
This season six athletes from France will compete in NCAA Division 1 women's hockey. Two of those new comers, Jade Barbirati and Manon le Scodan, put an exclamation point on their opening weekend as NCAA rookies.
Barbirati was a key contributor for Quinnipiac in a pair of one goal wins over the University of Maine. On Friday night, Barbirati assisted on the Bryn Prier's opening goal of the game, and added a second assist on Alex Law's game winner in Quinnipiac's 3-2 decision.
Getting in on the scoring herself Saturday, Barbirati scored the Bobcats' first marker of the game with just over four minutes remaining in the first, and she scored the game winner in overtime to give Quinnipiac the 4-3 win, and series sweep.
Manon le Scodan wasted no time hitting the scoresheet herself. Playing for Clarkson University, le Scodan assisted on a second period goal by Andrea Trnkova to record her first career NCAA point on Friday. She then scored the game winning goal early in the third to lift the Golden Knights to a 6-3 win.
Both players are members of France's senior national team and will become Olympians in February. While they're both from France, the duo spent the past three seasons playing in Quebec with John Abbott College where they were two of the most dominant players in Canadian junior hockey.