Yale Athletics

Over the weekend, the Yale women’s ice hockey team (13–10–2, 8–9–1 ECAC) brought two defeats to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (12–14–3, 5–10–2 ECAC) and Union College (12–17–1, 8–10–0) at Ingalls Rink.

Currently, the Bulldogs stand seventh in the ECAC, just behind No. 14 Princeton (16–8–1, 10–7–1 ECAC). As of Jan. 28, Yale has received three votes in the polling for USA Today’s Division 1 women’s hockey rankings, which puts them in close contention to join the top 15 national rankings.

Friday night lights at the Whale

In the Bulldogs’ matchup against RPI on Friday, three Elis scored, one during each period. In the first period, at 10:47, Cami Bell ’28 dumped a pass to teammate Emma DeCorby ’25, who shot the puck toward the busy goal. 

Mariya Rauf ’27 then deflected the shot into the net, soaring past the RPI goalie. This was Rauf’s sixth goal of the season, tied for fourth on the team.

The second period was a stellar defensive display. At 19:33, an interference penalty by RPI gave Yale an extra player on the ice. Jordan Ray ’26, who won the faceoff against the Engineers, aided teammate Carina DiAntonio ’26, who shot the puck off an RPI defender and scored the second goal of the game.

Going into the third period, Yale led 2–0. At 11:15, yet another assist by Bell led to a Bulldog goal. Stephanie Stainton ’27 sent Bell’s pass into the net with a gliding backhand, putting the Elis up 3-0. 

With the game’s conclusion, Pia Dukaric ’25 earned her second shutout of the season and her 21st overall. 

Day 2: The Elis continue their winning streak against Union

The next day, the Bulldogs turned around to face the Union College Garnet. In their prior 10 matchups, the Bulldogs had not lost a game to Union. They were eager to continue the streak.

Early on in the first period, Yale raced ahead. Just three minutes in, DiAntonio stole a pass from the Garnet offense, sending the puck down the ice to her teammate, Anna Bargman ’25, who scored with a backhand shot. Seven minutes later, the Bulldogs would score again on a soaring shot by Naomi Boucher ’26.

Down 0-2 in the second period, Union College soon cut into the deficit with a goal by forward Karianne Engelbert. Yale couldn’t answer this until the start of the third period at 1:53, when Stainton beat the Garnet goalie to the net and added insurance to the scoreboard for the Bulldogs. This was Stainton’s second goal in two games. A late cry was heard from Union, who tacked on another goal halfway through the third period. Nevertheless, it was not enough to secure a victory.

The Bulldogs skated off the rink victorious, 3-2.

This marked Head Coach Mark Bolding’s 100th career win. He is the first coach in program history to do so.

Up next, Yale hosts Dartmouth (4–17–3, 2–13–3 ECAC) on Friday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m.