Last weekend, the Brown women’s ice hockey team (11-9-1, 6-7-1 ECAC) returned to the win column in nail-biting fashion.
For the first time in nearly 10 years, the Bears defeated No. 7 St. Lawrence University (15-6-5, 9-2-3 ECAC) in a 4-3 overtime win on Friday. Just one day later, they made history again — this time beating No. 9 Clarkson University (18-7-1, 9-5-0 ECAC).
After a triumphant weekend, “the team is feeling many emotions, including excitement, pride and confidence,” Olivia Fantino ’28 wrote in a message to The Herald. “These two big wins have boosted our morale, reinforcing our beliefs in each other and our individual strengths and abilities that we bring to the team.”
Just minutes into the match against St. Lawrence, it became clear that the weekend’s wins would not come easily. Even though the Bears fired four more shots than the Saints did in the first seven minutes, the momentum quickly shifted. For the rest of the period, Bruno could only muster two more attempts at goal.
At 18:18, St. Lawrence drew first blood. A pass from the left side of the neutral zone evaded the Bruno defensewomen, and the Saints’ leading scorer Abby Hustler latched onto it — converting the pass into a one-on-one opportunity against goalie Rory Edwards ’27.
The Saints then struck again. Saints’ defender Hillary Sterling raced along the right side of the ice from one goal line to the other, then curled around the corner and end boards to pass to Saint Lawrence forward Kennedy Wilson. Wileon deposited the puck in front of Brown’s goal for a point-blank shot that upped the score to 2-0.
To stave off the growing deficit, Brown intensified their offensive pressure. The team launched seven shots and kept St. Lawrence penned into their own zone. This persistent attack led to a two-minute power play for the Bears. At 11:04, they found optimal spacing, surrounding the opponent goal in the shape of an arc.
All five players got touches and swung the puck from the right circle to the left. Ava DeCoste ’27 passed to Sam Broz ’27 — a Herald copy editor — who set up Monique Lyons ’28 for a shot into the bottom left corner. Brown now trailed St. Lawrence 2-1.
In response, the Saints capitalized on their first power play just. Following a cross-checking penalty committed by Jade Iginla ’26, three opponent players triangulated the defense while another player crowded the Bruno goal. The defense forgot to mark the remaining opponent forward, Sarah Marchand, who snuck behind the goal line to receive the puck in the right circle. She directed the incoming pass with speed into the bottom right corner to put St. Lawrence up 3-1 — a scoreline that would not change through the second period.
But the Bears were still undeterred, fighting for a second goal in the third period. Getting the puck by the left corner board, Broz skillfully dribbled past a Saints defender before shovelling it in front of goal, straight to Lyons who lunged into a shot that sailed into the top right corner.
A second goal “really gave us momentum,” Lyons wrote in a message to The Herald. “Being able to quickly one-time the puck over the goalie’s shoulder (gave) the team hope (to) battle our way back to win.”
Brown maintained the score at 3-2 for another challenging 10 minutes. They survived a St. Lawrence power play, and Edwards continued safeguarding the Bruno goal with multiple saves. Yet, with less than three minutes left in regulation, Head Coach Melanie Ruzzi temporarily substituted Edwards for defender Cameron Sikich ’25. This risky tactic, known as “pulling the goalie,” leaves an empty net for a 6 vs. 5 offensive advantage.
“The team was playing well all game and we had some sustained possession in the offensive zone,” Ruzzi explained in a message to The Herald. “That gave us a lot of confidence to pull (Edwards) as soon as we had possession coming out of (a) defensive zone faceoff. These are all things that we prepare for, so the team was primed to execute.”
With 2:04 remaining in the period, Sikich corralled the puck just a few steps inside the Saints’ defensive zone. Despite being furthest away among all players on the ice from the St. Lawrence goal, she angled her stance and swung. The puck netted the same corner that Lyons shot into earlier in the period, tying the game at 3-3.
“I was just trying to get the puck on net hoping for a tip or rebound,” Sikich wrote in a message to The Herald. “Seeing it go straight in was just a nice bonus.”
Edwards was immediately substituted back into the game and Bruno held on until the end of regulation. After 4:43 of overtime, the Bears were rewarded with a power play. Broz won the faceoff and passed to Sikich, who briefly lost control of the puck and tripped a Saints player in her attempt to recover it. Amidst the chaos, DeCoste swooped in and delivered the puck to Lyons in front of the goal. She tipped it into the back of the net to secure both the win and her first collegiate hat-trick.
Brown’s 3-2 overtime victory against Clarkson on Saturday required just as much tenacity. In the first period alone, Edwards saved 14 shots, while both teams failed to convert their power plays. Nonetheless, Bruno found the back of the net at full strength 1:55 into the second period. Margot Norehad ’27 escaped looming pressure at the right corner board in Clarkson’s defensive zone after receiving the puck from McDadi. She dived along the end boards and passed it into the goal crease for Fantino to score.
But the Golden Knights retaliated less than five minutes later. As the Bears defense overloaded the left half-boards to jostle for possession, opponent defender Nicole Gosling slipped a cross-rink pass to Haley Winn, who fired a shot into the lower right corner.
Tied at 1-1, the two defenses suffocated one another for the rest of the second period. Clarkson killed three power plays, whereas Brown only allowed four shots on goal.
Three minutes into the third period, Bruno conceded a second goal during a penalty, but the team equalized less than a minute later — again through the link-up play of Fantino, McDadi and Norehad. From a nudge of the puck at the neutral zone by McDadi, Fantino threaded an outlet pass across the ice, and Norehad readily pushed it forward, shooting and scoring from the right circle.
“The chemistry between India, Margot and I has really grown throughout the season,” Fantino wrote. “Together, we’re able to complement each other’s strengths and create some great scoring opportunities.”
Neither team managed to come out on top by the end of regulation, but Brown only needed an extra 34 seconds in overtime to claim the win. In the defensive zone of the Golden Knights, the group of Iginla, McDadi and Sikich shifted as a unit from the left half-boards towards the right circle, which allowed Sikich to shovel an entry pass to McDadi. McDadi backhanded it into the goal to clinch the game 3-2.
“When you play against two nationally ranked opponents and on the road, there are bound to be times that you have to survive and overcome,” Ruzzi wrote. “I think (last) weekend’s games showed that we have another level of competition and that we are a resilient group.”
“I am so proud of the team and I am happy our hard work paid off (last) weekend,” Lyons wrote. “We played gritty Brown hockey.”
The women’s ice hockey team will resume ECAC play against No. 13 Princeton on Friday and No. 10 Quinnipiac on Saturday.
