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PHOTOS BY Images On Ice by JUSTIN FELISKO 36 // JAN/FEB 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM MANDA TASSONI HAD WHITE KNUCKLES AS SHE GRIPPED THE STEERING WHEEL during her 2.5-hour drive to Governor's Academy as a swirling snowstorm was barreling into Massachusetts nine years ago. Tassoni, a Rhode Island, native, had accepted a last-minute officiating assignment for a prep school game in Byfield, Massachusetts, despite the snowy conditions. Low and behold, that decision around Christmas 2017 would forever change her life. Tassoni's officiating partner for the game, Jennifer Cameron, had gotten lost on her way to the game and missed the first period. By the time the game was over, Cameron was in no rush to hop back into her car during the storm and drive home. Therefore, Tassoni and Cameron decided to grab a bite at a nearby Chili's and started to talk about the pathways that exist in officiating. At the time, Tassoni had been reffing for about seven or eight years at the grassroots level. Cameron, though, encouraged Tassoni to sign up for some USA Hockey officiating development camps, opening a whole world of mentors to Tassoni. And, as they say, the rest is history. Tassoni and Cameron are two of 10 American officials selected by the IIHF to work the 2026 Olympic Winter Games (the NHL had yet to announce their selections as of press time), and Tassoni admits there is a chance she may have never gone on to officiate international events, such as the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship, if not for having lunch with Cameron at that Massachusetts Chili's. "It's just a crazy moment for me because she's kind of the one that was like, there's more out there than just this local level of officiating," Tassoni recalled during the 2025 Advanced Officiating Symposium. "She was like you need to do all the USA Hockey things. That kind of started my journey. And now we're going to the Olympics together for both of our first times. "It's a full circle moment because had it not been for that one day in a blizzard, for no other reason than there was nobody else around, this entire pathway of my life never would have existed," Tassoni said. Tassoni decided to pick up officiating to stay involved in the game after she finished her collegiate playing career at the University of Rhode Island. It has since taken her throughout the world and various cities in the United States at the collegiate and professional level. In 2020, Tassoni was one of 10 women hired to work in the American Hockey League. Now Tassoni, Rhode Island's Referee- in-Chief, has her focus set on making her Olympics debut, something that would have only been a pipedream for the little girl who used sit in her family's den watching figure skating and downhill skiing when hockey wasn't on. "I am so stoked to be able to be a part of Olympic events that I've been watching on TV since I was old enough to understand what was on," Tassoni concluded. "Every tournament is such a gift for all of us because we never know when the next one might come. "When I step on the ice for that first puck drop and take a breath and take in that moment, I do feel like that's going to be our Aha! moment of I made it, we're here, and now we get to just do the thing." P A CHANCE ENCOUNTER How Ociating A Game During A Blizzard Helped Amanda Tassoni To The Olympic Winter Games A Visit TeamUSA.USAHockey.com to see the full list of American officials for the 2026 Winter Olympics.