New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Samoskevich still buzzing after winning a gold medal
There’s no way Melissa Samoskevich can estimate just how many times she has heard the
Star Spangled Banner played during her rather successful hockey career, but it is safe to say that she was never quite as emotional during a rendition of the national anthem as she was last week.
The Newtown native, who is set to graduate from Quinnipiac next month, was the lone Connecticut native on the gold-medal winning United States squad at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. Samoskevich, who had a pair of goals during the U.S. team’s undefeated run, is still buzzing with excitement even though more than a week has passed since the shootout win over host Finland in the championship game.
“It has been my dream for so long to be on that team,” Samoskevich said. “I am still in the midst of reflecting too, so it is like I am amazed and honored to be on that team. Getting that gold medal is something I will remember and something to cherish.
“After [Alex] Rigsby made the [game-ending] save, we kind of flooded the ice. I think my favorite part of the ceremony was when they played the national anthem and we were singing it arm to arm together with our medals and hearts on. It is just so great to celebrate with the people I have been looking up to for so long, with all the veterans so that was a pretty cool moment for me.”
Samoskevich’s first national team experience came in the Under-18 Series in 2012. Three years later she had six goals in five games to help the U.S. win gold at the Under-18 World Championship. In the gold-medal game, Samoskevich led all U.S. players
with nine shots on goal. In September she was in Maine at the national team tryout camp and earned a spot on the team competing in the 2018 Four Nations Cup. She had two goals in four games in her first event at the senior national team level and then got the call to play on an even bigger stage.
“I honestly think it was just my energy on and off the ice,” Samoskevich said. “I just like to go hard, that is all I can really give you. There were a lot of skilled players [at the camp]. Not that I am not skilled, but at Quinnipiac my role is different, I am a skilled kid. On the national team I am more a fourth line energy kid and I try to give on and off the ice whatever they need it.”
Speaking of her role at Quinnipiac, Samoskevich led the Bobcats with 13 goals and 158 shots as a senior. She was tied for ninth nationally with five game-winning goals. She set a program record for points by a freshman with 16 goals and 16 assists during the 2015-16 campaign. Samoskevich finished third in program history with 54 career goals and fourth with 109 career points. She is quick to credit her coaches and the Quinnipiac training staff for helping her realize her dream of representing the U.S. on the world stage.
“Quinnipiac is amazing, it has changed me as a person and as a player,” Samoskevich said. “Coach [Cassandra Turner], Eddie [Ardito] and Amanda [Mazzotta] really have high expectations every day and they push us to be our best. I don’t know if I would be where I am without them.”
Samoskevich took an interesting path to international glory. She played on the boys team at the successful Mid Fairfield program but heading into high school, she opted to head to prep school. Although there were options closer to home, she fell in love with the academic and hockey environment at ShattuckSt. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. Her career culminated with a run to the USA Hockey national championship game as a senior.
“It is kind of like a family thing, it is one of my favorite places in the world,” Samoskevich said.
It truly is a family thing as her younger siblings Mackie and Maddie are members of SSM’s boys’ and girls’ hockey teams.
The twins recently finished their junior seasons and before long Maddie will follow Melissa to Quinnipiac while Mackie is a Michigan commit who is eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft.
Samoskevich isn’t quite sure what her hockey future will look like. She was the second overall pick by the Connecticut Whale in the 2018 National Women’s Hockey League draft, but when the six-team Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded last month, many of the veteran players on the U.S. national team are using their voices to have a say in the future of women’s hockey in North America. The NWHL has announced plans to expand into Canada but obviously there will be fewer opportunities for women’s hockey players at the professional level in the U.S. and Canada if things don’t change. Samoskevich is choosing to stay positive believing that the legends of the sport will lead the way in the growth of women’s hockey.
“The veterans from our national team are in the works of trying to grow our game so I am kind of following in their footsteps,” Samoskevich said.