WOMEN’S HOCKEY: Bulldogs to face off against Harvard, Dartmouth
After a successful ECAC weekend on the road, Yale women’s ice hockey returns to Ingalls Rink to face Ivy rivals Harvard and Dartmouth.

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The Yale women’s hockey team (4–2–0, 2–2–0 ECAC) will look to continue its successful play this weekend against No. 10 Harvard (5–2–0, 3–2–0) and Dartmouth (3–3–0, 2–3–0).
The Bulldogs are coming off of a hot streak last weekend after shutting down both Cornell and No. 5 Colgate — the highest scoring team in the country — in a conference travel weekend.
Still, in their first weekend of ECAC contests, the Bulldogs slipped against Princeton and Quinnipiac University, leading some to question the competitiveness of the Blue and White this season.
“We need to be better at preventing their chances and work on our execution,” said goalie Pia Dukaric ’25 after Yale’s earlier set of losses. “There are still things we need to improve.”
The Elis did just that.
Gianna Meloni ’22 was a brick wall in net, stopping all of the 48 shots she faced last weekend. For her efforts, Meloni was named ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Week. With the two shutouts this past weekend, she now has a total of eight career shutouts, placing her fifth in program history.
Claire Dalton ’23 also received ECAC honors as Player of the Week after she scored two goals and six points in a single weekend. She currently leads the country with two points per game and has a team high of 12 points in six games for Yale.
“It’s easier to play when you’re scoring and your teammates are responding to communication in the D-zone,” said Meloni after her star performance in the game against Colgate. “Everyone stepped up and played a complete 60 minutes, so I’m excited to see where we can go from here.”
The Bulldogs will have to step up to another level this coming weekend, as defenders Tabea Botthof ’23 and MeiLan Haberl ’24 and forward Anja Trummer ’25 will be absent competing in a 2022 Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Final Qualification tournament this Thursday in Germany.
Botthof will compete for Germany against Haberl and Trummer, who will both be representing Austria.
“This is a very exciting time for Tabea, MeiLan and Anja as they go head-to-head against each other with such a monumental prize awaiting the winner,” Head Coach Mark Bolding told Yale Athletics. “We wish all three players and their countries the best and know they will be representing the Bulldogs so well as they compete.”
While the three will be representing Yale abroad, the Elis will face fierce competition this weekend at home. Without Botthof, who has two assists this season, and Trummer, who has one goal this season, there may be a weakened link in the Yale defense this weekend.
But with Meloni between the pipes, the Bulldogs will hope to further eliminate their opponents’ opportunities and capitalize on their scoring chances.
Harvard comes to New Haven after defeating No. 7 Boston College 5–2 on Tuesday. Harvard’s Keely Moy leads the Crimson with five goals and nine points this season.
The Bulldogs have a strong chance to lengthen their six-game winning streak against Dartmouth, who beat Cornell this season 4–3, compared to the Elis’ own 7–0 win over Big Red last weekend. Although the Big Green hasn’t defeated the Bulldogs since 2017, Dartmouth will hope to continue its two-game winning streak after beating St. Lawrence and the University of Vermont last weekend. Yale will look to score big against Dartmouth goalie Maggie Emerson, who has a 3.63 goals against average.
Yale students can pick up tickets for The Game after the second period of both ice hockey games at Ingalls Rink this weekend. The Bulldogs face off against Harvard on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and against Dartmouth on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Both games will also be streamed live on ESPN+.