Horrific moment female referee is whacked in face by ice hockey stick and forced off rink with blood pouring from mouth

AN ICE HOCKEY referee was left with blood pouring from her mouth after being struck in the face by a wayward stick.

Team USA star Amanda Kessel was skating past official Cianna Lieffers but looking the other way as she left her stick dangling in the air.

And although Lieffers was stood next to the end board on the perimeter of the rink, she took an almighty hit to the face.

The connection caught the ref in the mouth and she immediately put her hand to her face in pain.

Lieffers then received medical attention with the Canada training team escorting her off the ice with blood flowing from her mouth.

But incredibly she was patched up and made a swift return to the rink, finishing off the rest of the match.

The Canadian appeared to be signalling to photographers not to take photos.

Her return to the action signalled a turning point for Canada too, as they overturned a 2-1 deficit to win 4-2.

They have now won each of their four group stage games and will be the first seed heading into the knock-out stages.

Canda have performed well at the Winter Olympics so far and their medal count of six ranks them third on overall medals.

They have two more medals than the US, including a gold, and are on course to collect another one soon thanks to the Women's hockey team.