The women’s ice hockey team (6-10-1 overall, 4-9-1 ECAC) went 1-1 this weekend in the High Peaks Classic in Lake Placid.
On Saturday, the women skated in an exhibition game against Concordia of Quebec — one of Canada’s finest teams. Cornell won the match 4-3 in an overtime shootout to advance to the championship game against St. Lawrence (13-3-3 overall, 9-1-2 ECAC) — currently ranked third in the nation.
Unfortunately, the Red could not pull off a title, as it lost to the Saints by a score of 4-1.
In the opening game, the Stingers tallied the first goal at 5:24, but the Red tied the game at 13:03 when sophomore defenseman Brooke Bestwick deflected a shot by senior co-captain Trish Kemp for Cornell’s first point.
Concordia had a one-goal advantage heading into the middle stanza and the score remained 2-1 through the scoreless second period. The Big Red’s defense was tough, allowing only one shot on goal.
Early in the third period, the Red tied it up when junior defenseman Dianna Bell found the net with an assist from senior forward Erica Olson.
After Concordia scored, the Red evened the match for the final time as sophomore forward Lindsay Murao sent the puck to junior forward Sarah Olivier who leveled the contest at 3-3.
Neither team scored in overtime, so Cornell and Concordia shot five penalty shots each in a shootout round. Sophomore goalkeeper Sanya Sandahl stopped all five Concordia shots and junior forward Jenel Bode scored a backhanded goal for the game-winner.
The exciting win over the Canadian powerhouse sent the Big Red into the championship match against St. Lawrence.
In the opening period, the Saints scored early, but the lead was cut short when Murao scored at 7:15, with assists from Olson and junior defenseman Eva Nahorniak.
Cornell’s scoring stopped there, however, and St. Lawrence added three more goals on 22 shots in the final two periods.
Despite the Red’s final loss, two Cornellians were chosen for the All-Tournament team as a result of their stellar performances this weekend.
Lindsay Murao, the only forward selected for the team, had an assist in the win over Concordia and she tallied the Red’s only goal in the St. Lawrence
match. Sanya Sandahl was also recognized as she stopped 29 of 36 shots in
the tournament, including the five saves in the Red’s shootout against
Concordia.
Archived article by Kelli Larsen