DOVER — Bigger tests are ahead for the Oyster River/Portsmouth girls hockey team, but at least its entering the second half of the season on a roll.

Ally Marshall netted a natural hat trick in the second period and finished with a career-high four goals and an assist, and the Bobcats reeled off their fifth straight victory with Saturday's 10-2 decision over St. Thomas Aquinas/Winnacunnet in Division I action inside Dover Ice Arena. Tori Leitz added two goals and two assists for Oyster River/Portsmouth (7-3).

“We started off not so strong, but after (a 4-1 win over Berlin/Gorham), we took a turn and started picking it up and playing more as a team, which really helped because now we’re playing with a lead,” Marshall said. “I’m very confident in this team and I think we can go very far if we keep pushing.”

The Bobcats dropped their first two games of the season by one goal. But they’ve outscored their opponents 34-8 during their winning streak.

“As a whole, I think we’ve improved, and I think our better players have gotten better, which helps, because it makes the rest of the team work harder,” Bobcats’ coach Jamie Long said. “I think we’ve improved every week and every game. If we continue to do so, we should win some more games. They’ve been showing up in practice, and hopefully we’ve turned the corner.”

St. Thomas/Winnacunnnet dropped to 2-4 in its first season as a co-op program. Eliza Pimental and Brileigh Penniman scored the goals for the Saints, both in the third period.

“We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the season,” St. Thomas/Winnacunnet coach Al Oliveira said. “We’ve got a lot of freshmen and sophomores, so it’s going to take some time, and I think we’ll do better in the second half of the season.”

Leitz opened the game’s scoring 1:31 into the first period, and Julia Ravenelle shortly followed with a shot past Saints’ goalie Shannon Abbey (22 saves). Leitz added her second goal, and Marshall followed with a goal 19 seconds later off assists by Leitz and Brie Rybinski to give the Bobcats a 4-0 lead with 9:58 left in the first period.

Ravenelle’s second goal gave Oyster River/Portsmouth a 5-0 lead entering the second period, and Marshall took it from there. She scored on an assist from Anna Mazza, and followed that with a goal off passes from Leitz and Patty Anderson. Marshall completed her hat trick off Tory Liebel’s pass to give the Bobcats an 8-0 lead with 4:06 left in the second.

“I think two is the most I’ve ever scored,” Marshall said. “It was a lot of passes and I tried to just stay wide if pucks got bounced out for rebounds.”

Lilli Poitras gave the Bobcats a 9-0 lead entering the third period, and Mazza scored Oyster River/Portsmouth’s final goal in the third. Bobcats’ goalie Sallie Squire made 10 saves.

Leitz feels that her team is starting to mesh at the right time of the season. The Bobcats host Souhegan on Monday, a month after the Sabers handed the Bobcats a 2-1 loss.

“Because we’ve had more players than ever, I think this team is starting to take this to another level,” Leitz said. “I think the difference between the first five games and now is that we didn’t know each other well; this is only the second year that Portsmouth has been with Oyster River. We’re more prepared going forward.”