Coming into this weekend, Union’s women’s hockey squad was winless against ECAC teams and had scored just five goals against conference opponents.
The Red came into this weekend in a dogfight with Vermont for the eighth spot in the ECAC, and hoped that its trip to Schenectady would be just the thing to boost it into sole possession of eighth place and in the driver’s seat for the final playoff spot.
It wasn’t.
The Red stickwomen will remain in that dogfight with Vermont until the Catamounts come to Lynah Rink next Saturday, in a game that will most likely clinch the last spot in the playoffs for either squad.
The Red is in this position after its weekend split with Union this past weekend.
The Red loss came on Saturday when it was defeated by a score of 3-1 at the Achilles Center. Scoring the goal for Cornell was sophomore forward Vicki Hodgkinson with assists from classmate Caitlin Warren and senior captain Briana Jentner. The goal, which came at 10:29 in the second period, tied the contest up at one.
The Dutchwomen retaliated just over four minutes later as Kelly Lannan scored her second goal of the contest on a power play to give Union the lead for good. The goal was the first of two to be scored on freshman goalie Beth Baronick who made 16 saves in two periods of work. Baronick replaced classmate Sarah McConnachie who made just her third appearance of the season in the first period of the game.
The loss was a puzzling one for the Red as it out-shot the Dutchwomen 45-23 in the contest, controlling play throughout.
“It was a game of inches,” said Jentner. “Unfortunately the inches didn’t go our way around the goal. It was a very frustrating game.”
The Red had no such frustrations Friday night when they took Union apart, 4-0.
Baronick, who made 23 saves on the evening, recorded her first career shutout in the victory.
Sophomore Jen Munhofen added two points to her team-leading 18 as she found the back of the net in the second period and again in the third. Hodgkinson and Jentner recorded assists on Munhofen’s second period goal, which came just over three minutes into the second period. Warren notched her second assist of the weekend on Munhofen’s third period goal, which put the Red up 4-0.
Also scoring for the Red was junior Pearle Nerenberg and freshman Caroline Scott. Scott, who is now tied for second on the team in goals scored with seven, was assisted by senior Sarah Carter.
Finding itself at 6-18-2 overall and 2-14-0 in the ECAC after its weekend in Schenectady, the Red will head into next weekend at Lynah needing to either upset No. 2 Dartmouth or beat Vermont in its season finale to earn a trip to the conference playoffs.
Archived article by Chris Mascaro