On the road again.
This could become the anthem of the Cornell women’s ice hockey team as it will once again lack the home ice advantage in ECAC competition. The Red will travel to number-one ranked Dartmouth College on Saturday and then head to Boston College on Sunday.
Looking to improve on its less-than-impressive 0-2 demonstration last weekend, the team must regroup as it heads into the undefeated territory of the Green.
Regrouping means increased offensive output and tighter defense.
Offensively the Red has only scored two goals in the past two games — not a statistic that is going to add a notch in the win column. In order to prove itself among the higher ranking teams, Cornell needs to jump-start its offense.
“We just keep telling them to take more shots,” commented head coach Carol Mullins.
“And again its a confidence thing. We are not going to win games by just scoring two goals a game, or one goal a game, and the players know that,” she added.
The Red needs to capitalize on its power play opportunities to enliven the offense. The club went 0-for-6 against New Hampshire and 0-for-3 against Maine with the man-advantage.
“Obviously our power play is not working out and that is another way that we can get more points on the board. We just need to be more aggressive,” acknowledged Mullins, who also observed. “We need to take some outside shots and get the goalies moving.”
Defensively, the return of senior co-captain Patricia Kemp has added a new dynamic to the back.
“She is certainly a big presence back there, but one person is not going to turn the team around,” Mullins noted of last weekend’s losses and Kemp’s return.
Overall, the team needs to play better starting with the offense all the way to the back.
“Our team defense was not good, and it’s not just the defense, it’s the offense, it’s everyone forechecking really hard and in the right way. No one took the initiative to pounce on the puck, [they were all] just waiting for someone else to do it,” the head coach noted.
The team will be stressing technical skating in practice this week.
Saturday’s game against Dartmouth could be huge for Cornell. The Green enters the contest with a 7-0 overall record and a 22-20-5 history against the Red.
Dartmouth is loaded with talented players, great goaltending, and a lot of depth. With great speed offensively and technically impressive play, the Red will need to force the Green to make mistakes.
“When you are the number-one team in the country and undefeated, you have to go in with the attitude of knocking Goliath off the pedestal, and I think the players are ready for that,” Mullins offered.
Sunday afternoon the Red will have to turn around and face Boston College, a team it is capable of defeating.
“They will be good,” commented Mullins. “None of these teams are pushovers.”
However, Cornell holds the advantage of history, posting a 13-0-1 record against BC which enters the game with a 1-6 mark.
The team has been following the belief, “If you believe you can, or you believe you can’t, you’re right.”
With that in mind, the Red is looking to come home with two wins, including the upset of the year in women’s ice hockey.
Archived article by Kristen Haunss