Officials named for Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic

The ECHL on Thursday announced that Logan Gruhl and Trevor Wohlford have been selected as the referees and Sean D'Loughy and Bryan Gorcoff have been chosen to be the linespeople for the 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by Gulfstream, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia. The game will air LIVE exclusively on NHL Network and be streamed via FloHockey.
 
“Congratulations to Trevor, Logan, Sean and Bryan on their selection for the 2024 ECHL All-Star Classic in Savannah,” said ECHL Manager of Officiating Riley Yerkovich. “These four officials have combined for over 700 regular-season ECHL games and have diligently worked to develop as professional hockey officials. Each of them displays the leadership and attitude that we want our officials to bring to the arena each and every night. Selection to an ECHL All-Star Classic is a great achievement and each of them are well-deserving of the honor.
 
“This November, the ECHL Officiating Staff collected donations for the Memorial Health Dwaine and Cynthia Willett Children’s Hospital of Savannah,” Yerkovich continued. “The four officials will be presenting this donation in person during All-Star Weekend in Savannah.”
 
The 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by Gulfstream will consist of the host Savannah Ghost Pirates taking on a team of ECHL All-Stars representing the other teams in the League. The event also will feature several Skills events which will count as a goal towards the winning Player’s team score. The 2024 ECHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place between periods of the game, with results counting towards the cumulative score. The first two periods of the game will be 5-on-5 while the final period will consist of 3-on-3.
 
Gruhl, who is in fourth season as an ECHL referee, has been selected to work the Conference Finals in each of the last two Kelly Cup Playoffs, while also earning an assignment for the 2023 Kelly Cup Finals. Prior to joining the ECHL, Gruhl officiated games in both the North American Hockey League, where he worked the 2018 National Championship Game, and the United States Hockey League, where he was selected for the 2019 Clark Cup Finals. Gruhl was also selected as a referee to the 2023 BioSteel All-American Game.

Wohlford in his fourth season as an ECHL referee, and has been selected to work the Conference Finals in each of the last two postseasons. He began his career with USA Hockey’s Officiating Development Program in 2016 and worked through the NA3HL, NAHL, USHL and SPHL. Wohlford has worked the Silver Cup in 2017, the Robertson Cup in 2018 and the SPHL finals in 2021.
 
D'Loughy is in his 13th season with the ECHL, while also currently working games in the American Hockey League, and as a referee in the Federal Prospects Hockey League. Previously, he was a linesman in the SPHL, and he has been a USA Hockey official since the 1999-2000 season. He was the recipient of the Wayne Bonney Top Crew Award in the FPHL during the 2022-23 season.
 
Gorcoff is in third season with the ECHL, while also working games in the AHL. He has earned assignments working the Conference Finals in the Kelly Cup Finals each of the last two seasons. Prior to joining the ECHL, Gorcoff spent time in the NAHL, working the 2018 Robertson Cup Final, the USHL, working the 2021 Clark Cup Final, and in the SPHL. He also was selected to officiate the 2022 USA Hockey BioSteel All-American Game.
 
Current NHL officials who have worked the ECHL All-Star Game are referees Ian Walsh (1997), Brian Pochmara (2001), Justin St. Pierre (2002) and Tom Chmielewski (2011) and linesman Brian Mach (1999) while former NHL referee Jeff Smith worked the 1998 game.

There are 40 former ECHL officials who are scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2023-24 with referees Riley Brace, Jake Brenk, Francis Charron, Tom Chmielewski, Mitch Dunning, Trevor Hanson, Beau Halkidis, Ghislain Hebert, Jean Hebert, Pierre Lambert, T.J. Luxmore, Peter MacDougall, Morgan MacPhee, Michael Markovic, Wes McCauley, Jon McIsaac, Dan O’Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Carter Sandlak, Graham Skilliter, Furman South, Justin St. Pierre and linesmen Steve Barton, Ryan Daisy, Julien Fournier, Brandon Gawryletz, Brandon Grillo, Mitchell Hunt, Trent Knorr, Matt MacPherson, Jesse Marquis, Kilian McNamara, Bevin Mills, C.J. Murray, Kory Nagy, Ben O’Quinn and Bryan Pancich.
 
Thirty-three of the 77 referees working in the American Hockey League, came from the ECHL, while 77 of the 164 linespeople in the AHL have worked games in the ECHL.
 
The 16th class of the ECHL Hall of Fame will be officially inducted at a luncheon, presented by BFL CANADA and Sutton Special Risk, on Monday, January 15 at 12:00 p.m. at the Savannah Convention Center. Tickets include a plated lunch in conjunction with the ECHL Hall of Fame ceremony and are on sale for $75 per person.
 
The 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by Gulfstream will take place on Monday, January 15, 2024, at Enmarket Arena. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets today!
 
Serving as the start of the All-Star festivities, the Savannah Ghost Pirates will also be hosting Fan Fest on Sunday, January 14 at Enmarket Arena. Fan Fest will feature live music, interactive games, player autographs, giveaways and an exclusive area dedicated to the Hockey Hall of Fame featuring some of hockey’s most famed memorabilia exhibits and trophies. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets for Fan Fest.
 
About the ECHL

Formed in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 28 teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces for its 36th season in 2023-24. There have been 743 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including three who have made their NHL debuts in the 2023-24 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 28 of the 32 NHL teams in 2023-24, marking the 27th consecutive season that the league has affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com.