Whether guarding the goal, kicking pucks away while decked out in pads; giving pointers to up-and-coming goaltenders in his role as coach; or donning black and white stripes, holding a whistle, and refereeing, Newtown's Justin Halmose sees the game of hockey from three — a hat trick's worth — vastly different perspectives.

Halmose has traveled to Singapore to coach, play, and begin his refereeing career while serving in the US Marine Corps, and currently participates in the game in all of these capacities locally, coaching youth teams and playing and refereeing in adult leagues.

Hockey, it is fair to say, is a huge part of the 25-year-old's life.

"If you talked to any of my friends, they would say I talk about ice hockey way too much in their opinion, although I love the unpredictability of the game. It’s not like a straight-forward video game, where you go from task one to task two, so on and so forth. It’s more like a chess game where each person has a different strategy and style of game play," Halmose said.

A very fast-paced chess game.

Hockey is hockey, but the game seems very different when on the ice versus on the bench. And, naturally, it is not the same when officiating versus playing. Having experience in each of these roles supports Halmose's understanding of the game.

"Each position, from playing in net, to coaching on the bench, to reffing on the ice, aren’t similar in the way that people most likely would think. The biggest help has been playing in net because when the play comes towards me, I have to see where all ten [skaters] are on the ice, not just the puck handler. However, seeing how the puck handler moves, where the defensemen are positioned, where the forwards are positioned, helps me towards coaching," he said.

"I can see what is good positioning on the ice to cover off passes, block shots, or to make a rush, and then what is bad positioning too. Then when there is a puck battle, that’s where the penalties are usually called," Halmose said.

"Reffing an ice hockey game is probably the biggest difference compared to playing or coaching an ice hockey game. You’re acting as that neutral party compared to being focused with the play of one team. It doesn’t raise the blood pressure as much, but I also see how the calls may be unfair when I’m playing, but being on the side as a ref, it would actually be the correct call in the situation," Halmose said.

Playing And Refereeing

Halmose began playing ice hockey in a learn to play program when he was 8 years old, and started going up the ranks. About halfway through his in-house season, at the age of 9, he switched to playing goalie and never looked back, now having played goalie for 16 years.

"I played around at Western Jr Colonials before moving to the Connecticut Riverhawks in Shelton. Once I got into high school, I played throughout it until my junior year of high school. Then I moved on to playing in adult leagues," Halmose said.

He has had experiences playing in the Singapore Ice Hockey League, and while stationed in Singapore was named the MVP of the league. Then he joined the Marine Corps team when stationed back in the states. "We’ve gone to tournaments in Vegas, Minnesota, and Boston, taking second place in Vegas and winning the tournament in Minnesota. While still going to tournaments with the Marines team, I play around the Connecticut area, mainly in Shelton and even playing a few games with Andy Hutchison," Halmose said.

"My favorite part about playing ice hockey is having the free ability to make a thousand different moves. Ice hockey is a very fluid game compared to football, where there are set plays and routes. In ice hockey, you have to overcome and adapt to every little change just to get a chance to score. As a goalie I try to even help my team get the puck down the other way with the save selection I have to make and put the puck in the direction of them to make a rush," he added. "Although, if plays get stuck in my zone, I love when I get to frustrate the opponent. It’s always fun to see the opponent think that they would score, however I’m right there to save it."

Being a goaltender means serving as the last line of defense, a pressure-filled position on the ice that Halmose enjoys playing.

"The toughest part about playing goalie is the mental side of the game. Despite having that sound when you get scored on, ice hockey is a team game. You need all six players on the ice to work together to win the game. One of the pieces that is tough for a goalie is covering all the different pass and shot options that a player has. A goalie obviously has to keep their eyes on the puck, but by using our peripherals and quick head turns, we have to keep an eye out for all the dangerous scoring opportunities the opponent has and try to cover it off in the case the puck goes there," he said.

Sure, there is lots of skill involved, but a little luck never hurt. Halmose wears shamrocks, which his dad designed, on the side of his mask. When opposing players familiar with Halmose's play see him and those shamrocks, they know it’s not going to be an easy game.

Halmose started refereeing in Singapore. "Most of the time while I was coaching I acted as the ref during our scrimmages. A few times they needed a referee as well for adult hockey games. I got to do the same thing while I was coaching in Greenville," he said.

"Seeing the hockey game from a different side is huge because as a hockey player in a game, you get really heated about different calls that don’t go your way, obviously. However, being on the side of making the calls is super helpful even to my play of the game and coaching when situations like that occur," he added.

When refereeing a game, Halmose sometimes encounters players who argue a penalty call but, like facing a flurry of shots on goal, he just does his job to settle things down.

Coaching Experience

Halmose started coaching with Southern Connecticut Storm Special Hockey in 2014. This is a program at Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport that gives people with autism the chance to learn to ice skate and play ice hockey. Halmose was a mentor and goalie coach for the program from 2014-2021, at which time he joined the United States Marine Corps. From 2019 to 2020 Halmose coached at Fairfield Ice Academy as a Learn to Skate instructor and hockey instructor, until the COVID-19 shutdown.

When stationed at the US Embassy in Singapore from 2022-2023, Halmose got the opportunity to coach at the Singapore Ice Dragons youth hockey organization. He was the program’s goalie coach, as well as an assistant coach for the U10, U12, and U14 teams. "After I had left to go to my next military assignment, I was able to continue to coach one of my goalies, providing him hockey IQ lessons and training plans. This fall he will be attending Upper Canada College, a top prep hockey school in Toronto," Halmose said of Paul Alexis-Pierre, a 15-year-old from France, who Halmose has coached since he was 11.

Halmose was in the Marine Corps for five years, from February 2021 through February 2026. "I went through training schools all across the east coast my first year and then was stationed at the US Embassy in Singapore for one year and the US Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal for one year. Afterwards, I was stationed with 1st Battalion 2nd Marines in Jacksonville, N.C.," said Halmose, adding that he went on a deployment to South Korea, Fuji, and Okinawa, Japan.

"One reason why I joined the service was for the college education benefits. While in service I completed my Associate’s Degree in Accounting through Post University. This fall I will be going back to Post University to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Bachelor’s Degree in Finance.” Halmose, who won this year's Rooster Run 5K race, will run cross country at Post this fall.

Once Halmose came back to the states, his captain of the Marine Corps ice hockey team was looking for an assistant coach for the Greenville Jr Pirates U16 hockey team in 2025-2026. "I knew it would be a little bit of a challenge with the older kids, but it has probably been the biggest turn that I’ve had as a coach and helped me prepare to be a full-time head coach this upcoming 2026-2027 season," said Halmose, who is now the head coach of the Connecticut Riverhawks U12 Peewee A Blue team out of Shelton, as well as a goalie coach for Connecticut Crease out of Northford.

There is the thrill of making a glove or kick save when manning the crease, but Halmose also gets plenty of enjoyment out of coaching.

"Seeing the players use the techniques that I teach them during practices and apply it to a game, and it work well to their advantage," is something he loves about coaching, Halmose said. "Also, seeing a player just grow as a player and a person — that is the most rewarding thing to see over the course of the season with the players I have on my team."

Among the coaching highlights was seeing his goalies win player of the game and tournament MVP awards at tournaments around Asia with the Singapore Ice Dragons. "Although, one of my last practices in Singapore I did a poke-check training game with my goalies. We played the game for about ten minutes, and afterwards one of my goalies was laying on the ice. I had asked him if he was alright, and he responded saying, 'It was so much fun, but I didn’t think that it would be so tiring,' as he’s laying on the ice like a starfish," Halmose recalls.

"A sweet moment was, when I was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in February 2026, I missed about a month of the Greenville season, however they had an end of season tournament in Washington, D.C. I had made plans to make it down to the Washington, D.C. tournament and all the players were super excited to see 'Coach Justin' back with them and I was greeted with hugs. That tournament was end of season banquet too, and I was gifted a team picture with all the players and coaches signing it with thank you notes all around the photo," he said.

Halmose is a player, coach, and ref — and also student of the game.

"When I was in Singapore I got to meet and learn different hockey styles from Canadians, Finnish, Kazakhstani, Russians, and even people from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan. Ice hockey is such a creative sport that every time I go to the ice rink, whether it’s a practice, game, reffing a game. I learn something new to either help myself get better, or pass onto the next generation of players to help them become the best that they can be," he said.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.