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Last Friday, the Yale women’s hockey team faced Quinnipiac for the third time this season. Falling once at home and once on neutral ice at the Nutmeg Classic, the Bulldogs were looking for a different outcome in the last weekend of the regular season.

Third time was not the charm, however, as the Elis (22–6–1, 16–5–1 ECAC) lost 4–1 to the Bobcats (23–8–3, 15–7–0) in their first matchup of the weekend, bringing their six-game win streak to a halt. 

“Yale has one of the best power plays in the country, so we had to stay disciplined,” Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner told The Quinnipiac Chronicle. “We knew the more opportunities we gave them the odds of them scoring a goal increased.”

Forward Anna Bargman ’25 scored the only goal for Yale midway through the first period on a top shelf one-timer assisted by Elle Hartje ’24. Hartje now has a school record 30 assists in the 2021-22 campaign and continues to be a key player for the Bulldogs moving into the playoffs. 

Late penalty trouble made it difficult for Yale to come back from a two goal deficit. An empty netter with two minutes remaining on the clock brought the lead to three for Quinnipiac. 

Traveling down to New Jersey for Saturday’s tilt with Princeton, Yale sought to top a strong Princeton team and gain momentum going into the postseason. Last time the Bulldogs faced the Tigers, they fell short, losing 2–0.

“I showed what I’m capable of, I think I’m capable of more,” netminder Pia Dukaric ’25 said after the loss. “It was a good weekend, it was a good start, but there’s still things we need to work on, things we can improve.”

Saturday saw Yale return to its winning ways blanking Princeton (11–13–5, 9–10–3) three goals to none at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink. Charlotte Welch ’23, Claire Dalton ’23 and Hartje were the goal scorers in a formidable response to Friday’s loss. 

With a minute remaining in the first period, Welch collected a reverse feed from Dalton and fired one home in the top right corner. Welch returned the favor midway through the second, assisting Dalton’s 11th goal of the season. Dalton took the puck past a Princeton defenseman with ease before deaking the goalie and finishing on her backhand. 

Hartje’s goal came on an aggressive charge across the front of the net five minutes into the third period. She managed to squeeze the puck in on her backhand despite being tripped by a poke check. 

Princeton matched Yale’s 23 shots on the day but couldn’t slip one past Dukarik as she recorded her fifth shutout of the year, tying the school record for shutouts in a season.

With the win against the Tigers, the Bulldogs secured a second place seed in the ECAC and its first home-ice conference playoff series in 17 years. Yale only trails rival Harvard in both the Ivy and ECAC standings. 

“Very happy to see us bounce back with a great team win today on short rest,” head coach Mark Bolding told Yale Athletics after Saturday’s win. “We had some jump with our forecheck and turned over pucks often. Scoring first was key and the goals by Welch, Dalton and Hartje were high-level plays. Pia was excellent in the pipes today. Excited for [the] home playoff round next week.” 

Yale will face off against St. Lawrence (14–13–7, 10–8–4) in the first round of the ECAC tournament playoffs at 6 p.m. Friday night.

LOGAN SULLIVAN