The women’s ice hockey team started the season on a high note, winning two non-conference home games Friday night and Saturday afternoon against the Sacred Heart Pioneers by tallies of 6-3 and 7-0, respectively.
Bruno (2-0) dominated offensively Saturday in particular, notching a jaw-dropping 50 shots on goal. The team outshot Sacred Heart by 33 shots and bested Friday night’s total of 37. The women’s ice hockey team has not recorded this many shots on goal in a single game since Dec. 7, 2011, when it sent 54 shots on net in an away matchup, also against Sacred Heart.
“It was a great start for us,” said Head Coach Robert Kenneally ’90. “We moved our feet really well. We’re working on a daily basis in practice on picking up our speed and getting shots on net.”
“I thought we were just really positive, even on the bench,” said Sam Donovan ’18. “Everyone got to play,” she added.
Donovan, Katie Lynch ’19, Alley Rempe ’20, Bridget Carey ’19 and Abby Niewchas ’19 all added to Brown’s tally Friday. Lynch scored twice in the contest, earning the game’s first star.
Saturday, Bruno’s offense came out even stronger. Donovan scored her second career hat trick in the matchup, with Carey netting two shots. Rempe opened up the proceedings with a shorthanded goal in the first period, and Samantha Swanstrom ’18 gave the Bears their sixth goal five minutes into the third. Lynch, Maddie Woo ’17 and Cara Najjar ’19 each recorded two assists.
“We got a lot of shots on net, which is different for us,” said Donovan, who earned Saturday’s first star. “It was good to see a lot of offensive play.”
The Bears picked up six penalties Friday and seven Saturday, but that did not prevent them from maintaining effective offensive play.
“The NCAA has really been adamant about calling things very closely … so the challenge was to keep the lines going, having a lot of flow on the bench in terms of consistency in shifts,” Kenneally said. “With that many penalties … sometimes it can take away the flow, but I think the ladies handled it really well.”
All three Bruno goaltenders played in the series. Monica Elvin ’17 and Calla Isaac ’20 shared the net Friday night, with Elvin making 18 saves in nearly 53 minutes of play. Saturday saw Julianne Landry ’18 make nine saves in the first two periods and Isaac stop eight shots in the third in the shutout matchup.
“I thought it was a really good start to our season,” Donovan said. “Our goalies — all three of them — played out of their mind this weekend.”
With two home games coming up this weekend against preseason favorites Princeton and Quinnipiac, Kenneally stressed the importance of the team’s dynamic.
“The pace of play will be amped up even further with those two teams,” he said. “So we’ll take it a period at a time on Friday night with Princeton, and just work hard, and hopefully outwork them.”
Donovan echoed her coach’s sentiments. “They’re going to definitely be some tough opponents, but I think the way we’ve been playing, if we keep playing like that, we’ll give them a good run for their money.”
Bruno will host Princeton Friday at 6 p.m. and Quinnipiac Saturday at 3 p.m. in Meehan Auditorium.
