The NGHL is thrilled to be working with a dedicated and knowledgeable staff for our clinic on August 24, 2023. These current NCAA coaches run skills training, coach games, and lead seminars on recruitment and other helpful topics for the athletes.
Coaching Career Katie Zimmerman was named head coach of the Western New England University women's ice hockey program on June 12, 2019, and is the first head coach in program history.
Zimmerman comes to Western New England following five seasons as an assistant coach at Amherst College, where she helped lead the Mammoths to a record of 82-34-18 (.679). The 2015-16 Amherst squad enjoyed its most successful regular season in program history, going 20-1-3 en route to an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals.
Prior to her time in Amherst, Zimmerman broke into the coaching profession as an assistant at SUNY Cortland in 2013-14. Additionally, she has held various roles with USA Hockey, including National Camp Head Coach, Intern, and District Evaluator/Coach.
Playing Career Zimmerman, a 2013 graduate of Hamilton College, was a standout performer during her four-year career with the Continentals. The Plymouth, Michigan native was a two-time All-NESCAC selection, leading the conference in goals in both her junior and senior seasons. Zimmerman also earned D3Hockey.com All-East Region accolades at the conclusion of her final collegiate campaign.
After earning her undergraduate degree in Communications from Hamilton, Zimmerman went on to receive a master's degree in Coaching Education from Ohio University in 2016.
The MCLA Athletics department has hired Heath Isaacson as the inaugural head coach of the Women's Ice Hockey program. Isaacson comes to MCLA following seven seasons as the head coach at Division I Post University. The team will start competing in the 2023-2024 season.student-athletes
While at Post, Isaacson comprehensively built the foundation for its Ice Hockey program. The 2019-2020 Eagles squad enjoyed the most successful regular season, winning 12 games and setting multiple school records in the process. The teams' victories carried over in the classroom as well with over 50 student athletes earning All-Academic honors, along with the 2020 Post University Valedictorian.
Prior to his time at Post, Isaacson was a graduate assistant coach at New England College. His coaching career began at South Dakota State University where the team competed in three national tournaments. Additionally, Isaacson has held various roles with USA Hockey, including National Camp Head Coach, Intern, and District Evaluator/Coach.
Isaacson, a 2004 and 2006 graduate of South Dakota State University (SDSU), was a starter in goal for the Jackrabbit men's hockey team. After earning his bachelor's degrees in Mass Communications and Sociology, the Cokato, Minn. native received his master's degree in Sports and Recreation Management from New England College in 2015.
Ives was appointed to Thomas O'Malley's staff on July 12, 2023, joining the Pioneers as an assistant coach, bringing three years of professional and four years of collegiate playing experience with her to the bench.
No stranger to Nutmeg State, Ives spent the last three seasons playing for the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League and the Premier Hockey Federation. Over 33 professional games in net, she posted a .903 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average, to go with a 22-10-0 record and three shutouts. Ives backstopped the Whale to an appearance in the 2022 Isobel Cup Final.
Prior to her professional career, Ives spent four seasons tending the crease just up the Merritt Parkway at Quinnipiac. When she graduated, she ranked third all-time in program history with 14 shutouts. Across 102 career games with the Bobcats, Ives posted a .925 save percentage and a 1.79 goals-against average, on the way to a 46-41-13 record. She was named the team's MVP as a senior.
Originally from Bedford Hills, N.Y., Ives is a 2020 graduate of Quinnipiac, with a degree in English.
Briggs comes to Morrisville from SUNY Cortland where he spent two seasons on the bench with the Red Dragons as assistant coach. During his time with Cortland, Briggs played a role in guiding the team to back-to-back appearances in the Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) championship finals, registering 12 or more conference wins each season, including a 20-7 overall record and 14-4 conference slate in 2022-23.
Cortland ranked second overall within the league in several categories throughout the 2022-23 season, including goals scored, assists, goals per game, power play goals, power play percentage, penalty kill percentage, goals against average and led the league in save percentage. In the two seasons Briggs was part of the program, the Red Dragons compiled an overall record of 38 wins, 13 losses and one tie, while registering a 26-9-1 record in league play. At the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, Cortland was recognized by the NEWHL as the Coaching Staff of the Year.
Briggs is Level I USA Hockey Certified and was a 2022 National Camp Coach invitee.
Prior to joining the staff at Cortland, Briggs served as assistant coach for the Richland Rockies Women’s Hockey team from 2019-21 as well as the 16U Tier 2 Boys’ Valley Eagles and 18U Tier 2 Boys’ Skyland Kings.
Briggs played junior hockey in New Jersey and junior and semi-pro hockey in Scotland. He received his bachelor’s degree in coaching from Cortland in 2022. He also attended Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland where he studied sports coaching and development.
Aside from his coaching position, Briggs is also an Assistant Golf Professional at the Skaneateles Country Club.
Joey Kolega was named the assistant coach for the Hood College women's ice hockey program in March 2023. The women's program starts playing in 2024.
Kolega has also served as an assistant coach for the Montgomery County U16AA team since 2022.
He played collegiately for the University of South Carolina's ACHA team, serving as the assistant captain during the 2021-22 season. Kolega also played for the Potomac Patriots of the United States Premier Hockey League from 2016-19 and was the assistant captain in 2018-19.
Kolega holds USA Hockey Level 1 coaching certification.
He graduated from South Carolina in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science.
Taylor Ham just finished her first season as assistant coach of Connecticut College women’s ice hockey. The Camels finished the 2022-2023 season at 12-12-1, placing 5th in the NESCAC. The group had one second-team all-conference player, one all-sportsmanship player, and saw twelve girls land on the winter all-NESCAC academic team.
Allison Roethke just completed her first year as an assistant coach for the Post University Eagles.
Prior to coaching, Allison spent three seasons with Quinnipiac University, where she played 123 games for the Bobcats, graduating in 2020.
