Cornell tied the Warriors, 2-2, in the first game of the two-game set, after erasing an early two-goal deficit. Wayne State scored early in the first period, when Kristi Thome scored a power-play goal at 3:28.
At 12:58, the Warriors’ top forward Ashley King stole the puck near the Cornell net, and fired a shot at junior goalie Flora Vineberg. Vineberg made the save, but King got the rebound and scored, putting Wayne State up, 2-0. It was her fifth goal of the year.
Wayne State (5-6-3) dominated the ice early on, taking 15 shots in the first period, while holding Cornell (3-4-1, 3-3-0 ECACHL) to only five.
The Warriors continued to have an edge in shots on goal in the second period, taking 13, while again holding the Red to just five.
But the only shots that really matter are the ones that find the net, and Cornell managed to start its comeback drive late in the second period. At 19:19, freshman defender Beth DiBella scored her first collegiate goal off assists from freshman forward Sarah Johnston and senior defender Lara Kelly. Last week, Kelly scored the first goal of her Cornell career against Dartmouth.
Cornell went into the final period looking to score the equalizer, but the stingy Wayne State defense did not make things easy. Once again, Cornell managed only a few shots, and Warriors goalie Valery Turcotte did not let any of the shots the Red got off go past her.
But at 14:22 in the third period, the Red managed to find the net. Sophomore forward Caroline Scott scored her third goal of the year off assists from freshman defender Molly McDonald and sophomore forward Halina Kristalyn. The teams then headed to overtime, but neither squad could break the tie.
Although Scott and DiBella spearheaded the comeback effort, the best performance of the day may well have belonged to Vineberg. She earned 36 saves on 38 shots — keeping the game close, even though the Red was stuck on defense for much of the game.
Yesterday, Cornell could not reproduce its comeback heroics. The Warriors continued their offensive dominance, outshooting Cornell, 28-13, and winning, 5-0.
Wayne State opened up the scoring at 6:13 of the first period, when King scored off assists from Emily McGrath and Sarah Campbell. It was Campbell’s ninth assist of the year. Kristy Lang scored just half a minute later, and Cornell quickly found itself down 2-0 early.
The Warriors’ Laura Monk earned some insurance for the home team in the second period, scoring a power-play goal at 9:43. She followed that up with another goal at 1:57 in the third period, earning her sixth goal of the year. Nicole Stahl scored the final goal of the night, at 17:06.
Cornell’s sophomore goalies split time during the game. Sarah McConnachie had 14 saves, while Beth Baronick had nine.
The Red will next be in action Friday, when the Red travels to face Yale in New Haven, Conn.
Archived article by Ted Nyman
Sun Staff Writer