UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's hockey program and head coach Jeff Kampersal have named Melissa Samoskevich as an assistant coach on Tuesday. Samoskevich joins the Nittany Lions having played at the highest levels of international competition with Team USA and recently completed her decorated playing career at Quinnipiac.
"We are super excited to work with Melissa," said Kampersal. "She is a great person, has a ton of energy, and was an accomplished player and captain at Quinnipiac. She is a leader that has won at every level of hockey. She will drive our culture."
"I'm so excited to be a part of the Penn State family," Samoskevich said. "I look forward to getting on the ice and working towards championships with this great group! We Are!"
Samoskevich won a gold medal with the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Espoo, Finland. She scored a pair of goals in seven games played in the tournament. She made her national team debut in 2018 at the Four Nations Cup while winning medals in two U18 World Championships (2015-gold; 2014-silver).
At Quinnipiac from 2015-19, Samoskevich scored 54 goals and dished out 55 assists for 109 career points, the fourth-most points in Bobcats program history. After a 32-point freshman season, she was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team and ranked second in the country with eight game-winning goals.
A Shattuck St. Mary's graduate, Samoskevich was named USA Today's All-USA Girls Player of the Year in 2015.
Samoskevich was drafted second overall to the Connecticut Whale in the 2018-19 NWHL draft.
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