Over Family Weekend, the women’s hockey team (4-0, 2-0 ECAC) kicked off conference play with a pair of dramatic, gutsy wins against No. 9 Quinnipiac University (6-3-1, 0-1-1 ECAC) and No. 13 Princeton (2-2-0, 0-2-0 ECAC).
The sweep marked a massive statement for a program that hasn’t finished with a winning record since the 2005-06 season and that hopes to surprise after being ranked eighth of twelve teams in the ECAC preseason poll.
“I’m thrilled with the weekend,” Head Coach Melanie Ruzzi said. “I’m not gonna downplay it. It’s an unbelievable weekend against two great opponents.”
On Friday night against Quinnipiac, the Bears received a heroic performance from first-year Monique Lyons ’28, playing in just her second game at Meehan Auditorium.
With the Bears down 0-1 and under twelve minutes left to play, Lyons glided across the rink trailing Margot Norehad ’27, who is no stranger to iconic rookie moments against Quinnipiac. Right in front of the goal, Norehad dished the puck to Lyons, who swiped it into the back of the net to tie the game.
The Bobcats threatened to retake the lead just seconds later on a penalty shot opportunity, but a clutch save by goalie Rory Edwards ’27 helped keep the score tied until the end of regulation. Edwards would finish the game with thirty-eight saves.
In the five-minute, three-on-three overtime, Brown commanded the puck — mustering three shots on goal and holding Quinnipiac to none — but to no success. As the clock wound down, it appeared the game was destined to end in a draw.
Then, with just 2.8 seconds left, Lyons launched the puck over the shoulder of Quinnipiac goalie and former Bear Kaley Doyle ’24, sealing a sensational Brown win with her second goal of the game.
“It was a pretty goal,” Ruzzi said, noting that Lyons had been working on that exact shot with Assistant Coach Beth Hanrahan during practices that week. “To have her score that way is beautiful.”
“It was crazy,” Lyons said. “To beat the No. 9 team, a ranked team, that shows a lot … being out there with each other and pushing each other every day, we’re just gonna keep getting better.”
The Bears followed up their thrilling upset with a high-scoring matinee against Princeton on Saturday.
After Bruno went up 2-1 by the end of two periods, thanks to goals from Ava DeCoste ’27 and Jade Iginla ’26, the game suddenly began to seem like a shootout, with a flurry of four goals — two from each team — scored in under four minutes during the third period. Princeton’s Sarah Paul evened the game at 2-2 on a power play, and Jess Ciarrocchi ’25 and Iginla responded with successful strikes. Paul answered back with yet another goal, but the Bears prevented Princeton from scoring for another ten minutes, securing a thrilling 4-3 win.
“It’s been amazing,” Lyons said of the start to the season. “The energy was really high in Meehan, and it was great to play with everyone.”
Ruzzi noted the importance of managing emotions during such an intense contest. “You’ve got to be using the emotions to be more powerful,” she said.
“I thought we did a really positive job of that — of not getting too down, but not getting too high either,” Ruzzi added.
“I think it’s important to try and stay in the moment, but also it’s fun to play those big games and be in it back and forth,” Iginla said.
Iginla, an ECAC Co-Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-Ivy selection, notched her first two goals of the season on Saturday. Over the course of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, Iginla scored 33 of the Bears’ 109 goals.
“When she starts scoring, it’s like opening Pandora’s box,” Ruzzi said of Iginla.
The Bears will now look to follow their phenomenal weekend with wins on the road against Ivy opponents Dartmouth, on Friday, and Harvard, on Saturday. The games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Ruzzi said this year’s squad has “big goals” in their sights.
“I hope to keep winning,” Lyons said. “We really want to get to the top of the Ivy League and prove our point and make it to the ECAC tournament.”
Linus is a Sports editor from New York City. He is a junior concentrating in English, and when he's out of The Herald office you can find him rooting for the Mets, watching Star Wars or listening to The Beach Boys.
