Melanie Ruzzi recently completed her third season as an assistant coach with Harvard’s women’s hockey program.

In her first year with the Crimson, Harvard earned a berth at the Frozen Four and won 21 straight games, setting an NCAA record.  The team  also captured Beanpot, Ivy League, ECAC Hockey regular-season and ECAC Hockey tournament titles, finishing with a 32-2-0 overall record and a 22-0-0 ECAC Hockey mark.

Harvard followed with its second straight ECAC Hockey regular-season and Ivy League titles in 2008-09.  The Crimson once again earned the top seed in the ECAC Hockey tournament and posted a 16-4-2 conference record.

During the 2009-10 season, Ruzzi helped the Crimson return to the NCAA postseason for the eighth time in program history. Harvard also grabbed its 13th Beanpot title, winning the crown at Bright Hockey Center.

Ruzzi came to Harvard after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Amherst, where she worked directly with all aspects of the Jeff program. On the ice, she worked primarily with the team’s defensemen in skill development and game management.

She helped Amherst reach the semifinal round of the 2007 NCAA Division III tournament. The Jeffs won their first NESCAC championship and finished 20-7-3, including a 22-game stretch with just one loss (18-1-3).

Ruzzi was a standout player at Providence as an undergraduate. She helped the Friars to an ECAC East championship in 2002 and Hockey East regular-season and tournament titles in 2003. She served as captain of the 2002-03 team, was presented with the team’s Coaches Award and was an honorable mention All-Hockey East selection.

Ruzzi graduated magna cum laude from Providence in 2003, earning a bachelor’s degree in finance. She earned a master’s degree in sport management from Massachusetts in 2007.