Without a doubt, the women’s hockey team stayed competitive in its games over the weekend.
The team traveled to Princeton and Yale. The Red lost a close one against the Tigers 4-3 on Friday, but managed to turn their fortunes around against Yale the next day. Cornell beat the Bulldogs soundly, 7-3 behind a hat trick from senior captain Jenel Bode.
In the first contest of the weekend, the Red went down early in the first period off a Princeton interception in Cornell’s zone. Tiger sophomore Gretchen Anderson got the puck and laced a shot past Cornell goalie Liz Connelly to put Princeton up 1-0.
The Tigers would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game. They upped their lead to 2-0 at 3:24 on their third power play of the game.
The Red didn’t let Princeton get away so easily though. They matched the Tigers with a power play goal of their own just a few minutes later, when senior Eva Nahorniak put a shot past Princeton goalie Megan VanBeusekom off assists from Cornell sophomore Briana Jentner and junior Brooke Bestwick to narrow the Princeton lead to one.
From then on, the teams paced each other goal for goal. Each picked up another goal on the power play and at even strength.
Anderson got both of the Princeton scores to earn herself a hat trick for the night. ECAC North Player of the Week Bestwick continued her solid play, scoring the Red’s second point of the night on a slap shot at 11:11 in the third with Bode and junior Lindsay Murao assisting. Bestwick kept it up for Cornell’s final goal of the evening, firing a rebound shot that sophomore Anita Khar put in to make the score 4-3 with 3:10 left in the game.
Cornell had a few chances to tie the game in the final minutes that culminated with a shot from Bode in the last minute of regulation. It would have tied the game, but VanBeusekom made a tough glove-side save to put the Red away.
Indeed, VanBeusekom’s solid play was key to Princeton’s victory. The Red’s offense out-shot Princeton 15-5 in the third period.
On Saturday both teams came out scoring, but the Red wasn’t down this time. After the first period Cornell led Yale 3-1. The Red victimized Yale goalie Katie Hirte, scoring with half of its six shots on goal.
Yale struck first, but Cornell shifted into gear about a minute later. Bode hit Yale for the Red’s first score with junior Erin Ellis and freshman Jamie Ramenofsky assisting. That was the first point of Ramenofsky’s collegiate career. Bode had a hand in Cornell’s next goal, working with Allison Simpson to feed the puck to senior captain Sarah Oliver. Bode capped the Red’s dominating performance in the first stanza with an unassisted shorthanded goal.
In the second Yale managed to keep the game close, scoring at 2:50 and 10:44 with even strength goals. But Cornell kept pace each time, first when Oliver hit a power play goal with Bode and Bestwick assisting at 8:30, and then at 11:38 when Bode got the puck from Ellis and Ramenofsky and shot it in.
The score completed Bode’s hat trick and made the score 5-3.
The Red closed the second out with a second power play goal, this one by Pearle Nerenburg. Ramenofsky got her third assist of the night on the play.
In the third, the teams held each other score less until late in the period, when Jentner scored Cornell’s second shorthanded goal of the night.
For the weekend, the Red picked up two points for the ECAC North standings but remained at sixth place in the conference with a 4-7-1 record. Overall Cornell has a 5-15-1 record.
Conference rivals Dartmouth and Vermont travel to Ithaca next weekend to do battle against the Red on Friday and Saturday nights.
Archived article by Matt James