It’s not the National League, but it’s a step in the right direction. Among the four officials who refereed the match between the Reds and the Whites on Sunday at the Bell Centre, we found Quebecer Élizabeth Mantha.
Posted at 9:36 p.m.
“I received a text message asking if I was available. We can’t say no to that! “, she launched in the press scrum, after the match.
It was a simple intrasquad game, so not exactly the type of duel where the coaches yell at the referees. Only one penalty was imposed, and it was Mantha herself who reported it, against Chris Wideman who clearly tripped Riley Kidney.
His story is increasingly well known. A former player who reached the university level with the Carabins, she converted to refereeing and last year became the very first woman to referee a QMJHL game. In a hockey world that is slowly discovering that half of society can also contribute, she was part of the first cohort of female referees in the American League (AHL) last season.
Mantha plans to split his schedule again between the QMJHL and the AHL this season. She will soon attend an AHL camp in Chicago.
“Arriving in a new league, it comes with a lot of adjustments, she recalled. Skating and calls are part of it. Me, I was told to continue working on my skate to reduce the gap with the players, the game, to have the best possible angle. »
After a year in professional men’s hockey, a year in the QMJHL, she feels that the players she does business with are “out there”. “If I go back 10 years, it was more difficult. But we see more and more women in hockey. The players are there. I do not see any problem related to the fact that I am a woman. »
Anthony Richard was the offensive star of this match, won 7-2 by the Reds. The Quebec forward scored two goals and an assist in what was his very first game at the Bell Centre. Even if he had already skated at the home of the Canadiens…
“I’ve skated here before. We were visiting the Bell Centre, I was 6 or 7 years old. It wasn’t a real game, I just skated in circles with my dad and my brothers. But I remembered that the ice was really soft, as they say in hockey lingo. And in 20 years, that hasn’t changed that much! »
Richard, 25, signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Habs this summer. He has two games of NHL experience and will try to increase that number this season. However, he is tipped for a role with the Laval Rocket.
Joel Armia, Alex Green, Jared Davidson, Xavier Simoneau and Arber Xhekaj also hit the mark in the Scarlet Vests victory. Simoneau also stood out again with some nice offensive plays. On his goal, for example, he mocked Brendan Gallagher before beating Riley Mercer.
Gallagher and Lucas Condotta answered for white. On Condotta’s goal, goaltender Mercer got an assist, he who managed a long pass from his net to the offensive blue line. Mercer, 18, is attending the camp under a trial contract.
Some fans must have been disappointed seeing the forces present, since several of the team’s headliners were absent. Nick Suzuki is injured and his absence was known, but Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky were also given an afternoon off.
Martin St-Louis had hinted Saturday that the players off Sunday should play the first preseason game of the year, Monday, against the Devils, at the Bell Centre. Everything therefore suggests that the Caufields, Slafkovsky, Michael Matheson, Kaiden Guhle and company will see action on Monday.