The women's hockey team won only two of 29 games last season, but what a difference a year makes.
After getting a new coach and a fresh set of recruits in the offseason, the Bears (3-3-5, 1-2-3 ECAC) have already won and tied more games this season than they did all of last year. Their latest victory, a 2-1 win over cross-town rival Providence College (6-8-3), came in the Mayor's Cup Friday.
The Bears got out to an early lead against the Friars with goals from first-year forwards Janice Yang '15 and Brittany Moorehead '15. Goaltender Aubree Moore '14 shut down the net late in the game to seal the win for the Bears, stretching Bruno's unbeaten streak to six games. A 3-1 loss to No. 4 Boston College (10-4-1) Sunday was the squad's first defeat this month.
First-year Head Coach Amy Bourbeau said her team defended well against Providence. "I was happy with how we killed (the Friars') power plays. We battled for 60 hard minutes. From the drop of the puck on, we never gave up, we never let down for a second."
Bruno's penalty kill weathered two infractions in the first 10 minutes, but the Bears still managed to get on the scoreboard first 13 minutes after the puck dropped. Co-captain Katelyn Landry '12 sent a lofted pass in front of the net toward Yang, who swiped the puck out of the air and into the goal to give her team a 1-0 advantage.
The Bears smelled blood and scored again just two minutes later. On the power play, Moorehead finished off a nice build-up to stretch Bruno's lead to 2-0 with five minutes remaining in the period.
"All of the freshmen are excellent and have all contributed from the start," Bourbeau said. "They work hard, they're quick, and they're feisty around the net."
The Friars poured on the pressure in the second period, creating scoring chances during two power plays in the first 13 minutes of the frame. But big saves from Moore and strong play from the penalty kill unit kept the frustrated Friars off the board.
"We definitely made adjustments," Bourbeau said. "We tried to keep our defensive unit back a little bit and tried to keep the puck out of the middle of the ice and to keep them to the outside. We tried to let them have outside shots."
The Friars kept pushing for goals deep in the third period and finally notched one 15 minutes in, bringing the score to 2-1. But the Friars could not beat Bruno's defense again for the equalizer — even after pulling their goalie — and Bruno managed to hang on for the win.
Despite following up the win with a tight loss to the Eagles, Bourbeau remained positive.
"Mentally, our kids have competed in every game, against every opponent," Bourbeau said. "I think they're beginning to feel confident about their abilities and confident that they can play with anyone."
