[media-credit id=2200 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]In a Jan. 18 game at Sacred Heart, senior forward Melissa Samoskevich accomplished an impressive milestone that not many can say they have. As she put in what proved to be the game winner during the second period, Samoskevich simultaneously recorded her 100th career point at Quinnipiac.

“You look at all the names on the banners, and it’s like, I look up to those people,” Samoskevich said when referring to past 100 point scorers in the program’s history. “It was cool to just be like, wow, I’m up there now.”

Leading up to the game Samoskevich knew that she was approaching the milestone. With the magnitude of the accomplishment weighing on her shoulders, she juggled thoughts about possibly scoring her 100th point, but also helping her team to earn a victory.

“My friends actually counted them up for me when I was around 95,” Samoskevich said. “But going into the game, it’s always more about the win. It would be nice to get the point I thought, but it’s always about the win for me, and I’m happy that we did win. It’s cool that we won by one too.”

As for the goal itself, it was a work of art. Samoskevich skated in towards the net untouched and, with expert precision, she sent the puck whistling to the far, upper corner of the goal. It ricocheted off the goal post and bounced into the net, putting the Bobcats up 2-0 over Sacred Heart.

After the goal was scored, it wasn’t only Samoskevich who was thrilled, but all those who are close to her as well. She didn’t get to where she is by herself, so she celebrated with those who helped her along the way. When her goal went in, she skated to a section of the glass where her family was standing, proud of her accomplishment.

Samoskevich shared that perhaps the best part of it all was what her teammates had planned for her after the game. They put together something special for her, and Samoskevich was grateful and surprised at what they had done.

“They stalled me on the bus,” Samoskevich said of her teammates following the game. “They threw my bag back and forth, so I was running around the bus, I didn’t even understand. But when I came into the locker room, there were balloons, which had ‘100’ on them, and a Starbucks cake pop (I love those) waiting for me.”

Her coaches weren’t shy about doling out praise either, and shared just how impressed they are by her career.

“I’m just so proud of her,” head coach Cassandra Turner said, who has coached Samoskevich for her entire collegiate career. “She works so hard, and it’s constant for her. Whether she’s on the ice, off the ice, she’s thinking about what she can do to help herself to continue to develop as an athlete, in the whole sense of the word. So, it’s amazing to see her take that step, to be able to get 100 points.”

While her Quinnipiac career is beginning to approach its end, Samoskevich isn’t close to finishing her impact on hockey, both at school and in her own life. Coaches have praised Samoskevich not only for her talent, but for her personality, especially when it comes to mentoring younger players.

“I think the question is, who isn’t under her wing right now, and that’s the sign of a great leader” Turner said. “She’s not afraid to say something that’s tough to a teammate, and she’s most certainly excited to congratulate a teammate and have fun with them, so her teammates respect her.”

Samoskevich plans to keep hockey as a main focus in her life, but the way in which she does so is still up the air. She has a few options, and hasn’t decided on one of them yet. She was drafted second overall by the Connecticut Whale in the most recent NWHL draft, and has ties to the United States national team as well.

“It’s still to be determined,” Samoskevich said about her future. “I’m in the MAT program, so I have a fifth year in graduate school, but I think I’m going to wait to do that. The program is letting me play hockey for a couple years and make money, just follow my dreams. I don’t know where I’m going to play yet, but I’m not worried about it.”