Minor hockey officials in Winnipeg are noticing a disturbing trend – players, coaches and parents are assaulting their referees.

Referee Jeremie Gauvin said a player tried to punch him and then "clipped" him on the head with his stick. Fortunately, Gauvin was wearing a helmet and he wasn't hurt.

"I said, ‘Holy smokes,' what exactly just happened?" he said. "It just seems like the kids don't care anymore. They feel they can do anything they want."

Some of the cases are more extreme. One referee was punched about five times by player, officials said. In another case, a referee and two linesmen have taken a restraining order against a player. The referee was allegedly bitten.

Glen Asselstine, VP of officials with Hockey Winnipeg, said the increasing violence scares him.

"It has increased probably three times from what the normal is, over the past six weeks," Asselstine said.

Hockey Winnipeg says 16 referees have been physically abused in Winnipeg since early January.

"It's mostly players, but there are a few cases of coaches [physically abusing referees] as well," Asselstine said. "This is where the awareness needs to come from. We need these kids to understand what they're doing is wrong."

Hockey Winnipeg referees aren't all adults. They can start training at age 13. The youngest referees have faced verbal abuse, Asselstine said.

"I would like parents, coaches, to understand that officials are someone else's kids," Asselstine said.

President of Hockey Winnipeg Don McIntosh said that the league is in the playoff season, which might account for the increase in violence.

McIntosh has circulated a letter about the issue. When physical abuse occurred, Hockey Manitoba holds a hearing, he said.

"It's not part of the game and it's got to stop," he said.

Hockey Manitoba officials are also concerned. They say physical abuse in other areas of the province has doubled this year.

-with a report from CTV's Jeremy Hunka