Shawn Skelly finished his second season as an assistant coach of the Union College women’s hockey team in 2025-26.
In his second year with the team, Union posted an 11-22-3 record and picked up a postseason victory for the second straight season. The team started the year with a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2), tied for the longest unbeaten stretch in the program's Division I history, and hosted the annual Ice Breaker Tournament, where the team battled #1 Wisconsin in the title game. The team earned its first victory over a top-five opponent with a thrilling 4-3 (OT) win over #4/5 Cornell in November and finished the month with a .500 record for only the second time in program history. The Garnet Chargers captured their second straight Mayor's Cup victory over Rensselaer in January and made a huge mark in the first round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament, knocking off fifth-seeded and #12 Clarkson. The team set a record for most goals scored (79) for a second straight season and had two players (Maddie Leaney and Karianne Engelbert) score at least 15 goals in the same season for the first time ever, while Stephanie Bourque and Engelbert set new program D-I single-season records for assists and points, respectively, and Leaney tied the single-season D-I goals record.
Skelly was part of a staff that made an immediate impact in their first season in Schenectady, leading the Garnet Chargers to the most wins in program history and earning the team's first-ever postseason victory. Union finished the season with a 13-23-1 record and won a program-record eight conference games as part of a very challenging ECAC Hockey slate, including the team's first-ever win over a top-10 opponent with a 3-2 win at #9 Cornell University in November. The squad also set new program records for most goals scored and fewest goals allowed in a season in the school's Division I era, while also earning the program's first ECAC postseason honor since 2008 with first-year Karianne Engelbert's All-Rookie Team nod.
Skelly came to Union after serving six seasons as the head women’s hockey coach of Division III Adrian College. In his six seasons, he led the Bulldogs to a 140-22-7 record, a pair of Frozen Four appearances, and four NCAA Tournament berths in five years. Under his guidance, Adrian posted an 80-5-4 record in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) with six straight NCHA regular-season titles and five NCHA Slaats Cup championships. The 2020 NCHA Coach of the Year, he coached 31 All-Conference selections, two NCHA Players of the Year and nine AHCA All-Americans in his time in Adrian.
Skelly began his collegiate coaching career in 2016-17 as an assistant coach with the Adrian women’s team, helping the program to its first appearance in the national championship game. He spent 2017-18 on the bench with the Adrian men’s team that finished the year ranked fourth in Division III and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals.
A four-year standout on the ice at Adrian, Skelly was a member of the first men’s hockey team in program history and pushed the squad to an incredible 102-12-2 record over four years, culminating in a national runner-up finish as a senior. He ended his stellar career with 102 goals and 127 assists for 229 points in 113 games, including leading the country in goals per game and points per game as a junior, and remains the all-time Division III leader in game-winning goals (20). He graduated from Adrian in 2011 with a degree in communications.
