Being beaten up during a hockey game may have been the best thing to happen to Saskatchewan referee Dale Neudorf.

If a player hadn't cross-checked him in the face with a hockey stick on Sunday and sent him to hospital, doctors may never have discovered the large tumour in his brain.

Doctors spotted the growth while taking an X-ray and a CT scan of Neudorf's brain to make sure he wasn't seriously injured in the on-ice attack near the northern community of Meadow Lake.

"I wouldn't call it fate: I believe there's a God that created me and looks after me," Neudorf, 45, told CBC News on Thursday.

"And whatever methods He uses — if it's a weird incident like a cross-check in the face to get me down here to get my head checked — well, that's probably a good thing."

Neudorf said doctors want to remove the brain tumour immediately.

He was attacked during a recreational tournament at the local arena on the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation.

RCMP said referees were ejecting a player from the game when the player turned on Neudorf and cross-checked him in the face. When Neudorf fell to the ice, the player started punching him, police said.

Neudorf was rushed to hospital with a broken nose, other facial injuries and short-term memory loss. He is now recovering from the attack.

On Monday, police issued a warrant for the arrest of the man they allege attacked Neudorf. Police said the man left the rink shortly after the attack.

Nolan Crighton is wanted on charges of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and breach of recognizance.