This past Saturday, the women’s ice hockey team (12-10-2, 8-6-2 Eastern College Athletic Conference) welcomed the Rochester Institute of Technology (14-13-0, 9-9-0 Atlantic Hockey America) to Meehan Auditorium. But instead of defending their ice, the Bears skidded to a calamitous 4-0 defeat.
Stymied offensively for the entirety of the contest, none of the Bears’ 23 shots found paydirt, and Brown fell to No. 6 in the ECAC standings.
RIT “played fast,” Head Coach Melanie Ruzzi told The Herald in a post-game interview. “It’s hard to say this, but I think they outcompeted us.”
Bruno’s performance against RIT yielded “a lot of disappointment and frustration,” goaltender Rory Edwards ’27 wrote in an email to The Herald. The shutout followed last weekend’s 6-2 thrashing of Colgate, in which Brown recorded their season-high in goals scored.
The opening period of Saturday’s Pink Out matchup showed no hint of the blowout to come: the two sides seemed locked in a stalemate, and the first ten minutes passed without any promising chances or traded blows.
As the first period wound to a close, the contest’s pace escalated as RIT goaltender Sophia Bellina squared away a Jade Iginla ’26 breakaway shot. Less than a minute later, a breakaway at the other end led to a tangle of RIT players colliding with Edwards, yielding no result.
With less than five minutes left in the period, an RIT power play led to a barrage of dangerous shots in close proximity to the Brown goal. But Edwards deflected each attempt, and Bruno emerged from the penalty period unscathed.
“Being aware of where everyone is is key,” Edwards wrote. “The other major thing is communicating and figuring out how to keep the puck out, whatever it takes. Sometimes it’s a big block, a good stick, a big save or a simple whistle.”
The second period was not as balanced. Though forward Monique Lyons ’28 sliced through RIT defenders and sent a screamer that deflected off of the left post, Bellina secured the crease before any bearing-down Bears could finish the attempt.
The Tigers broke the scoring seal with just under 13 minutes left in the period. A pass from the left wall found RIT forward Linda Rulle crashing toward the Brown crease. Edwards managed to hit the daring attempt right back towards Rulle, who quickly flicked the loose rebound up past the Brown goalkeeper.
Now playing catch up, the Bears’ attack demonstrated some urgency, but the team found their foil in Bellina. The RIT goaltender fended off three aggressive shots from Lyons, Margot Norehad ’27 and Isabella Gratzl ’29.
“We just didn’t create opportunities that gave us second chances,” Ruzzi said.
The Tigers “were physical — they’re big, they clogged up lanes, they blocked shots,” she added. “We let their size get to us.”
With just over a minute left in the second period, the Tigers struck again. Collecting a feed and skating up the right side, RIT forward Brac Kelley delivered a precise wrist shot that comfortably nestled into the right side of the goal, doubling the away team’s advantage.
At the top of the final period, the Bears hoped to keep the puck away from their own net. But the RIT team once again demonstrated its dominance. Within the first minute, Tiger forwards fired two thunderous slap shots that Edwards barely managed to fight off.
On the other side of the center line, Bellina and the Tigers’ defense continued to shut out the Bears. RIT blocked multiple looks by Lyons, India McDadi ’26 and Norehad.
As the clock hit five minutes remaining, Brown’s hopes undoubtedly began to dwindle, but a two-score climb still seemed possible. But RIT’s next blow removed all doubt as to the match’s outcome.
A pass bouncing off Brown’s end board made its way to Tiger forward Cassie Barnes, who dished the puck to the top of the crease. There, RIT forward Ireland Stein slipped it inside the right bar beyond an outstretched Edwards.
Ruzzi pulled Edwards from the ice with four minutes remaining in the game to maximize Brown’s offensive potential. But the decision instead resulted in a cruelly fitting finish to the afternoon. From the Tiger’s own defensive zone, RIT forward Kailey Favro cleared the puck, which travelled almost the entire length of the rink before burrowing into the Bears’ empty net and bringing the final tally to 4-0.
“I’m hopeful, actually, that (the team is) kind of angry, and they realize that they’ve got to just be better,” Ruzzi said.
The Bears will look to shake off Saturday’s performance when they resume ECAC play against Union (9-15-3, 2-13-1 ECAC) and Rensselaer (6-22-0, 3-13-0 ECAC) this Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“Our final six games of the season are basically an extension to the playoffs,” Ruzzi said. “We’re going to have to play a much, much different game than we played today.”
