Aurora University announced Mandy Montgomery as their choice to lead the Spartan Women's Hockey team.
"I am very grateful to be the Head Coach of AU women's hockey and looking forward to the season ahead," said Montgomery. "I want to thank the AU administration led by Dr. Susana Rivera-Mills, Vice President for Athletics Jim Hamad, Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance and Business Operations / Senior Woman Administrator Morgan Stenson and the interview committee for this incredible opportunity."
Montgomery will lead the Spartans with a wealth of experience as both a coach and student-athlete at the Division I and III levels, most recently as an assistant coach at Elmira College and before that an assistant coach at SUNY Canton. With Montgomery on the bench at Elmira, the program went 84-12-4, winning four conference titles, making three NCAA Tournament appearances while coaching eight All-Americans, 10 All-Conference student-athletes and 30+ Academic All-Americans. Montgomery's extensive hockey background also includes two years as an assistant at Division I institutions. In 2014-15, she joined the coaching staff at her alma mater, Sacred Heart University, where she worked primarily with the team's goaltenders and defense. In 2016-17, worked at Colgate University.
"We are excited to announce Mandy Montgomery as the next head coach of AU Women's Hockey," said Jim Hamad, Vice President for Athletics. "Throughout the interview process, Mandy's successful pedigree as a coach and student-athlete stood out as a great fit for our program. AU Women's Hockey is poised for a new level of success on and off the ice under Mandy's leadership."
Montgomery takes the reigns of the AU women's ice hockey team which finished last season with an 16-10-2 overall record and went 11-4-1 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.
"I am excited to lead a dedicated group of student-athletes who share this competitive mindset on the ice and in the classroom," Montgomery added. "I also have to give credit to Grant Kimball and Jackie Kooistra for building the foundation of this program from the ground up."
Outside of collegiate hockey, Montgomery gained valuable experience as a coach at several USA Hockey development camps and possesses a Level 3 certification from USA Hockey's Coaching Education Program and training in concussion management and strength and conditioning.
As a student-athlete on the ice, Montgomery spent the first two years of her collegiate career as a member of the inaugural St. Norbert College women's ice hockey teams in 2010-11 and 2011-12. As a sophomore goaltender with the Green Knights, she recorded shutout victories in two of her five starts. Montgomery then transferred to Division I Sacred Heart and played her final two seasons with the Pioneers. She was second on the team in minutes (652:42), saves (442) and victories (4) as a junior, helping the Pioneers achieve an 18-win season.
Montgomery graduated summa cum laude from Sacred Heart in 2014 with a degree in English and received her master's in general education from Elmira College in 2020.
