After a tough loss to the No. 4 ranked team, St. Lawrence, on Friday, the women’s hockey team rebounded and defeated Clarkson 4-1. This decisive win, with the first three goals coming in the first eight minutes of the game, allowed Cornell (7-7-2 ECAC, 11-10-2) to move up in ECAC rankings and become tied for seventh place.

“Both games we played really well. Especially, even though we lost against St. Lawrence, we came together as a team despite them scoring in the last minute to win it, so it was disappointing there,” said sophomore Rebecca Johnston.

Show me your moves: Sophomore defender Sam Wauer clashes with a Golden Knight in the Red’s 4-1 win over Clarkson on Saturday.

After splitting a road weekend, the women’s hockey team returns to its home ice to battle St. Lawrence tonight and Clarkson tomorrow afternoon. The Saints and Golden Knights, ranked first and sixth, respectively, will certainly challenge the Red (10-9-2, 6-6-2 ECAC).All eyes on you: Freshman forward Kendice Ogilvie (left) chases down the puck during the Red’s 3-0 win over Union on Jan. 16. Ogilvie scored her first career goal during the team’s last contest — a 6-0 win over Brown on Jan. 24.

After its 6-0 shutout of Brown last weekend, the women’s hockey team looks forward to a successful rest of the season. This game proved that the Red has depth, as each of the six goals came from different forwards — it also demonstrated the squad’s powerful underclassmen presence. With eight freshmen and nine sophomores on the roster, this is both a young team and one that will stay strong in coming years.

The eight freshmen on the team have already proved themselves this season in numerous ways.

After struggling against Yale on Friday night, Cornell (10-9-2, 6-6-2 ECAC) fought back on Saturday to defeat the Bears, 6-0. Despite losing to the Bulldogs, the Red still stands ahead of both the Bulldogs and the Bears in ECAC Hockey rankings with an accumulated 14 points. These two Ivy League games were crucial for the women’s hockey team in hopes of securing its top-8 position for the playoffs.

“I thought it was a good team effort … I feel our team is getting a lot closer because we put our heart and soul into it, and even though we didn’t win, we still have each other,” said freshman forward Kendice Ogilvie. “Even though it wasn’t the best outcome, we had to move on. “

Coming off a two game winning streak, the women’s hockey team is heading on the road this weekend to play two of its ECAC challengers – Yale tonight and Brown on Saturday afternoon. Having faced both of these teams earlier in the season, the Red is hoping to secure repeat victories and obtain a weekend sweep.

“After doing good against them, it gives us confidence that we need to pull through against these two,” said sophomore defenseman Sam Wauer. “We’re not going to be going in scared. We’re going to have to execute what we need to do … I think it is a confidence boost. After playing them once, we know now what they are going to do system-wise.”

The women’s hockey team earned four points on its home ice this weekend, successfully defeating Union, 3-0, and Rensselaer, 3-2.

On Friday, the Red (9-8-2, 5-5-2 ECAC Hockey) notched a shutout win over Union (2-18-3, 0-10-1). Cornell was able to create in the offensive end, outshooting the Dutchwomen 50-19.

“I think we came together really well this weekend especially,” said junior forward Melanie Jue. “We moved the puck well, really well actually against Union and we used our speed against them, because they’re a bit of a slower team.”

Jue lead the way in scoring for the Red, delivering two goals and one assist in the match.

As the women’s hockey team prepares to host Union tonight and Rensselaer tomorrow afternoon, the squad has winter break experience under its belt that it can call on to help transition back to the regular season.

Wanting to start the New Year off right, the Red came to Ithaca earlier this month with twofold intentions — to start preparations with two-a-day practices, while simultaneously continuing to bond as a team. During the break, Cornell played two series, skating to a split with Providence and then losing two close matches to Colgate.

Snapping its three-game losing streak with last Sunday’s victory, the women’s hockey team (5-5-1, 2-3-1 ECAC) is trying to regain its momentum heading out on the road to face Clarkson today and St. Lawrence tomorrow.

“Every game in the league this year has been tough and this weekend is certainly no exception. St. Lawrence and Clarkson are in the top-10 right now,” said assistant coach Danielle Bilodeau ’01. “They are both teams that can beat anyone in the country; very disciplined teams with a lot of talent.”

After making it to the playoffs for first the first time in four years, the women’s hockey team feels it is destined to have a great season this year. Although the season is in its early stages, Cornell has proven that it is a contender after being picked to finish fifth in the league according to the preseason coaches’ poll.

With only four players graduating last year, the Red rounds out its roster with the ad­dition of eight freshmen and one junior transfer. Together, this new unit is comprised of all different components on the ice, including four defensemen, four forwards and a goalie.

With hockey running in the family blood, sophomore Rebecca Johnston grew up playing hockey and has already proven herself early in her career as she laces up her skates for her second season of collegiate hockey.

Last year, Johnston was an offensive force with 16 goals and 16 assists, and this year is no different as she leads the team with 12 points, six goals and six assists thus far. Johnston earned her second ECAC Hockey Player of the Week award of the season this week after playing a key role in the Red’s victories over Brown and Yale.

A two-time player on the Under-22 Canadian National team, Johnston recently returned from skating for team Canada in the Four Nations Cup. While there, she helped the team pick up its silver medal.