Paul Stewart grew impatient waiting for Katie Guay to feel comfortable making history, so he finally did it for her. The director of officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s (ECAC) hockey programs, Stewart informed Guay he scheduled her to referee a game between Union and Sacred Heart in 2015. She figured it was a routine women’s college hockey assignment — until he told her it was actually a men’s game, a step she had been reluctant to take.
“I don’t know if I’m ready,” she told him.
“Now you’re second-guessing me?” he fired back.
And just like that, Guay became the first woman to officiate in Division I men’s college hockey.