Two weeks before the start of the 2025-26 season, Olivia Cook had plenty on her plate to get her SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team ready for their first game. Still, she found time to reach out to Matt Jones to ask if his Adirondack 46ers would once again be participating in World Girls’ Hockey Weekend. 

When it comes to growing the game, especially among female players, there’s nothing that Cook won’t do to keep the momentum going. NYSAHA’s North Section is among the most robust areas of the state when it comes to the growth of girls’ and women’s hockey, spurred on by the number of college programs in the area.

And like many of her counterparts at other Div. I and Div. III programs, Cook is always willing to answer the call when it comes to showing up for events, such as the World Girls’ Hockey Weekend, which involved 12 programs around the state and more than 100 across the country.

So, Jones was not surprised when Cook reached out and asked if she and her players could run an early morning clinic as part of the weekend. 

“Matt Jones and the Adirondack 46ers are doing so many good things with the development of girls’ minor hockey around here. You see the effort that they’re putting in to engaging young female hockey players, and you just want to fuel it as much as you can,” Cook said. 

“So, for a program like ours that is right down the road, we want to give as much fuel back to that program as possible because they’re doing so many good things.”

It’s just one of the many ways that Cook continues to give back to a community that has done so much for her. Born and raised 45 minutes north of Potsdam on the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne near the Canadian border, Cook discovered hockey at a young age and blazed her own trail in the game. Along the way she has shared her time and talents with others both on and off the ice. 

And as she enters her third season behind the bench in Potsdam, she is determined to instill that same passion for giving back in her players.

“In the North country, even where I’m from in Akwesasne, we’re all small communities that love the game of hockey,” Cook said. “So, for us at Potsdam Women’s Hockey, whatever we can do to give back to the community that supports us and comes to our games is super important because it helps build a foundation that’s built on love and support through the game of hockey. 

“That’s one of the things that I try to make sure that my ladies at the university know is that if we give back and we help out with other programs, we’re laying a foundation that is positive and gives us energy and fuels our ladies within the program by getting to connect with young hockey players and mentorship and a bunch of really positive things.” 

After graduating from Salmon River High School, Cook would play at Cornell University, where she helped the Big Red win three Ivy League titles and make two Frozen Four appearances.

She returned to her high school alma mater to coach the Salmon River Girls Varsity Hockey Team for four seasons, guiding the Shamrocks to the New York State Finals during the 2017-18 campaign.
 
In addition to her extensive coaching experience, Cook is dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles and giving back to her community. Prior to coming to Potsdam, Cook served as the Lead Instructor for ActivNation in Waswanipi, Quebec, working with Cree youth to encourage fitness and overall wellness. She also worked as an instructor for First Assist, a charity working with Indigenous youth in communities across the country.  

“Traveling all over to different First Nations communities is one of the things that brings me back to why I coach and why I love the game,” she said. 

And so far Cook is loving her time at Potsdam. In addition to finishing her undergraduate degree in public health, she plans to work on her master’s degree in the spring. In the meantime, Cook has set her sights on creating a winning culture on the ice as she looks to make inroads in the competitive State University of New York Athletic Conference.

Her team is a good mix of veteran players and up-and-comers. She recruits on both sides of the border and is happy with the group of talented New York players she’s brought into the program. And while she would one day welcome the opportunity to coach at a Div. I school, right now there is no place she would rather be than right here in Potsdam.

“I’m extremely happy with where I’m at being that I get to be close to home,” she said. “I come to work every day and I’m pretty excited I get to hang with coworkers and friends.

“I’m three seasons in and it’s flying by. It’s been one of the best rides so far.”