Hockey Nova Scotia is proud to announce that Antigonish's Shauna Neary is the winner of our 2021 Hockey Canada Officiating Program Branch Award: Most Deserving.

A knowledgeable and talented National High Performance-level referee and U Sports official, Shauna has given back to our officiating program and to the game in a variety of ways.

A former assistant coach with both the Hockey Nova Scotia High Performance Program and the Dalhousie University Tigers women’s hockey team, she brings a wealth of experience to the ice.

During this past hockey season, the Metro West Force referee-in-chief was selected to officiate at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship in Halifax and Truro. Unfortunately, the event was cancelled. However, she did celebrate other milestones throughout this hockey year. In April, she worked her first-ever Maritime Hockey League (MHL) game.

The Antigonish native has previous experience on the world stage, too. In 2019, she officiated at the IIHF Women's World Championship Division III tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. In the past, she has also worked gold medal games at the U18 national women’s championship and the Esso Cup.

On behalf of everyone at Hockey Nova Scotia, we would like to congratulate Shauna Neary on receiving our 2021 Hockey Canada Officiating Program Branch Award: Most Deserving.