PITTSBURGH — Robert Morris women’s hockey assistant Kelley Steadman will return to her alma mater Mercyhurst for a full-time assistant position for the 2017-18 season.
Steadman spent three years with the Colonials and two seasons as the director of hockey operations while earning her master’s degree at the university. With her studies completed, Steadman sought out a full-time coaching job and found one at Mercyhurst, where she played collegiately from 2008 to 2009. She’ll work under Lakers head coach Michael Sisti, who was Steadman’s head coach when she played there, as well.
“It is gratifying to see Kelley rejoin our program as our new assistant coach,” Sisti said in a press release. “Kelley was an outstanding student, player and person while here at Mercyhurst. She will be a wonderful role model for our players. She clearly understands the key elements of pride, commitment and the pursuit of excellence that have helped build our program.”
“There’s no other place I’d rather work,” Steadman said about returning to her alma mater. “It’s a good fit. It’s a conference that I’m familiar with and I have a lot of respect for Coach Sisti and the league.”
Mercyhurst and Robert Morris are fierce rivals in College Hockey America. The Colonials took the season series from Mercyhurst in 2016-17 and snapped a long run of Lakers’ dominance over the CHA’s regular season. Now, she’ll find herself on the other side of the rivalry for the second time.
“It will be different for a little bit,” Steadman said. “I think my time (at Robert Morris) was huge for me. After coming in strictly as a player, you get to see the other side of things. … They did everything they could as far as furthering my coaching career.”
While Steadman was coaching at Robert Morris, she also played professionally for the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League. She isn’t yet ready to announce whether or not she’ll continue he playing career while coaching at Mercyhurst. The 26-year-old had five goals and five assists in eight regular-season games with the Beauts in 2016-17 and was part of the franchise’s first Isobel Cup championship.
