JANESVILLE, Wis. - Beloit College opened its 2026-27 women's ice hockey season with a 2-0 shutout of Dubuque this afternoon, getting a 31-save performance in net from Alex Venning (Courtice, Ontario, Canada) and goals from Hailey Chady (Janesville, WI) and Madi Hoffman (Madison, Wis.). A crowd of 175 watched the Buccaneers (1-0-0, 0-0-0 WIAC) hand the Spartans (0-2-0) their second loss of the young season.
Making her first start of the year, Venning was the story of the afternoon. Dubuque fired 31 shots on target and attempted 42 in all, and Venning turned away every one across the full 60 minutes. She stopped 8 shots in the first period, 10 in the second and a busy 13 in the third, earning the shutout and the win in her season debut.
The Buccaneers weathered a heavy Dubuque push late. The Spartans outshot Beloit 13-6 in the third period and pulled their goalie in the final minutes, but Venning held firm, including stops on Natalie Post, Malia Tetreault and Natalie Meeder in the closing moments.
After a scoreless first period, the Buccaneers broke through six-plus minutes after killing off a Dubuque power play. Addison Gruhlke (Eau Claire, Wis.) put a shot on goal at 14:07, and the Buccaneers kept the pressure on. The next sequence ended with Chady scoring on a play assisted by Gruhlke and Brynn Erickson (Detroit Lakes, MN), making it 1-0. Beloit had five skaters on the ice for the goal, along with Venning, Kennedy Gruhlke (Eau Claire, Wis.), Kylie Schryer (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) and Hannah Chady (Janesville, Wis.).
With Dubuque trailing by one and its net empty, Hoffman sealed the game with an empty-netter at 19:12, making it 2-0. Dubuque had pulled its goalie at 17:00 and used a timeout earlier in the period.
Venning was the clear star in net, stopping all 31 shots she faced over 60 minutes to earn the shutout and the win in her first start of the season (1-0-0). Chady scored the game-winning goal at 14:08 of the second period, and she also won three faceoffs, blocked a shot and put two on net. Hoffman capped the scoring with the empty-net goal at 19:12 of the third. She finished with two shots and a +1 rating.
Gruhlke assisted on the opening goal and put three shots on net, tying Natasha Ludwig (Royalton) and Britni Detsch (Somerset, Wis.) for the team high. Erickson picked up the other assist on Chady's goal and also finished +1. Gruhlke anchored the defensive effort with two blocked shots and a +2 rating, tied with Chady for the team best. Ludwig also blocked three shots and went 8-6 on faceoffs. Schryer won 11 of her 19 draws (57.9%) and added two shots.
Beloit's penalty kill was perfect on the day. Dubuque went 0-for-3 on the power play with four shots, and the Buccaneers' discipline kept the Spartans from capitalizing on their chances. Beloit also had four power-play opportunities but managed just one shot with the man advantage, so the offense came at even strength and into the empty net.
The Buccaneers controlled the dot, winning 28 of 51 draws (54.9%) to Dubuque's 45.1%.
The Buccaneers are back at the Woodman's Center on November 6th for a 7:00 pm clash against the MSOE Raiders.
