After 20 years officiating hockey, UNH/Maine will be final game for Dover's Jeremy Lovett

DOVER — A minor injury playing college hockey led to a major decision for Jeremy Lovett.

The result was a 20-year career as a linesman, officiating games in Hockey East. It will come to a fitting end Saturday when the University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team hosts arch-rival Maine at a sold-out Whittemore Center where nearly 100 friends and family members are expected to gather in Section 112 to mark the occasion.

“It’s crazy that it’s here already,” said the 45-year-old Dover resident. “I think the finality of it all will probably hit me afterwards. I always said to myself I don’t want to be the guy that’s out there and people are like, ‘Why is he still doing this?’ I feel like I’m going out at the right time where I can still do it at a high level.

“I’ve had some really cool assignments along the way that are definitely memories forever,” Lovett added.

What are some of those 'cool' assignments?

Each year, the four Boston Division I men's hockey teams — Harvard University, Northeastern University, Boston University and Boston College — play in the Beanpot tournament. Lovett has officiated four of those. Some other memorable assignments include the 2014 Frozen Fenway, the 2022 Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland and several Hockey East final fours at TD Garden. He also officiated a game at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, one of the most famous venues in the world.

“He’s just a great person and he’s been a great official,” said Dover’s Brian Murphy, the director of officials on the men’s side in Hockey East and a former NHL linesman who was recently inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame.

“He’s had a great collegiate career. He’s worked in Hockey East for 20 years in some of the biggest games we’ve had," Murphy said. "He’s one of those officials you can always rely on. I think the biggest thing I can say about Jeremy is that he’s consistent, and I think that’s what coaches look for in an official. To me that’s the sign of a great official.”        

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Lovett's career also included 15 years in the AHL

For the first 15 of those 20 years Lovett also worked the lines for the American Hockey League, which is one step below the NHL. He began working in both leagues in the 2004-05 season.

“The NHL is a tough roster to crack,” said the 6-foot-5 Lovett. “Obviously, going into it that’s kind of the goal. I’m just as happy with my path. I think my path was just as great. I’m glad I got to do this for so long. I got to work some big games.”

Growing up in Rye, playing for Portsmouth High School

Lovett grew up in Rye and played four years of hockey for Portsmouth High School, graduating in 1997. He also graduated from Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts where he played two seasons when an injury left him contemplating his future.

“I had always reffed,” Lovett said. “Whenever I could, I would do games and stuff, but it was my junior year of college that I started taking officiating seriously.

“It’s sad that it’s coming to an end,” he continued. “The game is so fast and I’m certainly not in the shape I was in my 20s. I controlled everything I could control so I don’t have any regrets. At the end of the day, I’m happy with where I’m at.”

Insurance career and coaching daughter at forefront now

Lovett owns a Dover-based insurance agency that he started in 2012 called HBL. His immediate family includes his wife Marisa and daughters Lily (13) and Keira (10). They recently returned from a 14U hockey tournament in Buffalo, New York, with a Seacoast Spartans team that Jeremy helps coach. Lily is a key member of the squad.

“Now coaching and seeing the game from all different angles is cool,” Lovett said. “I’m just really enjoying this phase. It’s a ton of fun doing that. I just don’t want to miss any of that as much as I had fun reffing; I’ve accomplished kind of everything I wanted to as far as that goes anyway. And now I just want my energy to be more focused on the girls that we’re coaching and actually trying to mentor some of the young kids that are becoming refs.

“Could I still do it? For sure,” he added. “My daughter is a 14U player and I don’t want to miss any of her stuff. I thought 20 was a nice round number. It’s been a good run and it’s time to focus on her.”

Lovett’s initial interest in officiating came from his dad. Bruce Lovett would officiate youth hockey games in Maine and New Hampshire when his son joined him at the age of 13.

“They usually have an older official with a younger one to show them the ropes,” Bruce said. “The biggest thing is the positioning and knowing the basic rules. (Jeremy) had a knack for it. He’d seen me doing it quite a bit and it was something he wanted to try.

“I think he’s done well,” he added. “He’s a good official.”

Where did it all began?

Jeremy Lovett eventually earned an invitation to a US Hockey’s officials camp in Burlington, Vermont, and from there moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to work in the USHL, the top junior league in the country at the time, where he worked full-time for two years.

“He wanted to play hockey initially because I was playing,” Bruce Lovett said. “It may have been the same with officiating. It was an opportunity to make a little money. He always loved hockey.”

There is a lot more that goes into being a linesman besides calling offsides and icings, and dropping the puck on faceoffs.

Developing good relationship with players, coaches

“He’s a great communicator with the coaches and a great communicator with the players,” Murphy said. “He’s consistent and steady in his judgement. I think that’s so important. The players want to know what to expect and the same with the coaches. Jeremy showed up every game and was always a consistent official. You could always count on him.”

With two referees and two linesmen for every Hockey East game, they must learn to function as a cohesive unit.

“He’s a great team guy,” Murphy said of Lovett. “That’s one of the things that I look for from the guys that work within our group. I want team guys and Jeremy is the epitome of what I’m looking for. That always translates to officiating.”

If he makes a mistake, Lovett owns it.

“He has the ability to go over and tell a coach that he messed up,” Murphy said. “He’s not afraid to do that. He’s an honest person and he’s going to give 100% every game. That’s all you ask for. That’s something coaches really appreciate. He’s a humble guy. Jeremy’s that type of person.”

Murphy was a mentor for Lovett who said, “He was always a phone call away.” Lovett has been doing the same for his younger colleagues.

“Mentoring is such an important part of officiating,” Murphy said. “It’s not what you learn as an official, it’s what you pass on. I know Jeremy has passed it along to other people that have come into the league. That’s how the cycle works. These guys were lucky to work with Jeremy and learn how to be a good official.”

Fans of Lovett will flock to Whittemore Saturday

Most fans don’t come to a game to support the on-ice officials who prefer to remain anonymous. That will change for Lovett on Saturday night.

“It’s a testament to the type of person he is,” Murphy said. “He’s so well-liked by everybody. A real sign of that is the number of people that want to come see him and what he means to people as a friend. Twenty years is a long time, and he did it at a high level. That’s a testament to what a great official he was.”

“When Murph retired from the NHL I think he said it best,” Lovett said. “'It’s nice to feel you’re running over the finish line instead of crawling over the finish line.' That’s kind of how I feel. You like to be in control of your own destiny.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Dover's Jeremy Lovett hanging up his hockey referee skates