On the heels of a decisive 8-0 victory over Sacred Heart University, the women’s hockey team (7-14-3, 2-9-1 ECAC-N) will look to build on its success when the Bulldogs take on Quinnipiac (3-20-2, 0-16-0 ECAC-E) Saturday at the Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford at 5 p.m.

Tara O’Donnell ’04 and Deanna McDevitt ’03 each scored twice against the Pioneers, who fell to 15-8-0 on the season. Captain Katie Hirte ’02 had a 15-save shutout in the victory.

“We moved the puck very well against them,” head coach John Marchetti said. “They were short-handed, not in numbers, but four of their key players were out of the lineup.”

Nevertheless, the Elis overpowered Sacred Heart from the start. Erin Duggan ’05 began the scoring spree at 7:58 of the first period, and Sara Wood ’02, Keely Macmillan ’05 and Kristin Kattleman ’04 added tallies of their own throughout the game.

This type of offensive production is a far cry from what happened last time the Bulldogs faced off against the Quinnipiac Raiders, losing a 1-0 decision.

Braves goalie Mel Courtemache stifled the Bulldogs then, stopping 29 shots to seal the victory for the Braves.

“The players felt that they outplayed Quinnipiac last time, but the goaltender was very, very good,” Marchetti said.

In their first year of Division I play, the Braves have not had great success, failing to win any games in their league, the ECAC-East.

Quinnipiac does have a scoring threat, however, in Liz Jankowski, who has scored seven goals this season.

The Bulldogs hope to see continued offensive production from O’Donnell and Macmillan, both of whom have broken out to score several goals of late.

In addition, Yale will continue to rely on its core unit that includes McDevitt and Wood and defenders Amy LeClair ’03 and Kaitlin Porcaro ’03.

“Our first objective is to put some goals on the board for us and let all of our systems worry about themselves,” Marchetti said. “We need to find energy since we have such a short bench.”