By BEN HOROWITZ
The No. 3 Cornell women’s hockey team was on a four-game winning streak heading into two consecutive road games against ECAC opponents this past weekend, and the Red won both games in impressive fashion. It shutout Union (9-22-1, 4-16-0 ECAC), 2-0, on Friday, then went on to defeat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (10-18-3, 6-12-2 ECAC) in overtime, 6-5.
With the two victories the Red now holds a one-point lead over Clarkson and Harvard for first place in the ECAC. It also holds the fate of the ECAC regular season title in its own hands. If it defeats Quinnipiac and Princeton this coming weekend, the Red will guarantee itself the title. According to junior forward Jillian Saulnier, the Red has been working hard throughout the season to put itself in this position.
“That’s always what a hockey team wants, the fate in their own hands,” she said. “We’ve done everything we can so far this season and I’m sure we’ll continue to do so. Especially with senior weekend coming up, the seniors have been a huge part of this team’s success and we’ll definitely be in it to win it for them this weekend.”
The Red outshot the Dutchwomen in the first period on Friday night, but it was not until the end of the second that senior forward Jessica Campbell scored the game’s first goal. The score remained 1-0 until the end of the third, when Union pulled its goalie and hoped to tie the game on the 6-5 man advantage, but Saulnier found the back of the empty net to seal the win. According to Saulnier, Cornell’s tough defense limited Union’s chances and led to the shutout.
Kelly Yu / Staff PhotographerHelping out | Senior defenseman Hayleigh Cudmore assisted on freshman forward Hannah Bunton’s game-winning overtime goal against RPI.