Promoted to associate head coach in 2020-21 and entering her seventh season with the Nittany Lions in 2023-24, Allison Coomey is one of the most decorated and accomplished coaches in the sport with fantastic experience as a leader and coach within USA Hockey and has provided invaluable intangibles to the Nittany Lions' program.
Primarily responsible for coaching defense, Coomey’s leadership has turned the Nittany Lions into one of the best defensive units in the country by allowing just 1.96 goals per game over 141 games the last four seasons.
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. She was also named the head coach for the U23 roster at the 2021 and 2022 USA Hockey Women's National Festival. Just months earlier, Coomey was named an assistant coach for the USA senior national team for the 2021 IIHF World Championship team. She was also a member of USA Hockey's scouting staff at the 2019 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship. She also has experience as a Team USA Camp instructor at the Women's National Festival and Women's National Winter Camp.
At the 2019 America Hockey Coaches Association Convention, Coomey received the AHCA Women’s Hockey Assistant Coach of the Year award for her outstanding career resume, which includes helping the Nittany Lions to back-to-back College Hockey America (CHA) semifinal appearances.
Coomey, as a part of the Penn State staff, has helped student-athletes achieve CHA honors. A total of 13 Nittany Lions were named to All-CHA rosters, including four All-CHA First Team performers, six All-CHA Second Team honorees, and four All-CHA Rookie Team members.
Coomey came to the Nittany Lions after spending nine seasons with 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 for the Canadian National Team at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
A four-year letterwinner at Niagara, Coomey returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach (2004-08), helping the Purple Eagles reach the CHA title game twice. Her duties included serving as Niagara’s recruiting coordinator, working with the forwards, coordinating the team's community service efforts, and overseeing the team's academic program.
Coomey served as an assistant coach at Plattsburgh 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, New York, 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 completed an internship as the assistant women's hockey coach at Connecticut College and was also a volunteer lacrosse coach for the 2002-03 season. She has also worked numerous hockey camps, including the USA Hockey Development Camp.
Coomey was a two-sport letterwinner at Niagara, playing ice hockey and lacrosse from 1998-2002. On the ice, she served as an alternate captain during her senior season and helped the team to its most successful campaign in program history. The Purple Eagles reached the 2002 NCAA Women's Frozen Four and finished tied for third in the final national poll. On the lacrosse field, she earned the team's rookie of the year award in 1999 and tallied 69 goals and 37 assists in her four-year career.
Allison Coomey