They say the only sure things in life are death and taxes. However with each passing weekend, it seems more and more so that the Cornell women’s hockey team (20-1, 14-0 ECAC) is proving that saying wrong. With a pair of wins against Colgate this weekend, success has become the norm. The Red extended its win streak to 16 as the No. 2 team in the nation handily beat the Raiders, 6-1, at Lynah Rink Friday, and then traveled to Hamilton, N.Y., to blank the Raiders, 5-0, on Saturday.
Cornell’s power play, which has been outstanding all season long, stood out again during the contest at home. The Red scored three goals on five power-play opportunities, while killing all five of Colgate’s extra-skater chances. Junior forward Chelsea Karpenko notched two goals and an assist, while junior forward and co-assistant captain Rebecca Johnston netted a short-handed goal and an assist. Junior forward Catherine White, sophomore defender Laura Fortino and junior forward Kendice Ogilvie also contributed goals.
“The power play has been very strong all season for us,” Karpenko said. “It’s a lot of communication, getting the puck on net, getting to pucks fast and quick puck retrieval. It’s all been coming together.”
On Saturday, Cornell dominated again. The Red demonstrated its firepower offensively, with five different players scoring goals. Karpenko, Johnston, senior forward Hayley Hughes, senior forward and captain Amber Overguard and freshman forward Brianne Jenner all found the back of the net.
Balanced scoring has been a theme all season long, as Cornell has been able to score goals consistently with every line-up it uses. 10 different players have over 15 points, and four different players — Johnston, Jenner, Karpenko and White — each have over 10 goals on the season.
After the results of the weekend’s home-and-home, the Red already has 20 wins. The team record is 21, set during last year’s run toward the national championship game. If Cornell keeps playing the way it has been, it seems as though it will surpass that total this season, with eight games remaining of regular season play.
Despite finding so much success, the Red has remained motivated and hasn’t let its game slide.
“How we keep motivated definitely has been an ongoing issue for us this year,” White said. “We know we have a target on our back, and we know every night going in that every team we play is going to give us their best game. So we go into every game working hard and focusing on those things that make our team great.”
Original Author: Jimmy Xi