Senior captain Brooke Bestwick and classmate Erin Ellis netted their first goals of the season, as the women’s hockey team lost 6-2 against a tough Dartmouth squad Saturday at Lynah Rink. The Red (0-3-1, 0-3-1 ECAC) came away with one point on the weekend, after tying Vermont on Friday. Dartmouth (5-1-0, 4-1-0) swept its weekend series, netting a 7-3 victory against Colgate.
The Green got on the board early, as Meaghan Walton came around the back of the net and found Tiffany Hagge in front. Hagge then put the puck past senior Sanya Sandahl at 1:20. Dartmouth continued to press the Red, keeping the puck in the Cornell end for the first five minutes.
“I thought we responded pretty well actually [after the first goal]. It was like the puck was in, and we were right back out, and I thought we started taking it to them. I thought maybe it was an eye-opener for the team, but we responded pretty well,” commented head coach Melody Davidson.
The lady icers bounced back and were finally able to clear the puck out of the zone. After receiving a pass from freshman Jen Munhofen, Bestwick took a slapshot from the slot and put it past Dartmouth goalie Amy Ferguson to tie the game at 7:55.
Louise Pietrangelo took a shot from the point that was deflected by Meaghan Walton, hitting the right post before ricocheting in for Dartmouth’s second goal at 12:22.
Cornell started the second period shorthanded, as junior Briana Jentner was called for interference at the end of the first period. Sandahl came up big during the penalty kill, making two great saves before Dartmouth was called for a penalty 51 seconds into its powerplay.
The Green would extend its lead eight minutes into the period, when on a 2- on-1 rush into the Cornell zone. Amy Catlin received a pass from Sarah Clark, and beat Sandahl top shelf.
Sandahl faced a flurry of shots in the second, but remained steady in goal, as she stopped the Green on another oddman rush. On a Dartmouth breakaway, Sandahl stopped the initial shot, then made a sprawling save on the rebound. The Red then collected the puck, and sped down the ice on a breakaway, but was denied by Ferguson.
“Sanya played really well. She stood in there and made some great saves when we needed her, and held the fort for the team,” remarked Davidson.
Katherine Weatherston notched the Green’s second goal of the period at 16:57, when she deked Sandahl in front of the net for her fourth goal of the season.
Cornell came out flat-footed at the beginning of the third, and were unable to clear the puck out of their own zone. Dartmouth took advantage, as Gillian Apps deflected a shot in through traffic at 2:11 to make it 5-1.
Dartmouth struck again at 11:06, as Catlin notched her second goal of the game on a rebound from a point-blank shot.
The icers showed a lot of intensity in the final half of the third period, as they were determined to put some more points on the board. Senior Lindsay Murao held the puck behind the net, and found an open Ellis in front, who buried the shot to make it 6-2 at 14:26.
Davidson was pleased with the effort the team displayed against Dartmouth, as last week the icers were not able to maintain focus and intensity for the entire game.
“We’re going to keep working towards those 60 minutes. The puck started going into the net for us tonight. We didn’t have as many shots as we did against Yale or Vermont, but the puck started going into the net, so that’s a bonus for us. We have to keep working towards putting those 60 minutes together and scoring at the same time. We’ll keep striving.”
Sandahl stopped 33 shots on the contest, while Ferguson stopped 11 for Dartmouth. Neither team was able to convert on the man-advantage.
The Red will travel to Providence, RI next weekend to face Brown on Friday, before facing Harvard in Cambridge, MA on Saturday. The icers’ next home game is December 8, when they face Niagara for a 2 p.m. contest.
Archived article by Jonathan Auerbach