Mark Sampson’s impact on officiating in New England has been felt for nearly five decades. A leader in the state of Massachusetts, Sampson has been active in the hockey community as a player, coach, official, supervisor, instructor and mentor, leaving his mark on the sport at nearly every level.  

An official himself since 1973, Sampson officiated for 44 seasons, including everything from youth games to juniors to college hockey and beyond. 

The Longmeadow, Massachusetts, native patrolled the ice at all levels, wearing the stripes at the USA Hockey National Championships in 1993, 1994, 1997, 2003, and 2010 while serving as the supervisor of officials at the 2018 USA Hockey Girls National Championship. He also officiated NCAA Division I & III men’s hockey and NCAA Division III women’s hockey.

Sampson served as the district supervisor for the sixth district of Massachusetts Hockey for 29 years where he worked with local officials on development opportunities within the state and dedicated much of his time to recruiting and mentoring new officials in the area. He also spent a decade as the assigner for the Interstate Junior Hockey League.

For his efforts, Sampson was honored with the Massachusetts Hockey Milt Kaufman Award in 2001, earned the Al Pinciak Award in the 2005-2006 season and was recognized with the Golden Stripes Award in 2010. 

A staunch advocate for development, Sampson has been a key instructor at USA Hockey officiating seminars and led all on-ice instruction as part of USA Hockey’s officials certification process. 

Sampson served as the head of the officiating evaluation program for the state of Massachusetts and continues to foster a development pipeline for officials at all levels. 

In 2016, the Ben Allison Award was created to recognize deserving officials in the USA Hockey Officiating Development Program. The award is voted on by 150 members of the USA Hockey Officiating Development Program and is given to the official that best represents the characteristics that made Ben a special person and official, including always giving 100 percent on the ice and representing USA Hockey in the finest manner. The award will be presented on an annual basis. Allison was a level three USA Hockey certified official, who was tragically killed in January 2015 at the age of 20. A native of Royal Oak, Michigan and a student at Illinois State University, he had been officiating for eight years and was a part of the Officiating Development Program for three years at various levels, including the NAHL.

2024 BEN ALLISON AWARD
Shawn Cornock  -  Marquette, MI

Bianca Bartolomei
Warren, MI

As a token of recognition and gratitude for dedicated years of service*, the USA Hockey Officiating Program awards special gifts starting after ten years of service:

10 YEARS  -  Lapel Pin
15 YEARS  -  Money Clip
20 YEARS  -  Pen & Pencil Set
25 YEARS  -  Special Spiral-Bound 25-Year Rulebook**
30 YEARS  -  Equipment Bag Tag

*Awards are based on consecutive years of service, beginning with the first season registration was tracked at the USA Hockey National Office.

**A new 25-Year Rulebook will be awarded each Rule Change Season as long as the official continues registration.

2023     Kendall Hanley        Minneapolis, MN
2022     Susan Halpern        Addison, TX