This weekend, women’s hockey played their post-Thanksgiving match-ups, feasting on two victories over Providence College and Holy Cross. The two wins break a six-game winless streak that saw the Bears lose four games and tie twice.
“I think this was definitely a good weekend for us to get back to who we are as a team,” defender Cameron Sikich ’25 wrote in an email to the Herald. “It's always nice playing out of conference games but we need to gear up for more ECAC play this weekend.”
Saturday’s match-up featured an in-state rivalry as the Bears faced off against the local opposition: Providence College. In a close 3-2 victory, the Bears proved themselves as the premier hockey program in the capital, securing the Mayor’s cup for the first time since 2014.
The start of the game couldn’t have gone better for the Bears. Within just three minutes, Bruno was on the scoresheet.
After nearly two minutes of aggressive, nonstop hockey, Jess Ciarrocchi ’25 broke through after Olivia Fantino ’28 won the puck in the Friar’s half, followed by a quick and clean finish from Ciarrocchi.
Despite being outshot 9-6 in the period, Bruno managed to extend their lead late in the first period. When a shot from Sam Broz ’27 deflected off the post of the goal, Monique Lyons ’28 was there to finish the attack off and hammer the puck home. The second goal gave Bruno a commanding lead heading into the first intermission.
But in the second half, after only 45 seconds of play, the Friars had gotten themselves back in the game with a goal.
At just under 13 minutes, they got a second goal and Bruno’s substantial lead had been reduced to nothing. The Mayor’s Cup looked to be slipping away as Bruno failed to win their lead back after earning two power plays late into the second period.
Bruno did manage to play an impressively clean game of hockey. For the first time all season, they did not concede any major fouls and kept their players out of the box for the entire 60 minutes.
Only 39 seconds into the third period, the Bears found their mojo again. India McDadi ’26 found her way onto a pass by Jade Iginla ’26 and slotted it into the open Friar net. It was a beautifully worked team goal as quick passes from Ava DeCoste ’27 and Sikich opened the space up for Iginla and McDadi’s goal-scoring maneuver.
From then on, Bruno just needed to defend their thin lead. Seven saves from Rory Edwards ’27 in goal kept the Bears on top and when the final horn sounded, Bruno proved themselves the best in Providence.
Broz’s performance in the faceoff was not to be overlooked. She managed to win 14 of her 18 faceoffs, giving Bruno crucial possession and an advantage throughout the match.
“While it's only one game, winning the Mayor's Cup is a big deal for this program and where we're headed,” Sikich wrote. “Getting to win it in my last year is definitely an exciting and proud moment that I'm glad I got to be a part of.”
Turning to Sunday’s game, Bruno looked to carry some of that momentum for a second straight win. In a 4-1 dismantling of the Crusaders, the Bears looked more like the team that won six-straight at the beginning of the season.
The team had seven different players assist in the match, a dominant attacking performance. On top of that, the Bears outshot Holy Cross 52-19, keeping them on the back foot for nearly the entire match.
“Going into the game, we wanted to make the simple plays, while staying more dialed in on our details,” Margot Norehad ’27 wrote. “We knew in past games we haven't tested the goalie as much so getting pucks to the net and having a shooter's mentality gave us a lot of momentum.”
Norehad scored two of Bruno’s four goals and her fourth and fifth goals of the season. She sits just behind team leader DeCoste, who has notched seven goals this season.
Norehad noted that her ability to cover the whole rink has “improved tremendously” and noted that she is having “a pretty strong season.”
After a quiet first stretch of play, Bruno scored two goals in quick succession at the halfway mark of the first period. First was Norehad, who latched onto the rebound from a shot by Victoria Damiani ’28 to take the lead. Then DeCoste flew down the ice to find an Iginla pass right in front of the goal to get a two-goal advantage that the Crusaders did not recover from.
The Crusaders managed their sole goal late in the period.
Goals from Ella Muralt ’28 and Norehad in the second and third periods, respectively, were just icing on the cake for Bruno.
While the offensive dominated, the defensive power play unit was phenomenal for Bruno as well. Contrary to Friday’s performance, Bruno found themselves facing six minutes shorthanded, including a 3-versus-5 situation late in the third period. But they never wavered and kept the Crusaders off the scoresheet.
“It was really exciting to see our penalty kill thrive this weekend as it's something we've been working really hard at,” defender Sikich wrote.
Watch as the Bears look to carry their newfound momentum into this weekend’s ECAC matchups, their last two games of the year. Those games will be streamed on ESPN+.
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.
