The Yale ladies’s ice hockey workforce hosted McGill in an exhibition all the way through circle of relatives weekend and scored once or more all the way through every duration.
Hamera Shabbir
Staff Reporter
Musco Sports Photos
Seven months after making it to the Frozen Four, the Yale ladies’s ice hockey workforce is again at it with a 5–0 shutout in opposition to McGill.
On Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs hosted the Martlets in a preseason exhibition fit at Ingalls Rink. By the tip of the primary duration, captain Claire Dalton ’23 had scored two objectives for the Bulldogs within the first duration and Kate Shaughnessy ’25 clinched some other to position the Bulldogs up 3–0. Rookie Naomi Boucher ’26 scored her first collegiate purpose in the second one duration whilst Elle Hartje ’24 earned her first purpose of the 12 months within the 3rd.
“Going into the exhibition, our goal was to try out different lines and see who has good chemistry together on the ice,” mentioned Hartje. “We were also able to dress everyone, which is always fun. Even though we were experimenting, our ultimate goal was to build confidence and win.”
Both the Canadian and American nationwide anthems performed prior to faceoff and a Canadian flag was once draped around the Sachem Street phase of the rink’s stands. Dalton famous that for Canadian participants of the Blue and White, this weekend felt “particularly special” as some participants of the workforce celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with their households. The exhibition happened all the way through the height of Family Weekend and was once the primary taste of festival for rookie skaters.
The Bulldogs started the sport with competitive drives deep into Martlet territory and saved the puck at the different aspect of the rink for almost all of the primary duration. Halfway during the first stretch, Dalton fired a shot into the online and earned the Bulldogs’ first purpose. Less than 3 mins later, Ciara Coleman ’26 assisted Shaughnessy in clinching a 2nd purpose.
“It’s always ideal to start the season with a win,” mentioned Shaughnessy. “Being able to contribute with a goal was just a bonus. I think the main takeaway from the game was that capitalizing on offensive opportunities combined with playing stingy defense will set us up for success against future opponents.”
With not up to 5 mins left within the first duration, Emma Seitz ’23 arrange Dalton for her 2nd purpose and secured a three-point result in end off the primary body. In the primary 20 mins, the Martlets fired two photographs whilst the Bulldogs hit 17.
Kicking off the second one duration, McGill tried to rebound and made it deeper into Blue-and-White territory. However, deft protection from the Bulldogs blocked every of the seven Martlet makes an attempt on this duration. Vita Poniatovskaia ’25 together with goalie Pia Dukaric ’25 fended off the competitive push as Dukaric maintained a ten-for-ten save statistic. With two mins left within the duration, Poniatovskaia assisted rookie Boucher in her first collegiate purpose.
“[It was] great to have the opportunity to play before official games start,” Charlotte Welch ’23 mentioned. “We were mainly looking to get more comfortable playing with each other and get adjusted to the pace of games after some time off.”
The Bulldogs ruled the 3rd duration with an offensive push within the first 5 mins together with a stretch the place the McGill goalie misplaced her stick for approximately 20 seconds. A minor penalty within the 13th minute by way of Martlet Makenzie McCallum ended in the primary energy play within the recreation. Less than a minute later, Dalton and Welch assisted Hartje in bagging the Bulldogs’ 5th and ultimate purpose.
The Blue and White ended the overall duration with 18 photographs to McGill’s one. In overall, the Bulldogs outshot the Martlets by way of 37.
“This team makes my job as captain so easy,” mentioned Dalton. “They are disciplined, hard-working and respectful. This game was no different. Everyone did their best despite going with a large lineup which limited everyone’s playing time.”
Coming into the sport, Dalton mentioned that the workforce concerned with “winning as many games as possible,” giving first-year avid gamers the danger to play and construction chemistry. Hartje and Dalton each famous that constant make stronger from their households made it in order that this weekend felt like every other.
Ahead of the approaching season and after completing the most productive season in Yale ladies’s hockey historical past, the Bulldogs purpose to construct upon their momentum.
“We want to have a high-pace, aggressive style of play,” mentioned Hartje. “A main focus of our team is to forecheck hard, create turnovers and get shots on net. We definitely will look to be an assertive team this year.”
The Bulldogs will host each Brown and Princeton in preseason scrimmages on Saturday, Oct. 15.
