No. 14 ranked women’s ice hockey (6-0-0, 40-0 ECAC) is off to a storming start to the 2024-25 season.
After two thrilling victories against No. 7 Quinnipiac and Princeton on Oct. 25 and 26, respectively, and advancing to No. 15 in the polls ahead of the weekend, Bruno was primed and ready. Coming into two post-Halloween matchups against Ivy opponents Dartmouth (0-6-0, 0-4-0 ECAC) and Harvard (2-3-0, 1-3-0 ECAC), the Bears took home no tricks, only treats.
The Bears currently remain undefeated and sit atop the Eastern College Athletic Conference with 11 points. Across the undefeated stretch, the Bears have outscored opponents 13-6 — the best goal differential across the 12-team conference.
“By playing a fast game, we can apply constant pressure and not let our opponents gain momentum,” defender Ella Muralt ’28 wrote in an email to The Herald. “I feel that the forwards are doing a great job getting shots to the net and the defense is solid on the blue line, which keeps our opponents on their heels.”
“The team entered the season with high aspirations and a deep commitment to taking a step forward as a program,” Head Coach Melanie Ruzzi added in an email to the Herald. “So we felt confident that we would have a chance in every game but the resulting 6-0 start is still something we are really proud of. With that, the season is young and we still have so many areas in which to grow as a team.”
Cameron Sikich ’25 was named the ECAC Defender of the Week for her performance this weekend. This is her second selection this year, in a season that has only spanned three weeks so far. Sikich leads the team in points with nine total, including six assists and three goals across the first six games.
“It’s really exciting to be selected for this award twice already this year,” Sikich wrote, “but even more exciting to see our team being recognized more and more for our achievements. Personally, I don’t think I could have received these awards without the standout efforts of my teammates.”
Bruno’s first two conference games were separated by a margin of only one goal. The affair in Hanover was no different.
After an eventless first period, wherein the Bears and the Big Green were nearly even on shots 10-9 and Bruno failed to convert on the power play, it was Dartmouth who managed to get in gear first. A tripping foul by Gali Levy ’26 early in the second period gave her two minutes in the box. The Bears managed to hold out on the backfoot for as long as they could, but a well-placed shot by Dartmouth put the Bears on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline.
However, less than four minutes later, an interference foul gave the Bears the one-woman advantage they were looking for.
With time ticking away and only 16 seconds left on the power play, Bruno managed to find the back of the net. A goal from Ava DeCoste ’27 — assisted by Sikich and India McDadi ’26 — gave the Bears their much-needed equalizer.
Following the goal, Bruno managed to kill off Dartmouth’s power play, keeping themselves in the game and allowing no shots.
The Bears were looking strong in the third period, outshooting the Big Green 9-6, but the goal wasn’t coming. After finding themselves on the power play late, it was time for defender Muralt to step up. With five minutes left in the game, Muralt fired the Bears ahead 2-1.
“It felt great as it was my first game-winning goal in college,” Muralt wrote. “As a freshman, it's important to me to contribute as much as I can this season.”
After killing off another Dartmouth power play and taking the match, Bruno turned their momentum towards Cambridge.
This momentum carried Bruno to a 5-1 domination over their Ivy League rivals.
The Bears’ suffocating pressure and phenomenal team interplay helped them keep the puck, giving the offense plenty of chances and the defense a light affair.
“One of our team goals for our game against Harvard focused on using our speed and starting off the game strong which we succeeded in,” forward Monique Lyons ’28 wrote in an email to The Herald.
After shredding the Crimson in the first — outshooting them 17-4 — and McDadi scoring her first goal of the season, Bruno was shocked to be tied 1-1 on their way into the locker room. But in the second, the sharp disparity in shots turned into a sharp disparity of goals.
17 seconds into the second period, Lyons turned a power-play opportunity into a 2-1 advantage for the Bears after a shot by Margot Norehad ’27 was deflected into her path.
Shortly after, the Bears looked in trouble after Jade Iginla ’26’s tripping penalty gave Harvard the power play advantage. But Bruno turned the opportunity on its head after they pounced on Harvard’s over-commitment in the attack, leading to a short-handed goal by Jess Ciarrocchi ’25.
“We have been working on our special teams a lot in practice this past week, specifically our (penalty kill),” Lyons wrote. “It builds so much momentum for our team to kill off a penalty and even more to get a shorthanded goal. It was great to see the (penalty kill) get rewarded when Jess Ciarrocchi put one in the net to extend our lead.”
Bruno would continue to crash Harvard’s net in the second leading to a goal by Abby Hancock ’25.
The 4-1 hole was far too deep for Harvard to climb out of, so Bruno was happy to sit off the puck in the third period. Despite being outshot 15-7 — the only time Bruno was outshot during a period all weekend — it was Lyons who found the goal in third, slamming the door shut on the Crimson.
“It’s very exciting to be undefeated so far but there is definitely more pressure as every team we play will want to end our winning streak,” Muralt wrote. “This is definitely a confidence booster and I want to continue to work hard for my coaches and teammates to keep the winning streak alive.”
The Bears will look to carry their winning streak into and beyond this weekend’s homestand against No. 5 Colgate (9-3-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) and No. 12 Cornell (2-3-1, 1-1-0 ECAC). Look for the matches on ESPN+.
“This team has been building ever since my freshman year and while many people might be surprised by our start this year, every single one of us knew it was something we were capable of,” Sikich wrote. “It’s amazing to get off to such a strong start but there’s still a lot of season left and I’m excited to see what our team can do.”
Dennis Carey is a Sports editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting vinyl records and poorly playing the guitar in his spare time.
