The women’s hockey team played host to Niagara this weekend and had split results in the two-game series. In the first game, Cornell fell, 3-2, but when the Red returned for the second matchup, it overpowered Niagara, 5-3.

In the first game of the series, Niagara (4-10-2, 1-1-0 College Hockey America) utilized its power plays to overtake Cornell. Let it roll: Rookie Jess Martino (15) opened scoring against Niagara Saturday, but the Red eventually lost.

“They got all of their goals on the power play,” said freshman forward Chelsea Karpenko. “5-on-5 we outplayed them, we outshot them 2-1, but it was the penalties that they capitalized on.”

Trying to regain its momentum this weekend, the women’s hockey team will return to their home ice to host back-to-back games against Niagara on Saturday and Sunday.

Niagara (5-6-1, 1-1-0 CHA) is coming from a successful weekend on the road. After defeating Brown 4-2, they tied Providence, 2-2.

Cornell’s two-game non-conference series with the Purple Eagles will demonstrate the Red’s improvement from last year’s matchup. After losing, 4-3, Cornell went on to win the back half of the doubleheader on the following day, 6-2.

The Purple Eagles come prepared with a strong offensive line. Senior forward Ashley Riggs leads the team in scoring, with eight goals, seven assists and 15 total points.

The women’s hockey team dropped both of its matches on the road this weekend against nationally-ranked competition. Falling just short at No. 6 Dartmouth on Friday, 5-4, the team could not regain its momentum in a 5-1 loss to No. 9 Harvard the next day.

On Friday, the Red (4-4-1, 2-4-1 ECAC) started off strong offensively, as sophomore forward Rebecca Johnston netted the first goal a little over three minutes into the game. After sophomore Sam Wauer took a shot on Dartmouth’s goalie, Johnston was in the perfect position to take advantage of the Green’s open net.

The women’s hockey team travels east this weekend to play two away games. Cornell will skate against Dartmouth tonight and then Harvard tomorrow.

“Harvard and Dartmouth have been the top-2 teams in women’s ice hockey for the last five or six years,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “They were both ranked in the top-10 at the start of this year, so obviously two very strong teams that we will be playing against, but they have also lost some games early in the season, so we could matchup pretty well against them.”

Setting the course: Senior co-captain Stephanie Ulrich controls the puck in the Red’s 3-0 win over Yale last Saturday. Cornell heads to Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend.

The women’s hockey team picked up two wins on its home ice this weekend, capturing a 3-2 overtime win against Brown on Friday and a 3-0 shutout over Yale on Saturday.

The matchup against Brown (2-5-1, 2-4-0 ECAC Hockey) was scoreless until the first minutes of the second period. The Bears utilized a man advantage as junior forward Andrea Hunter scored on the power play. Cornell (4-2-1, 2-1-1) soon evened out the score while taking advantage of its own power play. Sophomore Rebecca Johnston scored on an assist from sophomore forward Karlee Overguard.

Trying to redeem itself after last weekend’s loss to Princeton and tie with Quinnipiac, the women’s hockey team is continuing on with its ECAC season as it hosts a double feature this weekend — playing Brown tonight and Yale on Saturday.

“I think we’re going to come out and play a strong game and really prove ourselves to the team this weekend,” said sophomore forward Katie Bredice.

Gotcha!: Sophomore goalie Kayla Strong blocks a shot during the Red’s 2-2 tie over ECAC Hockey rival Qinnipiac at Lynah Rink on Nov. 8.

The women’s hockey team started its regular season play this weekend with two frustrating home games — a 6-3 loss to Princeton on Friday and a 2-2 tie with Quinnipiac on Saturday. In both games, penalties seemed to be the downfall for Cornell.

“The penalties really killed us in both games,” said freshman forward Catherine White. “We had the advantage when we were five-on-five, but right when we started taking penalties and we were penalty killing, that’s when both [Princeton and Quinnipiac] scored their goals and that’s when they hurt us.”

The women’s hockey team will begin league play this weekend when it faces Princeton today and Quinnipiac tomorrow, both at home.

“We’re pretty excited,” said junior forward Liz Zorn. “They’re the start of our league games and Princeton’s an Ivy game too, so they’re extra important. Coming off of last weekend’s loss, we really want to get at least one but hopefully two wins in.”

Cornell’s first ECAC opponent, Princeton (3-3-1, 0-2-0 ECAC), has failed to pick up a league win so far this season. The Tigers are coming off of two close losses last weekend, falling to Dartmouth, 3-2, and to Harvard, 6-4.

The women’s ice hockey team battled hard at home this weekend, but failed to come out of Saturday’s Robert Morris matchup with a win, ending the game with a score of 2-1.

Cornell (2-1-0) has started off with a strong record of two exhibition and two regular season wins, and this game was the team’s first loss of the season. In capturing the win, Robert Morris (4-4) notched a .500 record. No goal for you!: Junior netminder Jenny Niesluchowski shields the goal from the efforts of a Robert Morris attacker during the Red’s 2-1 loss on Saturday at Lynah Rink.

“We just didn’t play our best and we should have come up on top, but it didn’t really turn out that way,” said junior forward Stephanie Holmes.

The women’s hockey team hopes to remain perfect in three starts when the Red takes on Robert Morris at Lynah Rink tomorrow afternoon for the home opener. Cornell is coming off a convincing sweep of Vermont last weekend, during which the team outscored their opponents 12-2 over the course of two games.

As if the Red (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) needed more reason to celebrate, this past Monday sophomore forward Rebecca Johnston was named ECAC Hockey’s Player of the Week for her efforts in Burlington, Vt., including two goals and six assists.