Amanda Mazzotta: Star Netminder Turned Coach
12/18/2018 10:27:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
It is often said that goalies are different than other hockey players, the odd ones of the bunch.
Whether or not there is any accuracy to the age-old claim, Quinnipiac women's ice hockey assistant coach Amanda Mazzotta fits the mold for the better.
"As a coach, it's a tremendous thing to have somebody that wants to get better every single day, who cares so much about other people and is willing to do what it takes to get better," Turner said. "It wasn't too long ago that she was playing herself and she remembers, even more so than the rest of our staff, what that was like because it was recent."
Nobody in the Mazzotta family could skate, despite growing up just two hours southwest of Toronto in London, Ontario, Canada. That is until Amanda was convinced by a couple of her friends to join their house league hockey team when she was eight years old – which by Canadian standards, is fairly old.
"I just started out of the blue, had really no intentions of playing goalie, couldn't skate and was a terrible defender," Mazzotta said. "We were still rotating goalies, and I ended up getting our team's first shutout and first win and I was like, 'This is great, I don't need to skate anywhere, so I'll just keep playing goalie.'"
Ten years later, Mazzotta won a silver medal alongside the likes of Marie-Philip Poulin and Natalie Spooner as one of two goalies on Hockey Canada's 2008 U18 World Junior Championship squad, before joining Cornell in the 2008-2009 season.
In Ithaca, N.Y., Mazzotta was the Big Red's top netminder for three consecutive seasons, beginning in her sophomore year. Throughout her four years, she established herself as one of Cornell's most accomplished goalies in its 47-year program history.
Mazzotta won a then-program record of 53 games, and still holds the records for save percentage (.928), goals against average (1.53) and shutouts (22). As a team, Cornell won three Ivy League Championships and made three Frozen Four appearances with Mazzotta as a backstop as well.
"I don't think we knew how impressive what we were doing really was," Mazzotta added. "I think now as a coach, it's so much more impressive to me that we went to the Frozen Four three years in a row."
When Lynah Rink opened its doors to alumni for the annual Racker Rivals Big Red skate this past summer, some of that triumphant magic returned.
In the 2018 event, while skating on the same sheet of ice as current NHLers Alex Tuch and Joakim Ryan, Mazzotta made shootout saves on Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk and Stanley Cup Champion Brian Gionta en route to her team's vicotry.
"When you have an opportunity to be on the ice with greats like that, you can't really say no," Mazzotta said.
Following her collegiate career, Mazzotta returned to London where she earned degrees in coaching, through the School of Kinesiology, and teaching at the University of Western Ontario.
During that time, she worked as a volunteer coach for Team Ontario – a team she won a gold medal and tournament MVP with at the 2007 Canadian Winter Games – and eventually became an assistant coach for Western's women's ice hockey team in the following year.
But in the 2014-15 season, it was Turner who added Mazzotta to Hockey Canada's under-18 World Junior Championship staff as a goalie coach. From that point, Mazzotta's coaching career was looking more like a full-time job, even if she didn't quite know it just yet.
"I had plans to be a teacher in Ontario, finish up my master's degree and coach some youth hockey and go from there," Mazzotta said. "But then this opportunity [at Quinnipiac] came up and I couldn't really say no."
In the 2015-16 season, Mazzotta joined Turner and assistant coach Eddie Ardito in Hamden, as the trio took over coaching duties at Quinnipiac. On a team with no shortage of veteran presence, the Bobcats skated to an NCAA Tournament appearance and recorded the most wins (30) in program history.
"When I think about that first year, the first thing that comes to mind is that senior class we had. They all had huge roles on the team," Mazzotta said. "We won 20 games out of that 30 that were one-goal hockey games, so with that group of veteran leaders, we were in a place that we were comfortable of playing in those really tight hockey games."
Since then, the energy behind Quinnipiac's bench is one that perfectly suits a personality like Mazzotta. All three coaches find joy within the day-to-day moments, but put an emphasis on sustained success.
"It's so important for us to have fun and to value working hard," Turner said. "I think our team understands that we work tirelessly, but we like to laugh."
"We really have a good balance," Mazzotta agreed. "We all like to have fun, but we're also really competitive as well, so I think that dynamic is awesome."
While Mazzotta says that Ardito brings noted positivity to the group and Turner is the "calm communicator," those closest to the team attribute Mazzotta's unique perspective as the Bobcats' defensive coach to her background in the crease.
As a former goalie, she has an understanding of defensive positioning because she was right behind them in her time on the ice. But beyond play in Quinnipiac's own zone, Mazzotta is able to contribute to offensive efforts as well.
"She obviously had to understand how players were shooting pucks at her and attacking her, so with that, she's able to share like, 'Oh, when a player attacks the back door it can make the goalie nervous because they have to worry about the puck and the player," junior defenseman Kenzie Prater said. "I think her being a goalie definitely gives us a bit of an advantage because she has that perspective."
But she isn't just occupied by hockey at Quinnipiac. In addition to her assistant coaching duties, Mazzotta keeps her professor's hat nearby as she teaches a Sports Leadership course each spring. The course gives students an opportunity to explore leadership as a crucial component of success in a number of contexts highlighted by sports and business.
So how does Mazzotta balance all of her commitments at Quinnipiac?
"I look at the other two coaches on our staff that have children and I say, 'I'll be fine. I can figure it out,'" Mazzotta said with a laugh. "It's fun, it's something different and it's kind of a breath of fresh air from the coaching side of things. Over the past couple of years, I think [the class] has attracted student-athletes and the people on campus that are invested in sports, which is a lot of fun."
Back on the ice, the Bobcats are looking to get back to their winning ways in the second half of the season. With a group that carries 13 underclassmen, replicating the success of the 2015-16 season is no easy task.
Yet, watching players that were recruited by the current coaching staff come to fruition in Hamden is rewarding in itself.
"This year's freshman class is one of the first one we've put a ton of time into recruiting," Mazzotta said. "It's been cool to watch them grow through their high school experience and now actually be here in college, which is awesome."
Players Mentioned
Defense
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