Meet the University of Delaware: The Newest Addition to the AHA
By Jared Valentin | @JaredValentin_
NEWARK, D.E. — After six games against non-conference opponents for Syracuse ice hockey (2-4, 0-0 Atlantic Hockey America), the Orange finally open their AHA slate this weekend. SU begins its conference schedule with a two-game road series against Delaware (1-5, 0-2 AHA), a squad new to the AHA and Division I as a whole. The Blue Hens are in their inaugural season after it was announced in December of 2023 that Delaware would be adding women’s ice hockey to its list of varsity sports starting in 2025-26. With the first two meetings between the Orange and Blue Hens in program history right around the corner, let’s dive into what Delaware’s team looks like in its first season.
Head coach Allison Coomey leads the Blue Hens in their inaugural season. The Director of Athletics, Community, and Campus Recreation at Delaware Chrissi Rawak announced the hiring back in March of 2024. Coomey has over two decades of women’s ice hockey coaching experience.
“I’m excited to welcome Allison to our Blue Hen community,” Rawak said back in March of 2024. “With her wealth of knowledge, ice hockey expertise, and experiences at the collegiate and USA national team level, she is the perfect person to build and lead this program. She’s an incredible coach who believes in the importance of a well-rounded student-athlete experience and recognizes the opportunity that we have here at Delaware to create something exceptional!”
Coomey previously spent seven seasons at Penn State, serving as both an assistant coach and associate head coach with the Nittany Lions. Before Penn State, Coomey spent nine seasons at Boston University, helping the Terriers to six NCAA Tournament appearances and two NCAA Championship berths. Coomey played both hockey and lacrosse at Niagara from 1998-2002 and led the Purple Eagles to the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four in 2002. That season was Niagara’s most successful in program history. Coomey also was a member of the coaching staff for Niagara, Connecticut College and Plattsburgh. Assistant coaches Melissa Samoskevich and Taylor Willard, and volunteer goalie coach Michael Larocque round out the inaugural coaching staff at Delaware.
The Blue Hens roster consists of 22 players, 17 of whom are freshmen. Four transfers and former club team goaltender Sydney Butler round out the list of names. Graduate student forward Kaitlin Finnegan and senior defender Tiana McIntyre were named the first team captains in program history. Finnegan transferred after playing in four games for Lindenwood last year, while McIntyre joined the squad from Quinnipiac. Currently, freshman forward Katelynn Charlton leads the team with three goals, netting two of them in Delaware’s 5-2 loss to Holy Cross on Oct. 4. Finnegan and forwards Billi Roman, Francesca Barresi and Meera Smith have all also scored a goal for the Blue Hens. On the goaltending side, Delaware has started both Robitzer and netminder Charlotte Payne in three games each. Robitzer has 146 saves, 15 goals allowed and a .907 save rate, while Payne has 122 saves, nine goals allowed and a .931 save rate.
The 2025-26 season hasn’t gotten off to a great start for the Blue Hens. Delaware has lost five of its first six contests to begin the campaign. The lone win came Oct. 5 when the Blue Hens beat Holy Cross 2-1 at home. Delaware has scored just seven goals this season. In their AHA opening series, the Blue Hens struggled to remain competitive, getting swept in a two-game series to No. 6 Penn State (6-0, 2-0 AHA) while also getting shutout twice.
Puck drop of Syracuse’s two-game series with Delaware to begin the Orange’s AHA slate is Friday at 6 p.m. from Fred Rust Ice Arena in Newark, D.E. For all coverage of that contest and the first-half of SU’s 2025-26 season, follow @JaredValentin_ and @CitrusTVSports on X/Twitter!
