Scout Bio
Melanie Ruzzi is in her second season at the helm of the Bears, after being named head coach of the Brown women's hockey program on May 20, 2021.
In her first year as a collegiate head coach in 2021-22, Ruzzi guided the Bears to their best overall record in five years, and their most ECAC wins since the 2008-09 season, giving them their highest finish in the ECAC standings in a decade. The team went unbeaten in seven of its final nine games, which included a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents in No. 9 Quinnipiac and No. 7 Yale, an eventual national semifinalist. Brown’s turnaround in 2021-22 also saw the team score 0.7 more goals per game and allow exactly one fewer goal per game from the previous season.
Her efforts earned her the honor of being one of three finalists for the ECAC Coach of the Year award.
Ruzzi came to College Hill after a successful two-year stint as an assistant coach at Princeton. In her time with the Tigers, Princeton set a program record with 26 wins, reached the ECAC tournament final for the first time and won the ECAC tournament title for the first time in 2019-20. Princeton finished the season with three players ranked in the top 12 in the nation in goals and points per game. The ECAC recognized Princeton's success with both Carly Bullock and Sarah Fillier as Best Forward top-three finalists, with Fillier additionally a top-three finalist for Player of the Year. The team qualified for the NCAA quarterfinals, but the event was canceled by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 virus.
Ruzzi began her coaching career at Division III Amherst College in 2005, where she acted as an assistant coach for two seasons. From 2007-11 she was an assistant coach at Harvard before returning to her alma mater Providence College for six years as associate head coach. She then spent one season as an assistant at Yale during the 2018-19 season.
Ruzzi was critical to the turn-around of the Friars program that saw the program return to the national rankings and be one of the most competitive teams in Hockey East. She helped transform the defense from 136 goals allowed to 80 in just two seasons, while also improving the penalty kill from 78.1 percent to 87.1 percent – eighth best in the nation in her final year with Providence College (2017-18). In addition, she coached defender, Whitney Dove, to the Hockey East Rookie of the Year award in 2017.
Her involvement in hockey exceeds the collegiate ranks. She has been involved with USA Hockey since 2006, and served as an assistant coach for the Team USA U18 National Team that won the silver medal at the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championships. In addition, Ruzzi has held various roles at National Development and District Camps, including as Director of the Rocky Mountain and Pacific District Development Programs.
A 2003 graduate of Providence College with a degree in finance, Ruzzi was team captain in 2002-03 and captured Hockey East Honorable Mention honors as well as national all-academic accolades. One of the most successful defensemen in program history, she helped the Friars to the ECAC Eastern title as a junior and the inaugural Hockey East title in 2003. She later earned a master's in sports management from UMass in 2007.