Shawn Skelly has been named an assistant coach with the Union women’s hockey team.
Skelly comes to Union after serving six seasons as the head women’s hockey coach at Adrian.
“Shawn and I have been friends with one another for over a decade and I’m extremely excited to have Shawn join our program,” said Union head coach Tony Maci in a statement. “He has a wealth of hockey knowledge and brings a winning pedigree to our staff as well as a great positive energy. I’ve talked with players that played for Shawn and they rave about how he always gets the best out of them. He does a great job with skill development and breaking things down so players can excel and be at their best. He has a keen eye for talent and built a lot of great relationships on the recruiting path that will bring our recruiting to the next level.”
“I want to thank head coach Tony Maci and athletic director Jim McLaughlin for the opportunity to become the new assistant coach for the Union women’s hockey program,” Skelly added. “I am excited to get to campus soon and get started. This will be a big move for our family from Michigan, but we are excited to become ingrained in the Union College community and can’t wait to get to know our team. I look forward to getting on the ice with them soon to get ready for an exciting upcoming season.”
In his six seasons as head coach at Adrian, Skelly led the Bulldogs to a 140-22-7 record, a pair of Frozen Four appearances, and four NCAA tournament berths in five years. Under his guidance, Adrian posted an 80-5-4 record in the NCHA with six straight NCHA regular-season titles and five NCHA Slaats Cup championships. Skelly was also named the 2020 NCHA coach of the year.
Skelly began his collegiate coaching career in 2016-17 as an assistant coach with the Adrian women’s team, helping the program to its first appearance in the national championship game. He spent 2017-18 on the bench with the Adrian men’s team that finished the year ranked fourth in Division III and reached the NCAA quarterfinals.
A four-year standout on the ice at Adrian, Skelly was a member of the first men’s hockey team in program history and pushed the squad to a 102-12-2 record over four years, culminating in a national runner-up finish as a senior. He ended his career with 102 goals and 127 assists for 229 points in 113 games, including leading the country in goals per game and points per game as a junior, and remains the all-time Division III leader in game-winning goals (20).
He graduated from Adrian in 2011 with a degree in communications.
