Courtesy of David Schamis

The No. 2 Bulldogs (21–1–1, 14–1–1 ECAC) continued their hot streak this past weekend with two ECAC wins over St. Lawrence University (12–16–2, 6–8–2) and No. 9 Clarkson University (21–7–2, 10–5–1).

The Bulldogs posted dominant showings in both games, starting the weekend with a 6–1 shelling of St. Lawrence before clashing with nationally ranked No. 9 Clarkson and emerging with a three goal shutout victory.

Since head coach Mark Bolding joined the program ahead of the 2019-20 season, the Yale women’s hockey team has been setting new Yale records. Last season, the team notched 26 season wins, breaking the 2019-20 record of 17 wins. This year, the team has reached new heights with a current win percentage of .935.

“The group that I started with all believe that they’re good players. It’s always easy when you get the support from your players instantaneously. And for me, that’s it,” Bolding said. “You know, you can go to a new program and try to craft it your way, but if you don’t have the buy-in of the players, it doesn’t work. So I give them a ton of credit. We just want them to be competitive and work hard.” 

The weekend started on Friday with the Elis flexing their offensive muscle, matching their highest offensive output of the season with six goals in the game. The game was the third time this season that the Bulldogs have potted six. 

Yale currently boasts the seventh best offense in the nation and the best offense in the Ivy League, averaging 3.57 goals per game.

Despite the Bulldogs coming out slow in the first period, Naomi Boucher ’26 tipped in Emma DeCorby’s ’25 shot to score off of one of Yale’s only two shots on goal in the first period. 

“We started off pretty slow in the first period, but in the second we wanted to come out strong and get a lot of shots on net,” Carina DiAntonio ’26 said. “We really focused on that, getting pucks deep and just supporting each other.” 

The Elis’ managed to turn their play around in the second period, earning 20 shots on goal. Elle Hartje ’24 dangled past the Saints’ goalie to make it 2–0 for Yale less than six minutes into the second screen. Less than a minute later, Charlotte Welch ’23 passed to linemate Claire Dalton ’23, who buried the puck in the back of the net to make the game 3–0. 

DiAntonio increased the Bulldog’s lead to 4–0 headed into the third period. Welch and Dalton both earned assists on the play. 

Within the first four minutes of the third period, Anna Bargman ’25 shot the puck past the Saints’ netminder while falling to her knees. The puck bounced off of the crossbar and into the net.

DiAntonio scored her second goal of the game on a breakaway after Welch sent her an outlet pass in the defensive zone. Welch recorded three assists in Friday’s matchup.

With Yale on the penalty-kill, St. Lawrence got one on the board to make the final score 6–1. Headed into this weekend, the Bulldogs’ penalty kill percentage of .934 was ranked second in the nation.

“We definitely want to come out and take the momentum from this game and move forward for tomorrow,” DiAntonio shared with the News after the win against SLU. “We want to win everything with the National Championship, everything in between. So, we’re going to come out strong and keep going.”

The win on Friday set up a clash of top-10 teams as the No. 9 Clarkson Knights came to The Whale for a Saturday afternoon ECAC showdown. The game was also the annual Mandi Schwartz Whiteout Game in honor of Mandi Schwartz ’10, who passed away after battling cancer in 2011. 917 people were in attendance.

The story of the game was Bulldogs goalie Pia Dukaric ’25, who posted a career day. Dukaric saved all 40 shots she faced, a career high. The stellar performance also marked her seventh shutout of the season, extending her program record for shutouts in a season. 

While Dukaric stymied the Clarkson offense, the Elis’ first line — consisting of DiAntonio, Welch, and Dalton — continued their dominance, proving their ability to break through as a unit. 

The move to put the three together was one in a series of moves this season for Bolding and his staff that have the Bulldogs clicking. The combination of Welch and Dalton has proven lethal for the Elis for years, while the addition of rookie DiAntonio has made the team one of the most formidable in the nation. 

“We’ve been playing together for like four years now,” Welch said about her and Dalton’s chemistry. “I think sometimes we’re on, sometimes we’re off but either way we usually know where each other are on the ice.”

With her assist on Emma Seitz’s ’23 second period goal, Welch pushed her point streak to nine games. Dalton and Welch are also both second and third on the team in points, trailing Hartje who leads the team with 30 points. 

Led by Dukaric, the Yale defense ranks third in the nation in goals allowed per game at 1.24. After this weekend, the Bulldogs are first in the ECAC.