Jackie MacMillan, Head Coach
The College of St. Scholastica
1200 Kenwood Ave.
Duluth, MN 55811
(218) 723-7069
jmacmill@css.edu
Assistants: Jessi Flink, Dave Reyelts
Jackie MacMillan will be the first head coach of the St. Scholastica women's hockey program. Prior to coming over to CSS, MacMillan spent two years as the head coach at Division III New England College.
In her first full season, MacMillan guided the Pilgrims to 15 wins, which tied a single-season program record and led them to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East Championship game for the second time in school history. During her three seasons, she accumulated a 31-26-3 record.
“I am extremely honored to be a part of building a program at such a great institution as St. Scholastica,” MacMillan said. “Duluth is such a great hockey community and I am excited to be a part of something special. The kind of team we will hope to put together in these first few years is one that is determined, disciplined, unified, and out-works their opponents. I strongly believe if we can find student-athletes with those qualities, we will see success quickly in our program.”
Prior to moving to New England, MacMillan spent three seasons as the assistant coach at Division I Union College. Other coaching experience for MacMillan includes serving as an assistant coach at St. Olaf College and as an assistant coach for Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep. She was also an instructor for numerous camps and hockey schools including, USA 18-Under Development Camp and NCWHL Hockey Clinic.
MacMillan is very familiar with first-year women’s hockey programs as she was part of the first recruiting class for the University of Wisconsin in 1999.
“I was extremely blessed to be a part of the inaugural team at the University of Wisconsin,” MacMillan said. “What I remember are many of the first moments: the first practice, game, road trip and all of my teammates who were a part of those first four years. I hope to help the first women's hockey players at St. Scholastica realize how truly unique they will be in the first years of the program.”
As a starting goalie for the Badgers, MacMillan led the nation in goals against average in 2002. She was a first team all-Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) selection in 2000 and was a second team choice in 2002. She was named WCHA Player of the Week six different times during her career and was on the WCHA All-Academic Team in 2002 and 2003.
During her four years MacMillan had 75 wins in between the pipes. She still holds numerous goaltending records for the Badgers. She also played for the United States under-22 national team in 2000.
MacMillan, who grew up in Buffalo, Minn., played with boys teams since she was five years old. She was a captain on the Buffalo High School Boys varsity team her senior year. She was inducted into the Buffalo Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005. MacMillan’s dad played goaltender at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Jessi Flink, Assistant Coach
Flink joins the women’s hockey staff in the team’s inaugural season. Flink was a key member of the inaugural UMD women’s hockey team and was a part of the NCAA Division I National Championship teams in both 2001 and 2002. She was also on the WCHA All-Academic Team 2001 and 2002.
"Jessi has been a part of building a National Championship program at UMD and her experience will be instrumental for helping build a successful program here at St. Scholastica," Head coach Jackie MacMillan said.
After her playing days, she was an assistant at Duluth East High School from 2003 to 2005. Just prior to taking the CSS assistant job, Flink worked as an Engineering Technician at Golder Associates Inc.
Dave Reyelts, Assistant Coach
Assistant coach Dave Reyelts adds another duty to his repertoire at St. Scholastica as he will assist in the development of the women's hockey program.
Reyelts currently serves as CSS's women's soccer head coach and has led the Saints to three straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. He also serves as assistant track & field coach and assistant men's hockey coach. Reyelts played for the Saints men's team from 1994-97. He played Junior Hockey for Fargo-Moorhead Bears, 1993-’94.
Reyelts lives with his wife Ann and sons Kennan and Andrew.
