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Delaware Tabs Allison Coomey As First Head Coach

BOSTON, Mass. – March 26, 2024 – The University of Delaware has selected Penn State associate head coach Allison Coomey as the first head coach of the Blue Hens’ new women’s ice hockey program, the University announced Tuesday.
 
Coomey comes to Newark after spending the past seven seasons at Penn State. She served as an assistant coach for three seasons before being promoted to associate head coach in 2020-21.
 
She will begin her duties at Delaware on April 1, 2024. The Blue Hens will debut as the CHA’s seventh member the 2025-26 season.
 
Over the course of her career, Coomey has coached four Olympians, eight national team members, four All-Americans, 15 major conference award winners, and 47 all-conference selections during tenure at Penn State and Boston University.
 
Coomey and the Nittany Lions captured the past two College Hockey America postseason titles, earning berths in the 2023 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments. Penn State also claimed the CHA regular season title in three of the past four seasons.
 
Primarily responsible for coaching defense, Coomey’s leadership turned the Nittany Lions into one of the best defensive units in the country by allowing just 1.88 goals per game over the past five seasons dating back to 2019-20.
 
Selected for various international coaching roles with USA Hockey, Coomey was on staff with the silver-medal winning USA National Team at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games as a team scout and extension of the coaching staff. Coomey also served as the head coach for the U23 U.S. Women’s National Team in 2021 and 2022.
 
Coomey also spent time as an assistant coach for the USA senior national team during the 2021 IIHF World Championship and was a member of USA Hockey's scouting staff at the 2019 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship.
 
At the 2019 American Hockey Coaches Association Convention, Coomey received the AHCA Women’s Hockey Assistant Coach of the Year award for her outstanding career resume.
 
Prior to Penn State, Coomey spent nine seasons at Boston University where she helped the Terriers qualify for the NCAA Tournament six times, including a pair of NCAA Championship appearances in 2011 and 2013. While at BU, Coomey coached four Olympians who combined to win six gold medals with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
 
A four-year letterwinner at Niagara, Coomey returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach from 2004-08, helping the Purple Eagles reach the CHA championship game twice.
 
Before Niagara, Coomey served as an assistant coach at Plattsburgh State in 2003-04 where she helped guide the Cardinals to the 2004 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) West Division III regular-season title and the NCAA Division III semifinals.
 
The Baldwinsville, N.Y., native earned two degrees from Niagara, a bachelor's degree in education in 2002 and a master's degree in school counseling in 2008. She was a two-time ECAC All-Academic Team member and earned a spot on the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic Team.
 
Following graduation, Coomey secured her first job in the industry as an assistant women's hockey coach at Connecticut College.
 
About College Hockey America 
College Hockey America marked its 22nd season of competition in 2023-24. The six-team NCAA Division I conference consists of Lindenwood University (Lions), Mercyhurst University (Lakers), Pennsylvania State University (Nittany Lions), Rochester Institute of Technology (Tigers), Robert Morris University (Colonials) and Syracuse University (Orange). For more information, visit chawomenshockey.com.