Ross Forman, who has played for the Chicago Gay Hockey Association team ( CGHA ) , was selected to referee the Illinois high school hockey state championship game, to be played March 19 at the United Center.
Forman is a local writer whose stories have appeared in the Chicago Tribune and the Windy City Times, among other places. He profiled Esera Tuaolo last summer in USA Today before Tuaolo served as the Grand Marshall for the Chicago Gay Pride Parade. Forman is working with the Chicago Gay Games writing team, which is profiling select athletes for next year's event.
Forman, who lives in Buffalo Grove, has been an amateur hockey referee since the early-1990s after playing locally at the high school level and then for Indiana University. Forman is one of three referees assigned to the United Center game—out of more than 1,400 registered officials in Illinois. This is his first assignment to the top game in Illinois, played in front of about 10,000 fans, but not his first time refereeing in a major arena.
In the 1990s, Forman was one of two referees for the Celebrity All-Star Hockey Team, which toured the country playing games for various charities at such arenas as the Boston Garden and the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Celebrity team featured Matthew Perry, Alex Trebeck, Richard Dean Anderson, Jason Hervey and others. The Celebrities played against former pros in the various cities, including Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe and Brad Park, among others.
Forman was pictured on a rare Celebrity All-Star Hockey trading card, produced by Pinnacle Brands in 1997.
In other hockey news, the Chicago Gay Hockey Association and the Chicago Wolves Professional Ice Hockey Team are teaming up for the first Chicago Gay Hockey Night at the Wolves/Allstate Arena. Similar to 'Out at the Ballpark', this event is a mutually beneficial opportunity—it gives the GLBT community a unique professional hockey experience and provides the Wolves with access to an attractive target market. Both groups hope that this landmark event will become an annual tradition.
The game is Saturday, April 16. From 3-4:30, the CGHA will play a game against the Chicago Whalers, a straight amateur team. From 4:30-6:30 there will be a brief reception for all attendees. At 7 p.m., the Wolves play against Utah
Price: $15 for an all-inclusive ticket, which includes admission to both games, a free Wolves puck, free t-shirt, and chances for other prizes.
See www.chicagogayhockey.org, call ( 773 ) 968-7474.