BURLINGTON, Vt. - Vermont women's hockey head coach Jim Plumer has announced the hiring of Jess Koizumi as the program's new associate head coach. Koizumi served last season as the associate head coach at Ohio State after spending six seasons as an assistant coach at Yale.

"I am really excited to welcome Jess to UVM and to our women's hockey family," said Plumer. "She brings extensive coaching experience and as a former national team player, she is a rising star in the coaching world. Jess is particularly passionate about helping student-athletes reach their potential and I know that she is going to be a great fit for our players, our staff, and the UVM community."

Koizumi was the Buckeyes' recruiting coordinator and coached the team's defensemen. Ohio State posted a record of 14-18-5 and earned its first postseason victory since the 2013-14 season. OSU also took points against multiple ranked teams, including 2017 Frozen Four participants Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes' roster boasted the team's first All-American since 2012 (Kassidy Sauve) and a pair of All-WCHA performers (Sauve and Jincy Dunne).

As a player, Koizumi was a standout and All-WCHA performer at Minnesota Duluth. She served as a captain of the Bulldogs for two seasons and helped lead UMD to a berth in the 2007 NCAA championship game, earning a spot on the Frozen Four All-Tournament team. Her 84 career goals are the seventh-most all-time in Minnesota Duluth history and she was top-3 on the team in scoring all four years of her career.

Koizumi helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2008 IIHF Women's World Championships, and also represented her country at the 2007 Four Nations Cup. From 2009 through 2015, she spent time in the Canadian Women's Hockey League with the Montreal Stars and Boston Blades, captaining the Blades for a season and helping them to Clarkson Cup wins in 2013 and 2015.

Most recently, Koizumi was a member of the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which was founded in 2015. During her only season with the Whale, she served as team captain and also scored the first goal in the history of the NWHL.

Koizumi will begin on Thursday, June 1. 

The Windjammer & Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the women's hockey team