In the team’s “best game of the season” — according to Head Coach Melanie Ruzzi — the women’s hockey team (9-12-2, 5-9-2 ECAC) hosted No. 8 Quinnipiac (21-7-1, 10-7-0 ECAC) at Meehan Auditorium Saturday afternoon. Though the Bobcats defeated Brown 1-0 earlier this season, the Bears were able to flip the story on Saturday.
The Bears began Saturday’s contest showcasing their offensive prowess, creating offensive opportunities at will and leading fast break on fast break. Within the game’s first minute, the Bears already launched three shots at the Quinnipiac defense. Led by Meadow Carman ’24.5, Ava DeCoste ’27 and Maya Mangiafico ’24, the Bears maintained their offensive presence throughout the entire period.
The climax of the first period came as Brown goaltender Kaley Doyle ’24 saved two Quinnipiac shots back-to-back at the 17:42 and 17:45 marks. Doyle masterfully shielded the goal, deflecting the puck that was fired by two Bobcat forwards.
Quinnipiac goalie Logan Angers also impressively withstood a powerful first-period Brown performance, saving 12 shots. At the end of the first period, Brown had 24 shots to Quinnipiac’s 10 — the game appearing a defensive battle.
The second period escalated quickly, and — just 59 seconds into the period — Brown’s Cameron Sikich ’25 fired a shot at Quinnipiac that ricocheted off the crossbar, ringing loudly into the depths of Meehan. Later on, the Bears roamed close to another goal when India McDadi ’26 had a one-on-one fast break. McDadi rapidly moved the puck side-to-side and launched it at Bobcat goalie, though Quinnipiac came up with yet another defensive stop.
The Bears’ defense finally broke down at the 16:11 mark when Quinnipiac’s Zoe Uens got the puck after a successful face off and scored — leaving Brown down 1-0 at the end of the second period.
But just as things seemed to be moving in the wrong direction for Bruno, Gali Levy ’26 shifted the momentum with a stylish goal assisted by Sam Broz ’27, bringing the Bears to an even 1-1 at the third period’s 1:59 mark.
Not long after, Margot Norehad ’27 gave Bruno the lead with a spectacular goal — one that would later be featured as the #1 play on SportsCenter’s “Top 10 Plays” of the day. Skating behind the Quinnipiac goal, Norehad maneuvered the puck into the upper-left corner of the goal to give the Bears the lead with ten minutes left.
As the Bears’ defense held relentlessly on the 2-1 lead, Quinnipiac brought out their goalie for additional offense. To Quinnipiac’s dismay, the Bears were able to capitalize on the empty net, as Broz and Jade Iginla ’26 each scored a goal in the period’s final two minutes, securing a 4-1 Bruno victory.
"It's a signature win for our program as we make our strides here. Everyone was exceptional. Yesterday was about Doyle, today was about possessing the puck on offense on all three lines and our defense,” said Ruzzi in a statement to Brown Athletics. “It was a full team effort of great play."
The Bears' next challenge will come on Friday at 6 p.m. in Schenectady, N.Y, where Brown will face off against Union College (8-17-2).
Cooper Herman is a senior staff writer covering sports and arts & culture. He is a freshman from Alexandria, Virginia studying Economics and International and Public Affairs.
