Ben Parker / Sun Staff Photographer

Cornell takes on two of the ECAC's weaker defenses this weekend.

February 14, 2019

Lynah Lowdown: Women’s Hockey Looks for Bounce-Back Weekend

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After eight straight wins, No. 6 Cornell women’s hockey hit a couple bumps in the road last weekend, losing to Clarkson and tying St. Lawrence. The Red will aim to get back on track in its last home weekend of the regular season against Brown and Yale.

How to watch or listen:
Friday’s game against Brown is at 6 p.m. and Saturday’s against Yale is at 3 p.m. Both games are at Lynah Rink and can be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).

Series history:
Cornell has had historical dominance, going 51-34-9 against Brown and 58-12-2 against Yale. Earlier this season, the Red split against these teams, defeating Yale 4-3 and then losing to Brown by the same score.

Cornell last time out:
The Red suffered its first loss in four weeks with a 4-0 loss against No. 4 Clarkson on Friday. Cornell then tied St. Lawrence, 1-1.

Brown last time out:
The Bears continued their losing slide, suffering defeats to No. 5 Princeton, 8-2, and to Quinnipiac, 4-2.

Yale last time out:
The Bulldogs started last weekend with a 2-2 tie with Quinnipiac. They then lost 4-2 to Princeton.

Scouting the Bears:
Brown (5-18-2, 2-14-2 ECAC) started its season winning five of their first seven games, capped by their 4-3 win over Cornell; however, the Bears have not won a game since. They are on an 18-game winless streak and a seven-game losing streak. Brown’s weakness is its defense, which allows the most goals per game in the ECAC.

Scouting the Bulldogs:
Yale (7-16-2, 6-10-2 ECAC) has been up and down this season, currently placing ninth in the ECAC. The Bulldogs started off January winning two of their first three games — winning a home-and-home series against Brown — but have won only one of their past four games since.

Cornell wins if…
It can get its offense rolling again. Cornell scored only one goal last weekend, but it should be able to take advantage of each of the defenses it faces this weekend. Brown ranks last in the conference in goals against per game (3.77) and Yale ranks fourth from the bottom (2.86).

What they’re saying in Ithaca:
Head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 on the importance of games late in the season: “These games will have important implications as far as seedings for the playoffs go. We need to build momentum going into the playoffs and we need to continue to get better with each game if we are going to be successful.”

Senior goalie Marléne Boissonnault on playing her last regular season home games: “The amount of genuine, loving fans we have is a big part that can’t be recreated. The fans we get here are phenomenal. You see them here every game regardless of the score or the season we’re having. Our fans are there day in, day out, and that’s a great thing that’s going to be missed for sure.”

What they’re saying in New Haven:
Freshman forward Claire Dalton on the final stretch of the season: “Our team is aware of our place in the standings, so I think we will go into these weekends fighting for that spot with a sense of urgency because we know we need points in order to make the playoffs.”

Sound smart:
Brown has failed to win five games in three of its last five seasons.