Laura White just goes with the flow.
Wherever she’s needed, that’s where she is.
That mentality led to countless drives on I-95 between Virginia and New Jersey and trips to Europe and Asia - all to grow as a hockey referee.
“I just go where I’m told,” she said.
White’s latest assignment made history.
After being contacted by the NJSIAA state tournament’s official assigner, Jack Lally, on Feb. 29, White was asked to referee Monday’s Public Co-Op state final between Gov. Livingston-New Providence and Morris Knolls-Hills at Prudential Center in Newark.
She was needed and so there she was, becoming the first woman referee to officiate a boys ice hockey state final in New Jersey history.
“I was honored,” she said. “It kind of didn’t really set in until I saw Jack’s email (talking about it on Tuesday). I obviously was very happy to be invited to skate and the crew I worked with, both of them were great. Even just the locker atmosphere, everyone was positive, happy to be there and all obviously deserved to be there.”
As luck would have it, the Public Co-Op final was one of the more compelling games of the day, as a last-minute goal from Morris Knolls-Hills’ Eli Singley spoiled Gov. Livingston-New Providence’s bid for a championship three-peat with a 4-3 win.
It’s not the first time she’s been a part of officiating history.
White was announced to the American Hockey League’s roster of on-ice officials for the 2021-22 season. She joined nine others, six of whom are referees, as the first group of women officials in the league’s history.
White has refereed AHL games every season since and also finds time to handle high school games for the South Jersey High School Hockey League, which consists of club teams not affiliated with the NJSIAA, and across the river in Pennsylvania as a member of the South Jersey Ice Hockey Officials Association.
“It’s a just a different atmosphere,” she said of refereeing at a state final. “The kids are passionate, especially when you get to obviously the state finals. You could tell each team brought so many people with them, and they had so much support, and it’s just an atmosphere of kids passionate about hockey. It’s just great to see. It’s great to be a part of when they’re committed to the game itself.”
She was once one of those ardent hockey kids, and that love for the game hasn’t dwindled, even as the number of miles traveled and passport stamps keep ballooning.
Laura White (left) became the first woman referee to officiate a New Jersey boys ice hockey state final when Morris Knolls-Hills took on Gov. Livingston-New Providence.Brian Bobal | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
After her college hockey career at Robert Morris ended, White took a few years off before being swayed to give officiating a chance by her brother, John, who was a referee.
“He started when he was very young,” she said. “He used to ride his bike to the rink to be able to go work games.”
At the time, White, who is from New Jersey, worked as a government contractor in Virginia. She registered as a referee in the Southeast District for USA Hockey, which allowed her to officiate any games under the USA Hockey umbrella. That’s where her brother would step in.
“We joke that my brother was my agent and he would get me set up with games (in New Jersey) for the weekend,” she said. “So I would just work all weekend at the rink, and then go back to Virginia, work my day job, come home the next weekend and work hockey.”
White rose through the ranks, going from district refereeing camps to regional camps and eventually into the Elite Camp in 2016, where she got her international license.
Since then, she’s done hockey games in international tournaments and events in Taiwan, Russia, Switzerland and more for the International Ice Hockey Federation. Earlier this season, her 10th overall in officiating, she was brought on board to referee during the inaugural season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
She’s ecstatic to see the spike in the number of women officials across all branches of the sport.
“I love it. The hockey community is obviously a large community. The officiating community is a small community. So, you see these people throughout the season, and it’s like no time has passed,” she said. “All the females I’ve worked with and all the crews in the AHL that I’ve worked with have been extremely supportive, and supervisors are out to give feedback and to make sure you’re developing.”
Long term, White has her eyes set on cracking the NHL ranks.
In the short term, she’s content with what’s on her plate, as she continues to develop. Her name will always be connected to the first big wave of women officials rising through the top levels of hockey.
“I just want to skate as many of the AHL games as I can and learn from those experiences,” she said. “It takes takes a while to be good at this job. To develop at the league level that’s required you need time and experience. I just want to make sure I’m putting in the work at this level to maintain what the league standard and the league expectations are.”
Brian Bobal may be reached at bbobal@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @BrianBobal.
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