always different and more exciting — no matter what rink she’s at or city she’s in — is because officiating has provided Lacey a ticket to discover places far beyond the borders of the rural Alberta town where she grew up. The stamps that fill her passport — far-flung locales like Russia, Italy, Mexico City, China and the Czech Republic — are proof of where hockey has taken her. In Canada, Lacey has officiated in every province, except New Brunswick.
“As an official, I’ve been fortunate to travel the world,” she says.
These bigtime assignments did not come to Lacey overnight; rather, her drive and passion allowed her to rise rapidly in the officiating ranks. During her first season she was selected as a linesperson in the Esso Cup and over the past 15 plus years the opportunities have kept coming. Lacey eventually got licensed, via Hockey Canada, to referee for the International Ice Hockey Federation; her first assignment: working the U18 gold medal game in Russia. Then, In 2019, she skated her first women’s world championship in Finland. Finally, the “pipe dream,” happened when she skated at the Winter Games in Feb. 2022 in Beijing, China. Lacey is now a veteran international official and is also a trailblazer as the first woman to officiate in an OHL game.
The Unexpected Road to Reffing
After graduating from high school, Lacey had had enough hockey and decided to hang up her skates. The pause lasted a year before she was coaxed back to playing. Eventually, Lacey joined a women’s league in St. Albert, Alberta; that’s when, unexpectedly, these newfound friends recruited her to referee.
Ironically, during her playing days, Lacey admits to spending more time in the penalty box than her team had points! Looking back, these experiences have helped her empathize with players that get heated whenever she wears the stripes.
“I definitely have more tolerance when people start unloading on the ice,” Lacey says. “Hockey is a game of emotions and in the moment these emotions get heated … nine times out of 10 the players come back to apologize, whether it’s at the end of the period or on their next shift.”
When she’s not on a plane, or driving to an arena somewhere, Lacey now calls Toronto home. There is no typical schedule, but she balances her time officiating (OHL and PWHL games) with a full-time day job as a health and safety manager with a transportation company — the one that “pays the mortgage,” and also involves extensive travel.
“I always joke with my friends that winter flies by because of work travel and the potential of refereeing from Thursday through Sunday,” Lacey comments. “Before I know it, it’s Monday all over again!”
In the hockey off-season, Lacey is an avid cyclist and enjoys spending time outdoors. And, surprisingly, for someone that spends the better part of her work life on a plane or in a car, she also loves to travel and explore new places.
As the conversation ends, the veteran official offers advice for any young girls considering donning the stripes.
“It will be tough at first as you learn and develop, but it is so worth it once you master the craft and continue to advance and evolve,” Lacey says. “Today, there are so many great opportunities for females in officiating.”
Learn more about Lacey’s Journey to Officiating.
About the Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) was founded on November 27, 1890, and is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior hockey in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is a Member Partner of the Ontario Hockey Federation which is one of thirteen Provincial and Regional Branches of Hockey Canada.
It is comprised of three Junior hockey leagues and two Senior hockey leagues: Junior A – Ontario Junior Hockey League; Junior B – Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League; Junior C – Provincial Junior Hockey League, Senior – Allan Cup Hockey (AAA) and Ontario Elite Hockey League (AA). For the 2023-24 season, these five leagues encompass 125 teams.
The objectives of the OHA are to foster and encourage the sport of amateur hockey, to conduct competition in the various categories established, to determine teams for entry into the inter-branch competitions that may be provided by Hockey Canada, and to provide for the affiliation of other hockey organizations.
The OHA provides administrative resources, coordinates programs, services and events for hockey participants and provides support to various Development Programs for coaches, officials, trainers and players, Safety and Risk Management Issues and offers resources for Harassment and Abuse education.
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For more information or to set up an interview, please contact:
Chris McCleary
General Manager, Operations & Marketing
Ontario Hockey Association
