No coach. No problem.
With women’s hockey head coach Melody Davidson working with Team Canada for the weekend, her squad came through with two big wins. Using a flurry of offensive outbursts combined with some solid special teams play, the Red (2-2-0, 2-2-0 ECACHL) pounded Union (3-5-1, 0-4-0 ECACHL) at Lynah 8-2 and 5-3.
“It was great that we were able to give [Davidson] a call Saturday night saying we got four points,” said freshman Brianne Schmidt, who scored her first two goals of her career on Friday. “It was our goal to get two points. Getting four was excellent.”
The Red got the four-point weekend off to a great start in Friday night’s game, using multi-point performances from four Cornell players to dominate the Dutchwomen.
Though Union jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, the Red came right back as senior co-captain Maryann Nowak poked home the tying score after a scramble in front of the net. After Schmidt, assisted by senior co-captain Jamie Ramenofsky, put the Red ahead later in the period, Cornell started to distance themselves from Union.
First, Caroline Scott, who also added an assist later in the game, scored her first goal of the season at 18:27 into the first period, knocking home a one-timer from Miranda Callaghan. Then, with just 32 seconds remaining in the period, Jen Munhofen collected the first of her three points on the day, netting a goal on an assist from Vicki Hodgkinson.
Relying on a strong penalty kill unit which killed off all nine of Union’s power plays, the Red cruised to the victory from there, allowing the Dutchwomen only one more goal. Meanwhile, Schmidt, Callaghan, Halina Kristalyn and Becky Fisher each added tallies for Cornell.
“The key to the game was putting the puck in the net,” Ramenofsky said. “We had a lot of trouble with that last year … It’s pretty obvious we have overcome that boundary now.”
The Red outshot Union, 26-8, as Cornell netminder Flora Vineberg turned away six shots while her counterpart, Amanda Hanson, stopped 18 on the night.
In Saturday night’s contest, the Red scored early and never looked back. Both Hodgkinson and junior Andrea Skinner netted goals in the first four minutes of the game to give Cornell a quick advantage. Munhofen collected assists on both of the goals.
Union would never close the gap on its two-goal deficit, as a duo of Cornell freshmen kept the lead intact from there on out. First-year player Caeleigh Beerworth scored two goals, including one shorthanded, while Schmidt added her third goal in two days to round out the scoring for the Red.
Though the Dutchwomen did add two goals in the third period, the Red’s 49-18 shot advantage was too much to overcome. Cornell goalie Beth Baronick stopped 15 shots, while Lauren Carlson made 44 saves for Union.
Overall, Cornell was pleased with its performance, accrediting much of its success to the team’s confidence. Schmidt noted that this made a huge difference for the team’s offensive play.
“We came in very positive off a great weekend of practice,” she said. “We are getting more comfortable with our offense. We have more confidence with it since we feel like we know the system better.”
Further, the fact that Davidson was missing from behind the bench did not rattle the team at all according to Schmidt.
“Both assistant coaches took over, and the team ran in the exact same way as if she was here … There is the same amount of respect all around for the coaches.”
Archived article by Scott Reich
Sun Staff Writer