Cassandra Turner

Cassandra Turner enters her eighth season as the Quinnipiac women's ice hockey head coach and 14th with the program in the 2022-23 year.

Turner led the Bobcats to an amazing season during the 2021-22 season, posting a 26-10-3 overall record. The team's 26 wins were the most for the program since the 2015-16 season. The Bobcats qualified for the ECAC Hockey playoffs for the 12th season in a row, posting two victories over Clarkson in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. Quinnipiac also earned the team's first at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament and made the team's second NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Bobcats won the program's first NCAA Tournament game in a 4-0 shutout over Syracuse. Quinnipiac advanced to the NCAA Regional Final and took No. 1 Ohio State to double overtime. Corinne Schroeder tallied 73 saves in the 4-3 loss.

In addition, Zoe Boyd and Kendall Cooper were named to the second and third team all-league teams.

During the 2020-21 season, Turner led the Bobcats to a 10-6 record and helped the team navigate a year with unique challenges amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bobcats recorded a 2-1 overtime victory against No. 9/10 Clarkson on Jan. 23, and Quinnipiac notched a record-breaking 11-0 win against LIU on Jan. 17. Quinnipiac lost to No. 6 Colgate in the ECAC Semifinals, 2-1. Turner's contract was also extended after the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

Turner and the Bobcats had a standout year with an overall record of 20-14-3 in 2019-20. The team found its way back into the national polls, earning a No. 10 rank or higher throughout the second half of the season. The Bobcats had stellar wins against Minnesota Duluth, Clarkson and Harvard, who were all top-ten opponents. Quinnipiac won the program's eighth Nutmeg Classic in November, and won two international games against Merrimack in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the Friendship Series. The team earned its 11th-straight playoff appearance and took No. 2 Princeton to a thrilling three-game series on the road.

In her first season as head coach, she enjoyed the best season in Quinnipiac women's ice hockey history, leading the Bobcats to the program's first ECAC Hockey Regular Season and Tournament Championships. Quinnipiac women's ice hockey also hosted the first NCAA Tournament Home Game in school history and won 30 games for the first time in program history.

With those 30 wins, Turner set the NCAA Record for wins by a first-year women's ice hockey head coach at any level.

In addition to the championships and winning the most games in program history, the Bobcats set records for most goals scored (118), most assists (188), highest power play percentage (25 percent), highest penalty kill (92.5 percent), fewest goals allowed (35), lowest GAA (0.92), most home wins (18), tied the most road wins (11), longest winning streak (10 games), and longest unbeaten streak (21 games).

In 2018-19, she led the Bobcats to its 10th ECAC Playoff appearance in a row. Quinnipiac and Clarkson are the only two programs in the conference to finish in the top half of the ECAC 10 seasons in a row. Senior Kenzie Lancaster was also awarded the Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year Award from the ECAC, and she received the Sarah Devens Award from Hockey East/ECAC. Lancaster is the third Bobcat to win the Mandi Schwartz Award after Chelsea Laden and Kristen Tamberg.

In the 2016-17, she followed that up with another stellar campaign, leading the Bobcats to 21 wins, distinguishing the program as one of only three at the NCAA Division I level, along with the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, to win 19 or more games in each of the last eight season. A puck possession, hard to play against hockey team, the ’16-’17 Bobcats finished the as one of the top three defensive hockey teams in the nation (1.38 goals against/game) for the third year in a row.

In 2014-15, Turner completed her seventh season as a member of the Bobcats’ coaching staff and fourth in the role of Associate Head Coach. During the 2014-15 season she concurrently served as the Head Coach of Canada’s U18 National Women’s Team through the World Championship. Her success in the game -- as a recruiter, teacher of defensive skills, and role model for the highly motivated female athlete -- has affirmed her place among the elite young coaches in the women’s game.

Her leadership, championship playing experience, international coaching experience and innovative approach to development have played a vital role in the resurgence of the Quinnipiac program.

Turner has re-energized the program’s team culture around an attitude that emphasizes team play, hard work, and a commitment to defensive hockey. In her nine years at Quinnipiac, she has been the leading voice on staff in creating a mindset that values attention to detail, developing great habits, and being “Hard to Play Against.”

Particularly seen in her work with the program’s defenseman, her understanding of the game, ability to teach, and commitment to individual player development constantly pushed the program to new heights. Under her leadership, the Bobcats established new lows for goals against, leading the nation in Scoring Defense in 2009-10 by holding opponents to 1.38 goals per game. Over the last three seasons, the Bobcats have finished among the nation’s top 3 in fewest goals allowed. The 45 goals allowed in 2014-15 tied for the lowest in the nation and the 35 goals allowed (.92 GA/gm) in 2015-16 marked the fewest goals allowed in program history. The Bobcats also improved by staying out of the penalty box under Turner as they went from the most penalized team in the nation in 2007-2008 to the least penalized team in Division I women’s ice hockey for six straight seasons (2009-15). Quinnipiac also set a new NCAA record for fewest penalty minutes in a season with 162 and fewest penalty minutes per game at 4.3 in 2014-15. Additionally, her attention to detail on special teams and with the defensemen has helped many members of team realize new lofty personal and team goals.

Since her arrival at Quinnipiac in 2008, Quinnipiac has won 182 games, with 19 or more in each of her last eight seasons as an assistant coach, associate head coach, and now head coach. The program’s 119 wins and 45 losses, are the fifth most wins and fifth fewest losses in Division I women’s college hockey over the last five years.

As the program’s recruiting coordinator, Turner consistently demonstrated the ability to recruit elite level student-athletes and prepare them to succeed. Over the last nine years, Turner has helped identify and attract 17 All-ECAC Hockey selections, including five First Team honorees and six all-rookie selections. Most notable among them, the program’s only All-American Kelly Babstock, finished her career as a four-time All-ECAC Hockey selection, ECAC Hockey Rookie and Player of the Year in 2010-11, and the program’s all-time scoring leader with 95 goals and 108 assists for 203 points.

Off the ice, Coach Turner led efforts to mentor and push team members in the daily pursuit of excellence. She structured the academic guidance program, created regular goal setting sessions, and consistently worked to enhance mental skills opportunities for Bobcat student-athletes. As a reflection of those efforts, 132 women’s ice hockey student-athletes have been named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team during the past 9 years, highlighted by a program record 22 in 2016-17. Under Turner’s direction, Quinnipiac goaltender Chelsea Laden was awarded ECAC Hockey’s Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year Award as well as ECAC Hockey and Hockey East’s Sarah Devens Award Winner. Defenseman Kristen Tamberg earned the program’s 2nd consecutive Mandi Schwartz Award in 2016.

In addition to her role with the Bobcats, Turner has been a longtime fixture within Hockey Canada’s National Women’s Programs as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. During her playing career, she represented Canada three times on the U-22 National Team from 2001-2003, highlighted by a Gold Medal finish at the 2003 Air Canada Cup. In 2014-15, she served as the Head Coach of Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team through selection, training, and the World Championship. She previously represented her home country as an assistant with the U-18 National Team at the 2011 and 2014 IIHF Women’s U-18 World Championships and with the Women’s Development Team in 2013.

As Team Canada’s U18 Head Coach, Turner led the team to the silver medal at the 2015 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Buffalo, New York with current assistant coach Amanda Mazzotta serving as the Goaltending Coach. Canada fell to the current Bobcat junior, Captain Melissa Samoskevich and the United States, 3-2, in the gold medal game.

Turner’s crowning achievement comes on the heels of her gold medal run in the 2014 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Budapest where she helped guide Canada’s U-18 Team to the world title in April 2014. Turner guided a dominating Canadian squad that outscored their opponents, 25-2, throughout the five-game gold medal tourney run. She had previous experience with Canada’s 2013-14 U-18 Team as she was on the staff for the U-18 National Team series between the United States back in Aug. 2013. Canada took two-out-of-three games against Team USA in the three-game series held in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Much of Turner’s success in coaching reflects her ability to share many of the valuable lessons learned during a playing career where she excelled at the club, university, and international level. She served as an assistant captain for Team Ontario’s gold medal winning 1999 Canada Games team.

Turner put together a decorated playing career at Brown University where she was a two-time captain. Brown was 83-33-12 during her four year career.

A steady, disciplined defenseman she played a key role in some of the most successful seasons in Brown Women’s Hockey history. During her four-year career, she led the Bears to two Ivy League and two ECAC Hockey Championships, as well as two appearances in the National Championship final. ECAC Coaches voted her to All-League Teams twice (First Team 2002, Second Team 2003). The New England Hockey Writers named her to their Division I All-Star team following the 2001-2002 season. She also earned First Team All-Ivy honors in 2002.

In her career, she compiled 12 goals and 50 assists for 62 points in 121 games. As a senior, Turner scored a career-high eight goals and as a junior Turner tallied a career-high 17 assists and 21 points in all 35 games that season on the Bears way to a National Runner-Up appearance.

After Brown, she played two seasons in the NWHL for the Toronto Aeros Sr. Women’s Hockey Team. In 2003-2004, Turner helped lead the Aeros to the NWHL Regular Season Championship and the ESSO Women’s National Championship. The Aeros repeated their success at the 2005 ESSO Championship with Turner being named the event’s Most Sportsmanlike Player. Turner graduated from Brown University in 2003 with a degree in psychology, and earned a master’s degree in education from Elmira College in 2007. She lives in Wallingford, Conn. with her husband Paul, their son, Blake and their daughter, Adilee.