Long Island University Women's Ice Hockey

Kelly Nash is the 2024 NEWHA Coach of the Year. Nash has guided the Sharks to the conference's regular-season title each of her first two seasons as LIU's coach as well as to the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in her inaugural season in 2022-23. A two-time national champion during her collegiate playing career, and with extensive experience coaching at the pro and college levels, Nash joined LIU Athletics as women’s ice hockey head coach in June 2022. She arrived from the Premier Hockey Federation’s Metropolitan Riveters, where she served as associate head coach and head scout during the 2021-22 season. Nash previously played with the Riveters, including on their Isobel Cup championship-winning team in 2018. She spent a combined six seasons as an assistant coach at the collegiate level. Her focus at Vermont (2013-17) and Princeton (2017-19) centered on player development, recruiting, practice planning, and video analysis and scouting. During her collegiate playing career, Nash produced 22 goals and 47 assists in 153 career games with the Wisconsin Badgers spanning four seasons. She earned the team’s Jeff Sauer Award as the “most dedicated player” as a senior and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Nash worked with LeagueApps, a youth-sports management platform, in addition to her duties with the Riveters immediately before joining LIU. Her responsibilities included managing the company’s partnership with the NHL, particularly the league’s “Learn to Play” and “Breaking the Ice” initiatives.

Nora Maclaine played for LIU women's ice hockey coach Kelly Nash during the 2021-22 season with the Metropolitan Riveters in the Premier Hockey Federation. The duo now are reunited with the Sharks. Maclaine joined Nash's staff at LIU as an assistant coach in August 2022. Maclaine's impressive playing career includes appearing in 145 games with UConn from 2015-16 through 2018-19. She played professionally with the Perth Inferno in the Australian Women's Ice Hockey League in 2019-20 before joining the Riveters. Maclaine has served as a head coach with the Ironbound Elite U17 team in Newark as well as with the Boston Shamrocks U19 full-season team in Wilmington, Mass.

Sonjia Shelly joined the LIU women’s hockey staff in 2022-23. Prior to joining LIU, Shelly played professionally for the Connecticut Whale and Metropolitan Riveters. Shelly was coached under LIU women’s hockey head coach Kelly Nash during her final year with the Riveters. Shelly, a standout Division I goalie for the St. Lawrence Saints, finished her collegiate career ranked in the top 10 in all goaltending categories in St. Lawrence history. Shelly played for the Saints from 2015-2019 and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies. Shelly was born in Channahon, Illinois.