Women’s hockey dominated with a combined 7-1 score over the weekend, moving to a perfect 8-0 in Ivy play with victories over Harvard and Dartmouth. Senior defenseman Jaime Bourbonnais and junior forward Maddie Mills each recorded their 100th point during the first contest of the weekend.
On Friday No. 2 Cornell (21-1-3, 14-0-3 ECAC) made the trip to Cambridge to take on No. 10 Harvard (12-10-1, 11-5-1 ECAC). Last month, the Red overpowered the Crimson at home for the 7-0 win. After letting up a goal and taking a 1-0 deficit into the first break, Cornell fired back with four unanswered goals to secure the 4-1 win.
In the second period of Friday’s game, sophomore forward Gillis Frechette took the puck into Harvard’s zone and was able to draw a hooking penalty. The Red jumped on the power play. Senior defenseman Micah Zandee-Hart found Mills, who skated behind the Crimson net. On her backhand, she delivered a no-look pass to Bourbonnais for the score that tied the game.
Five minutes later, senior forward Kristin O’Neill won a faceoff and found fellow senior forward Amy Curlew. Curlew sent a leading pass to Mills, where she again took the puck behind the net. Mills wrapped all the way around until she was in front of the Harvard crease and fired a wrist shot into the top corner for her 100th point as a Cornellian.
In the third period, it looked as if the Red was in some trouble when the Crimson went on a 4-on-3 power play. But Cornell’s penalty kill led a deadly attack that culminated in a Zandee-Hart goal. Bourbonnais sent the puck forward to senior forward Paige Lewis. The senior skated in on her forehand and fired a quick shot. The rebound was sent into the air and hit in by Zandee-Hart for the shorthanded goal.
For Cornell’s final act of the night, goal number four came with twelve minutes remaining in the game via O’Neill. Receiving a pass from Lewis in the slot, she cut inside and shot over the glove of the Harvard goalie for her first goal and second point of the night.
The team did not have much time to celebrate its victory, traveling to Hanover right after to take on Dartmouth (5-17-3, 2-13-3 ECAC) on Feb. 8. Despite its recent struggles, the Green held its own in front of its home crowd for the first period, taking a 0-0 tie into the first intermission.
But, mirroring the night before, the Red overcame the slow start and went on to secure a win.
Shortly into the second period, Bourbonnais caught the Green in the middle of a line change and passed to senior forward Grace Graham from behind the red line. Graham took the puck and scored, putting Cornell ahead.
The Red wouldn’t score again until late in the third period. Graham picked up her second point of the night assisting O’Neill. Skating into her opponent’s zone, she shot from a tight angle and was able to sneak it past Dartmouth’s Kayla Wormsbecher for the score.
In an attempt to get back in the game, the Green pulled its goalie in favor of an extra skater. But Gillis Frechette ended up scoring the empty net goal to put the game out of reach.
This eighth consecutive league victory clinched the Ivy League title for Cornell. At a perfect 8-0, the Red sits alone atop the standings for the third time in the last four seasons. Looking ahead to the postseason, Cornell’s sights will be set on more hardware.
With only four games remaining on its schedule, Cornell hopes to finish the season with continued dominance. The Red will wrap up Ivy League play with away games at Brown on Feb. 14 and Yale on Feb. 15.