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Ref who made controversial OT goal call has unique ties to Edmonton Oilers

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Apr 27 2026, 7:42 pm
Ref who made controversial OT goal call has unique ties to Edmonton Oilers
Marc DesRosiers/Imagn Images

The ref at the centre of Game 4’s OT controversy between the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks has a unique past connection to one of the teams.

Referee Jake Brenk was the official who was closest to the Oilers’ net when the play happened, but he was still in the corner of the offensive zone when the puck was dribbling behind Tristan Jarry on the goal line.

In the immediate aftermath, it didn’t appear that Brenk had made a call either way, simply putting both his hands up to call the play dead. About a minute or so later, after huddling with the other on-ice officials, it was announced that the call on the ice was a “good goal,” and a video review held that up.

It turns out that Brenk actually has ties to the Oilers organization, having been drafted by Edmonton in the fifth round of the 2001 NHL Draft.

The 44-year-old American was a forward during his playing days and had been drafted 154th overall by the Oilers out of Minnesota. Despite getting drafted, Brenk did not play a single game with the organization or in the NHL at all.

Instead, he spent the next four years playing in the NCAA before then shifting between the minor leagues and overseas leagues. This includes a few stints in the Netherlands, Germany, as well as the ECHL, UHL (now known as the IHL), and the defunct Central Hockey League.

Brenk hung up the player skates following the 2012-13 season, which was spent in Germany. According to Scouting the Refs, it didn’t take long for the Michigan native to transition into a refereeing career.

His first NHL game as an official took place in 2015, and he has been officiating Stanley Cup Playoff games since 2022. Funnily enough, Brenk’s first game as an NHL ref featured the Oilers going up against the Arizona Coyotes back in November 2015.

There doesn’t appear to be any inherent bias against the Oilers, as Edmonton had a 2-0-1 record in games refereed by Brenk this season, while the Ducks were winless at 0-4-0.

It was an unfortunate call for Oilers fans and one that will draw a lot of ire toward Brenk, but it should be noted that the NHL’s situation room ultimately made the final call on the play. In a statement released in the early hours of Monday morning, the league said that the video review confirmed the call on the ice.

They did not say it was inconclusive, debunking a theory that the goal wouldn’t have counted if the on-ice call was “no goal.”

“The Referee’s initial call on the ice was that the puck completely crossed the goal line. Following video review, the Situation Room determined that the puck completely crossed the goal line,” the league’s hockey ops wrote in a release.

That will take the blame solely off the back of the officials and shift it more toward the league. The jury of public opinion is still furiously debating the validity of the call, but nobody can change the result now.

The Oilers are now on the brink of elimination and will be playing to stay alive on Tuesday night.

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