Jessica MacKinnon lay on her sister’s bed after a tough practice. It was a simple one; no pressure on MacKinnon to perform, no one to impress, nothing to prove. But hours later in bed, MacKinnon stared at the ceiling, wondering:
“Will I ever be the same person again?”
Nothing had gone right in that practice, MacKinnon said. She hadn’t made a single tape-to-tape pass and she wasn’t enjoying her time on the ice. Her confidence further plummeted.
The Nova Scotia native started her college career at Clarkson in the 2024-25 season. There, she appeared in just 16 games and recorded one point. MacKinnon described that season as “difficult.” She didn’t expect the season to play out as it did. That season shook her confidence.
Relying on her faith helped tremendously, she used it to guide her through an extremely difficult time. “A big part of it was learning to rely on God a lot,” MacKinnon told The Ice Garden. “And through that, learn that no matter what happens, He’s there with me. I had to lean into that a lot, through the highs and lows and also gain confidence from him and the gifts that he’s given me.”
Finding a New Home
MacKinnon’s struggles at Clarkson led her to enter the transfer portal after the 2024-25 season. The portal provided her with the chance to find a bigger role with a different program. Though she didn’t know what that would look like, MacKinnon said she had to change her perspective on the sport. “No matter what role I’m in, obviously I wanted to be in a bigger role than what I was the year before, but just to have fun with the game,” MacKinnon said of what she changed her perspective to. “A big part of that was taken away from me the past year.”
She landed in Moon Township, Penn., home to Robert Morris University. There, MacKinnon delivered her best season of college hockey yet. She was named the Atlantic Hockey America’s Best Defensive Forward after a career year. She reflected on her first season with RMU, shared how the 2025 offseason helped rebuild her mentality, and talked about the small aspect that brought joy back into her game.
Fitting in with RMU
Aside from wanting a bigger role, MacKinnon also liked that RMU was a small school and had a family feel to it. After talks with assistant coach Liam Cavanagh, and reaching out to players who played there, MacKinnon knew it was the right fit. Having Cavanagh reach out and talk with her was another part of what she wanted out of her new program.
“Getting the feel for how the coaches were so welcoming and you can have any conversation with them and they’re very approachable,” MacKinnon said was what she liked about the coaching side of RMU. “That was a huge thing for me. I wanted a better relationship with the coaches this year.” MacKinnon added that her relationship with her coaches blossomed over the season. Their openness and willingness to talk with each player over hockey and life was helpful to her.
Her new Colonials teammates loved having MacKinnon on the team this season. When team captain Alaina Giampietro first met MacKinnon, she noticed her properness and shyness. Then quickly noticed her game. “The first couple weeks watching her in practice, I was like, this is someone who I want to play with. Right away we clicked and the coaches saw that. It worked in our favor.”
Giampietro added that there’s an ease to playing with MacKinnon. The two built a connection quickly on the ice. They each learned where the other would be on the ice at any given moment. But it’s MacKinnon’s high hockey IQ that Giampietro also likes. “She’s a very smart hockey player,” Giampietro said. “She always finds the seams for making the pass and shooting for rebounds and going after the puck and getting it while she finds someone in the slot to shoot the puck. She’s definitely a playmaker.”
MacKinnon’s Evident Growth as a Player
Taylor Storey played with MacKinnon, both at Clarkson and Robert Morris. Watching MacKinnon grow as a player has been enjoyable for Storey. She called MacKinnon the type of player that elevates those around her. MacKinnon brings an intensity to her game that forces the rest of her teammates to keep pace with her. “Her skill and her talent… you’re forced to keep up with [her] in practice and then to play against her in practice,” Storey said. “It’s not easy, but it’s rewarding. We don’t find many players in the league that are harder to play against than Jessica.”
The one thing that stands out to Storey is how much MacKinnon likes taking part in things no one else enjoys, like drills. They’re heavy, and most players would see them as a punishment. MacKinnon, on the other hand, loves doing battle drills and power skating. Storey said that while most players have a delayed gratification from completing those drills, MacKinnon gets an instant gratification from them. “She enjoys all the stuff that you don’t want to do at all,” Storey said.
MacKinnon finished the season with 15 goals and a team-leading 26 assists, for 41 points. She ranked third in assists in the AHA. She also led the conference in assists per game with 0.72. MacKinnon also ranked second in the conference in points and in points per game with 1.14. She also recorded the most faceoff wins in the conference with 519 wins in 36 games. Her faceoff wins led the NCAA at one point during the season as well.
Collecting Conference Honors
Besides becoming the first Colonial to win the AHA’s Best Defensive Forward award, MacKinnon also earned a spot on the All-AHA First Team. She credited her teammates for her great play this season. They were quick to pass it back to her. Giampietro called her “the hound dog of the team” because of how well MacKinnon plays the game. “Our culture is all about getting down and getting gritty,” Giampietro said. “She showed right away that she could play a 200-foot game, scoring and setting up people on her passes and putting up points, but also helping us on the back end where she would penalty kill.”
Storey added that MacKinnon does the little things right. She plays an honest game, according to Storey because MacKinnon is always where her feet are and focuses on faceoffs. Story noticed MacKinnon never thinks about herself during a game or about scoring either. Storey was thrilled with the recognition MacKinnon recieved and added it was well deserved.
Another aspect of MacKinnon’s game that stood out to Storey was her defensive play. Storey said MacKinnon is a good example of “good offense leads to good defense.” MacKinnon agreed and shared what she did well defensively this year.
“A lot of the season, like last year, the times that I did get in, I was just worried about getting scored on,” MacKinnon said of what fueled her defensive side. “I wanted to play in the other team’s zone. That helps you play defense when you are in your own zone [for] a couple of shifts. Overall, I focused on moving my feet and being a little more physical than I was in the past years. Also, taking in video and learning from video throughout the year gradually has helped me a lot.”
The Faceoff Expert
Being one of the best faceoff performers in the NCAA isn’t an easy task. MacKinnon said there’s no secret to performing well. It’s all a mindset. She can see how an opponent lines up and she can time a puck drop. But whether she’s doing well or not, the secret is believing in herself. “Honestly, [it’s] all about the confidence and believing that you’re going to win the draw,” MacKinnon said. “It really has nothing to do with what you’re actually doing. It’s all up in your head.”
MacKinnon said she spent the offseason working on getting stronger in the gym. She also focused on her all-around game. Some of that involved picking up rims, corner work, and battling drills too. MacKinnon also focused on rebuilding her confidence. One of the elements she focused on the most was rebuilding her confidence. That came from finding love for the sport again.
“A big part of it is just playing, honestly, being able to enjoy and love the game that I play,” MacKinnon said. “It’s getting the joy for the game back and playing around people that I love to play with.”
A Star is Born
The mix of supportive environment and self-belief resulted in MacKinnon’s breakout season in her sophomore season. MacKinnon had a career-high five-point outing in December. The forward said she was aware of the season she was putting together but it wasn’t the main focus. “I realized after the first little bit that I could have the potential to have a pretty big season,” MacKinnon explained. “At first, honestly, it was just like I get to come and play hockey, the game that I love every day, that was what I enjoyed doing. I had to continue to remind myself of that no matter what.”
Finding joy in the game again was important for MacKinnon. She focused on adjusting her mindset and on enjoying the sport she loved instead of outside noise.
“She found ease in knowing that she had a whole staff behind her, supporting her, a team behind her, supporting her, pushing her,” Giampietro said of how transferring helped MacKinnon. “Finding the love for the game again is so important these days and realizing it’s so much more than just the game at the end of the day.” Storey said watching MacKinnon thrive on and off the ice because of all the support she has at RMU has been amazing to see firsthand. She called MacKinnon a “phenomenal” player and said this is just a glimpse into what MacKinnon has in store for her career.
“I’m excited to watch her grow, not only at RMU, but in the PWHL when she goes to play professionally because that’s definitely not a question that she won’t get there,” Storey said. “She’s pretty focused where she is right now [and] striving to get to where she wants to be. I would say I’m excited to see what all her hard work rewards her for, because this is a very small piece of what she’s going to do.”
The Joy of the Game
Now on the other side of her best college hockey season, MacKinnon has learned to enjoy the ride. She found the fun and joy in hockey again. She also learned to look at the game as a gift and no longer focus on what she can and can’t do. MacKinnon continues to lean on her faith as she moves forward. MacKinnon’s biggest takeaway from the last two seasons was to focus on what’s in her mind and heart instead of what’s happening on the ice.
“On my own, I couldn’t do anything. I was not playing. I wasn’t in a good situation, but I learned and grew from that,” MacKinnon said.
“I’m just happy to be playing again and enjoying the game,” she said. “Because if you’re not having fun, then there’s really no purpose.”
