ECAC Hockey announced Monday a pair of staff hires, as Peter Feola and Bryan Hicks were both named directors of officiating.
Feola will serve as the director for the men’s league, while Hicks will serve in the same role for the ECAC Hockey women’s league.
Both will begin their duties on July 1.
“We are excited to have Bryan and Peter assume the roles of directors of officials for our women’s and men’s leagues,” said ECAC Hockey commissioner Steve Hagwell in a statement. “Both gentlemen are well-respected within ECAC Hockey and the college game, possess a wealth of officiating knowledge, expertise and experience, and are first-class individuals. We look forward to having Bryan and Peter lead our officiating programs.”
Feola brings nearly 25 years of experience as an on-ice official to the table, having officiated more than 750 NCAA games in his career. One of the most well-respected officials in the country, the Rochester, N.Y., native has worked nine ECAC Hockey championship games and 14 NCAA tournaments, including national championship games in 2012 and 2018.
Off the ice, Feola also has over 20 years of experience as an assigner of officials, assigning more than 300 high school and college club games per year for the Western New York Ice Hockey Officials Association. He’s also served as an NCAA video replay official, and as a USA Hockey advanced certified instructor teaching officiating seminars at both the local and national level.
Hicks also boasts a strong on-ice officiating history, having worked more than 400 men’s and women’s games as a referee since beginning with ECAC Hockey in 2007. He’s worked a number of league championship games, NCAA tournament games, and has refereed a pair of women’s national title games in 2013 and 2016.
Since 2005, the Wayne, N.J., native has served as the director of officiating for Word TeamTennis, where he oversees the officiating, and rules and regulations for the professional tennis league. An expert in technology and video analysis, Hicks implemented instant replay technology for Word TeamTennis in his first year as director of officiating.
