This past weekend was a great return to Lynah for Cornell Women's Hockey. After such a long time away and a mid-week game against Syracuse, Cornell returned to ECAC play hosting the North Country. Both of these were must-win games and Cornell did not disappoint. Let's take a closer look at Friday's game against St. Lawrence and Saturday's game against Clarkson.
St. Lawrence
The first period of the ECAC game was a tight one, with two penalties apiece for the Saints and the Big Red. No one, however was able to capitalize on their power play, despite a combined 16 shots on net. The second period told quite a different tale. Just over halfway into the period, Brianne Jenner scored a power-play goal from birthday girl Erin Barley-Maloney and Lauren Slebodnick. And thus opened the flood gates. Two even-strength goals were scored in the second, first by Jessica Campbell from Vicky Pittens and Erin Barley-Maloney. The final goal of the period was tallied by Emily Fulton from Jessica Campbell and Laura Fortino. In the third period, the Big Red equaled their goals in the second with Slebodnick showing some excellent goaltending. Jenner once again opened up the scoring for the period on an even-strength goal from Rougeau and Fulton. The next goal would be a shorthanded empty netter as Jessica Campbell scored while killing a penalty. She was assisted by Brianne Jenner and Alyssa Gagliardi. After that, SLU changed their goaltender, but the Big Red solved her as well. Victoria Pittens scored the final goal of the game from Brianne Jenner and Jill Saulnier to give the Lady Rouge a 6-0 victory for the regular season 3-game sweep of St. Lawrence.
Clarkson
This game was something of a vengeance win for the Big Red. Clarkson took down the Lady Rouge in Potsdam at the end of November in a close 2-1 game. But this time, the Golden Knights were coming into Lynah. Cornell did a fantastic job this game especially in staying out of the box. Though we average 11.4 penalty minutes per game (almost six minor penalties), they took only two penalties in the entire game. The only other time we took as few penalties was against Princeton. Last time the Lady Rouge played Clarkson, they took 18 minutes of penalties. Taking only four minutes is a huge accomplishment when a team is as potent on the power play as Clarkson. The first goal of the game was even strength and tallied by Jessica Campbell with an assist from Barley-Maloney. The first period ended with Cornell having a 1-0 lead. The second period saw a single power-play goal from Brianne Jenner. Taylor Woods and Hayleigh Cudmore assisted on the goal. Just two and a half minutes into the third period, Clarkson started to mount a comeback. Emily Fulton, however, would put the game out of reach with a late third-period goal, assisted by Brianne Jenner and Jill Saulnier. Cornell pulled off a 3-1 win to split the series with Clarkson.
This Coming Weekend
Cornell goes on the road again this weekend, traveling to Ivy foes Yale and Brown. When looking at the records of the teams Cornell is set to face is less than impressive, in-league teams are often much more difficult to play. In addition to that, the Yale and Brown games hosted at Lynah were much closer than expected. The Brown game was a shutout, but only by a two-goal margin. The Yale game was tighter still, with the Big Red pulling out the win in a 3-2 victory. Let's look at what the Lady Rouge have to do in order to sweep the weekend.
Yale
Last time the Lady Rouge and the Lady Bulldogs played, the story of the Bulldogs was capitalizing on the power play. Cornell gave Yale six power play opportunities and both of Yale's goals were scored on the power play. Yale's power play might not look impressive, with a 14.3% conversion rate, but it seemed to be able to solve Cornell last game. So one of the many keys to the game will be staying out of the sin bin. Yale's PK is just over seventy percent, but their starting backstop has a more than decent save percentage. Cornell will need to pepper Yale with shots and take opportunities both on the power play and in even-strength situations. Cornell can win this game if they stick to their game.
Brown
Brown has won one more game this season than has Yale. They have a more solid goaltending tandem than does Yale, but Slebodnick (and Moak and Pippy) is more than up to the challenge. Last game against the Brown Bears, Cornell managed a successful penalty kill all six times they were on the kill. They also held Brown from scoring and moreover, from shooting. Brown averages almost shots per game but Cornell held them to 12. Cornell will need to continue to be vigilant on the penalty kill to take down Brown.
Mercyhurst
Yes, once again, the Lady Rouge will be hosting a Tuesday game at Lynah against an out-of-conference CHA opponent. This time, the Lady Rouge host the Lady Lakers of Mercyhurst. Mercyhurst is a tough team to play against, and a national contender. Mercyhurst has a 17-4-1 record, two excellent netminders with save percentages of .945 and .920. Their power play unit is number six in the country at 24.2%. Cornell for comparison is thirteen. Cornell has faced other power-play units which were higher ranked. Those include Boston College (2), Northeastern (4), and Quinnipiac (5). When it comes to the penalty kill, however, the Big Red holds the decided edge. We are number three in the country (with a 91.3% kill) while Mercyhursty is 14 with an 85.0 percent kill. Cornell is going to need to exercise the penalty restraint that they did against Clarkson in order to get this win. Mercyhurst's losses this season have come against Boston College, Robert Morris, and Clarkson. They also managed to beat Boston College once, Clarkson once, as well as WCHA team Minnesota State. Mercyhurst is no slouch of a program.
Here's to a wonderful three games before Cornell hosts Union and RPI at Lynah.
St. Lawrence
The first period of the ECAC game was a tight one, with two penalties apiece for the Saints and the Big Red. No one, however was able to capitalize on their power play, despite a combined 16 shots on net. The second period told quite a different tale. Just over halfway into the period, Brianne Jenner scored a power-play goal from birthday girl Erin Barley-Maloney and Lauren Slebodnick. And thus opened the flood gates. Two even-strength goals were scored in the second, first by Jessica Campbell from Vicky Pittens and Erin Barley-Maloney. The final goal of the period was tallied by Emily Fulton from Jessica Campbell and Laura Fortino. In the third period, the Big Red equaled their goals in the second with Slebodnick showing some excellent goaltending. Jenner once again opened up the scoring for the period on an even-strength goal from Rougeau and Fulton. The next goal would be a shorthanded empty netter as Jessica Campbell scored while killing a penalty. She was assisted by Brianne Jenner and Alyssa Gagliardi. After that, SLU changed their goaltender, but the Big Red solved her as well. Victoria Pittens scored the final goal of the game from Brianne Jenner and Jill Saulnier to give the Lady Rouge a 6-0 victory for the regular season 3-game sweep of St. Lawrence.
Clarkson
This game was something of a vengeance win for the Big Red. Clarkson took down the Lady Rouge in Potsdam at the end of November in a close 2-1 game. But this time, the Golden Knights were coming into Lynah. Cornell did a fantastic job this game especially in staying out of the box. Though we average 11.4 penalty minutes per game (almost six minor penalties), they took only two penalties in the entire game. The only other time we took as few penalties was against Princeton. Last time the Lady Rouge played Clarkson, they took 18 minutes of penalties. Taking only four minutes is a huge accomplishment when a team is as potent on the power play as Clarkson. The first goal of the game was even strength and tallied by Jessica Campbell with an assist from Barley-Maloney. The first period ended with Cornell having a 1-0 lead. The second period saw a single power-play goal from Brianne Jenner. Taylor Woods and Hayleigh Cudmore assisted on the goal. Just two and a half minutes into the third period, Clarkson started to mount a comeback. Emily Fulton, however, would put the game out of reach with a late third-period goal, assisted by Brianne Jenner and Jill Saulnier. Cornell pulled off a 3-1 win to split the series with Clarkson.
This Coming Weekend
Cornell goes on the road again this weekend, traveling to Ivy foes Yale and Brown. When looking at the records of the teams Cornell is set to face is less than impressive, in-league teams are often much more difficult to play. In addition to that, the Yale and Brown games hosted at Lynah were much closer than expected. The Brown game was a shutout, but only by a two-goal margin. The Yale game was tighter still, with the Big Red pulling out the win in a 3-2 victory. Let's look at what the Lady Rouge have to do in order to sweep the weekend.
Yale
Last time the Lady Rouge and the Lady Bulldogs played, the story of the Bulldogs was capitalizing on the power play. Cornell gave Yale six power play opportunities and both of Yale's goals were scored on the power play. Yale's power play might not look impressive, with a 14.3% conversion rate, but it seemed to be able to solve Cornell last game. So one of the many keys to the game will be staying out of the sin bin. Yale's PK is just over seventy percent, but their starting backstop has a more than decent save percentage. Cornell will need to pepper Yale with shots and take opportunities both on the power play and in even-strength situations. Cornell can win this game if they stick to their game.
Brown
Brown has won one more game this season than has Yale. They have a more solid goaltending tandem than does Yale, but Slebodnick (and Moak and Pippy) is more than up to the challenge. Last game against the Brown Bears, Cornell managed a successful penalty kill all six times they were on the kill. They also held Brown from scoring and moreover, from shooting. Brown averages almost shots per game but Cornell held them to 12. Cornell will need to continue to be vigilant on the penalty kill to take down Brown.
Mercyhurst
Yes, once again, the Lady Rouge will be hosting a Tuesday game at Lynah against an out-of-conference CHA opponent. This time, the Lady Rouge host the Lady Lakers of Mercyhurst. Mercyhurst is a tough team to play against, and a national contender. Mercyhurst has a 17-4-1 record, two excellent netminders with save percentages of .945 and .920. Their power play unit is number six in the country at 24.2%. Cornell for comparison is thirteen. Cornell has faced other power-play units which were higher ranked. Those include Boston College (2), Northeastern (4), and Quinnipiac (5). When it comes to the penalty kill, however, the Big Red holds the decided edge. We are number three in the country (with a 91.3% kill) while Mercyhursty is 14 with an 85.0 percent kill. Cornell is going to need to exercise the penalty restraint that they did against Clarkson in order to get this win. Mercyhurst's losses this season have come against Boston College, Robert Morris, and Clarkson. They also managed to beat Boston College once, Clarkson once, as well as WCHA team Minnesota State. Mercyhurst is no slouch of a program.
Here's to a wonderful three games before Cornell hosts Union and RPI at Lynah.
Points (as of January 22)
33 - Jenner
25 - Saulnier
15 - Campbell, Rougeau
13 - Cudmore
12 - Woods
11 - Fulton, Gagliardi
10 - Barley-Maloney, Poudrier
9 - Fortino
7 - Murray
6 - Brown, Campbell
5 - Leck, Zorn
4 - Pittens
3 - Richardson
2 - Slebodnick
33 - Jenner
25 - Saulnier
15 - Campbell, Rougeau
13 - Cudmore
12 - Woods
11 - Fulton, Gagliardi
10 - Barley-Maloney, Poudrier
9 - Fortino
7 - Murray
6 - Brown, Campbell
5 - Leck, Zorn
4 - Pittens
3 - Richardson
2 - Slebodnick
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