Staff Directory
- Title:
- Women's Ice Hockey Assistant Coach
- Email:
- Phone:
- (203) 582-3294
Amanda Alessi (née: Mazzotta) enters her 10th season as an assistant coach of the Quinnipiac University Women's Ice Hockey team, after a successful playing career with Cornell University and coaching stints at various levels of ice hockey in Canada. She
This past season, Alessi continued her work with QU's goaltenders, putting together one of the most successful defensive seasons in program history. Kaley Doyle finished in the top three nationally in GAA (1.23), save percentage (.945), and shutouts (8). She was named to the All-USCHO Third Team.
In 2023-24, under Alessi's guidance, Logan Angers won the third-most games in a single season by a Bobcat goaltender with 24. She also made the second most saves in a single season (965). The season prior, QU had two goaltenders with a GAA below two with both Logan Angers and Catie Boudiette seeing time in net. The two combined for 12 shutouts and won helped propel the Bobcats to another NCAA Tournamnent appearance.
In 2021-22, QU brought in graduate student netminder Corinne Schroeder while also playing Logan Angers. Each goalie had a GAA under 1.5, and both recorded over 10 wins, leading QU to another NCAA Tournament appearance. Schroeder would go on to make an NCAA record 73 saves in 81:17 against Ohio State in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
In her first season as an assistant coach, the Bobcats won the ECAC Hockey Regular Season and Tournament Championships for the first time in program history and hosted the first NCAA Tournament game in Quinnipiac University history. Alessi worked primarily with the defense and goaltending, helping guide the Bobcats to several program records including the fewest goals allowed (35), lowest GAA (0.92), and the second most shutouts in team history (16). During the 2015-16 season, goaltender Sydney Rossman ’17 started all 38 games, setting the team record with 30 wins, 0.90 GAA and tied the record with 16 shutouts while her .949 save percentage was the second highest in program history. After two season working with Alessi, Rossman graduated with the 3rd lowest career goals against average in NCAA History (1.16 GAA) and program records for goals against average (1.16), save percentage (.938), and shutouts (26).
While serving as an assistant coach with the Quinnipiac program, Alessi concurrently acted as the goaltending coach with Hockey Canada’s National Women’s Development team during the ’15-’16 and with the U18 National Team at the IIHF World Championship in January 2017. She has worked with Hockey Canada for the past three years including numerous National Goaltending Camps.
A leader among her peers, she also recently served as a goaltending coach mentor at the 2016 IIHF Women's High Performance Camp in Vierumaki, Finland. As the goaltending coach mentor, Alessi was the lead goaltending coach of the camp and oversaw all the goaltenders and goaltender coaches for each of the teams that players and staffs were placed. In total, players from 16 countries attended the eight-day camp that was created to grow and develop women's ice hockey world-wide was well as aid in the development of high-performance athletes. Alessi was one of 26 people from Hockey Canada attending the camp, including 18 staff members and eight players.
Alessi, an accomplished former ECAC Hockey athlete and dynamic coach, benefits the Bobcat program working primarily with the goaltenders and defensemen. Succeeding in a variety of environments, she has demonstrated the ability to coach elite level athletes in university hockey, at the club level, and with Hockey Canada.
She also bring familiarity, serving as the goaltending coach on Coach Turner's U18 Team Canada staff in 2014-15. In that role, Alessi evaluated, trained, and provided key input on the selection of goaltenders at the August 2014 selection camp and at the 2015 Women's U18 World Championships in Buffalo, New York in January, 2015 where Canada won the silver medal, falling in OT, 3-2, to the United States in the gold medal game.
Previously, while pursuing her Master's Degree in Kinesiology at Western University in London, Ontario, Alessi gained experience as an assistant coach with the university team during the 2013-14 season and with the London Devilettes Hockey Program. The Mustangs finished the 2013-14 season with a 15-12 record, falling to the University of Toronto in the Quarterfinals of the Ontario University Athletics Tournament. At Western, Alessi assisted with all aspects of the team including drills, goaltender sessions, team tactics and video sessions.
With the Devilettes organization she worked with both the London Jr. and Bantam teams, helping guide the Bantam AA team to a Provincial Gold Medal this past year. In 2013-14 with the Bantam AA team, the Devilettes went an astounding 51-6-8 and in 2014-15 went 52-7-9 in 68 games played. Working with the London Jr. Devilettes in 2012-13, the goaltenders excelled under Alessi’s direction, recording a combined GAA of 1.71 and save percentage of .932 as the team finished with a 24-10-3-2 record in the PWHL standings.
Alessi has been heavily involved in the coaching at the provincial level in Ontario as well. She served as Team Ontario's Goaltender and Video Coach at the Canada Winter Games, an assistant at the Ontario Winter Games, and as the video coach with Team Ontario Red in 2013.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Alessi established herself as one of the nation's best goaltenders during her playing career at ECAC Hockey rival Cornell University. From 2008 to 2012, she helped lead the Big Red to three Ivy League Championships, three ECAC Hockey Regular Season Championships, two ECAC Hockey Tournament Championships, three NCAA Final Fours and an appearance in the 2009-10 NCAA National Championship game.
Over her career, she went 53-17-8 with 22 shutouts, a 1.55 GAA and a .928 save percentage. As a junior in 2010-11, Alessi led the nation in Goals Against Average at 1.11, compiling a 16-2-0 record and .945 save percentage. She has represented her country three times as a player, once as a member of Hockey Canada's U18 National Team and two times with the National Development Team.
Alessi graduated from Western University with a Masters of Arts in Kinesiology with a specialization in coaching in April 2015. She also received a Bachelor of Education in Intermediate/Senior Family Studies and General Science in May 2013 and graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development in May 2012.
