Sydney Harris and Sarah Buckner Pave the Way for Female Referees in Predators Rookie Showcase

A former player, Buckner completed his successful collegiate career at Augsburg College (now Augsburg University) in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2016.

The Duluth, Minnesota native had a lot of ideas about what to do next. Officiating wasn’t one of them.

“Honestly, I got into it because my best friend was starting out,” Buckner said. “Before that, I really had zero desire to get into refereeing, but my best friend, her dad, and her older brothers had been refereeing locally in Minnesota for a long time. That first winter, I only worked in the women’s adult league in Minnesota, adult hockey. That first winter season, I worked 22 games, so I was still playing. But I realized I enjoyed refereeing and I was relatively good at it.”

From there, one opportunity led to another. Buckner went from youth refereeing to high school hockey, then to college and the pros. Her new path, which brought her to the 2023 and 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championships, eventually brought her back to the State of Hockey, where another opportunity arose with the PWHL.

Buckner, who worked in the Premier Hockey Association and National Women’s Hockey League before their dissolution, said that while the leagues have changed, the importance of the opportunity has not.

“It’s the same feeling, the gratitude I get from refereeing at the highest level with the best players in the world,” he said. “And to be able to do it in my home state, the State of Hockey, was really cool. I was really happy with how the fans turned out and especially the first game. It was really cool to be a part of that.”

Of course, Buckner and Harris’ paths to Music City this weekend are no different.

Harris, a defensive back at Elmira College, finished his college career with the Soaring Eagles in 2022. The Pueblo, Colorado native has wanted to be involved in the game in any way possible ever since.

Refereeing was the natural next step.