After women’s hockey’s mediocre start to ECAC play at home, sophomore goaltender Annelies Bergmann returned to All-Ivy form and led the Red to an impressive road sweep. Dating back to the weekend before, Bergmann went 206 minutes without allowing a goal en route to 2-0 and 2-1 Red victories over Yale (RV) and No. 15 Brown respectively.
While No. 10 Cornell (4-3-1, 3-1-0 ECAC) hit the road on the heels of a 7-0 thrashing of RPI on Nov. 2 thanks in part to a hattrick by freshman forward Lindzi Avar, the Red entered the weekend still looking to distance itself from a historic loss to Union on Nov. 1. To start, Cornell traveled to New Haven to take on a Yale team (3-3-1, 2-3-1 ECAC) that had outscored opponents 17-8 to start the year.
The game began at a frenetic pace, with both Bergmann and Yale netminder Pia Dukaric making early saves. With just over five minutes to go in the first period, a Yale forward caught the Red making a slow line change and skated into the offensive zone alone. However, freshman defender Rose Dwyer outraced the Bulldog skater and disrupted the opportunity.
Almost immediately, a Cornell two-on-one counterattack developed with senior forwards Kaitlin Jockims and Gabbie Rud facing just one Yale defender. With the defender sticking by Rud, Jockims had a clear look on goal and buried the puck in the top left corner of the net. Alongside Rud, Avar was also credited with an assist.
Up 1-0, Cornell looked to expand its lead in the second period, but struggled to get the puck out of its defensive end. After sustained pressure, senior defender Ashley Messier was whistled for cross checking and sent to the penalty box. Cornell killed the penalty, but did not register a shot until seven minutes into the period.
As the period went on, Cornell’s offensive pressure grew, eventually leading to the Red’s second score of the game. The goal came off a rebound from a Messier shot which junior forward Avi Adam guided into the back of the net.
Just as Cornell was finishing killing the second penalty of the period, Jockims was whistled for hitting from behind. After a review, the Cornellian was given a game misconduct and a major penalty. The second period ended with Cornell in the lead 2-0, but trailing in shots 25-15 and needing to kill 4:40 of a major penalty.
Just 30 seconds into the third, Yale was poised to equalize after a Cornell turnover in its defensive zone, but Bergmann made an improbable kick save to keep Yale off the scoreboard. The Red caught a break with 3:30 left to kill, when Yale was called for too many players on the ice. The next two minutes of four-on-four hockey were a reprieve for Cornell, and thanks in large part to Bergmann, the Red finished killing the major.
Despite both teams committing two more penalties apiece, neither team could find the back of the net and the game ended 2-0. Bergmann was excellent in the win, saving 33 shots and surviving over nine minutes of Yale power plays. Interestingly, the Red won despite committing more penalties and being outshot by the Bulldogs.
The next day, the Red traveled to Providence to take on Brown (6-2-0, 4-2-0 ECAC). The Bears had opened the season on a tear, knocking off then-No. 9 Quinnipiac and then-No. 13 Princeton en route to its 5-0 start. Despite losing to Colgate the night before, Brown represented the toughest in-conference test on paper of the Red’s young season.
Like the night before, the Red opened up scoring in the first period. The rebound from a Rose Dwyer shot could not be corralled by the Brown netminder, and the puck was knocked into the back of the net by senior forward Lily Delianedis for her second goal of the season. Much of the rest of the period was dominated by Cornell, who forced 15 saves from Anya Zupkofska and required just two from Bergmann.
Just 28 seconds into the second period, Cornell doubled its lead. After forcing a turnover while forechecking, junior defender Alyssa Regalado found senior forward Katie Chan who shot the puck by Zupkofska. The rest of the period was tilted toward Brown, but Bergmann stood strong making 12 saves and, for the second night in a row, the Red entered the third up 2-0.
The Red played better in third, but Adam was called for a hooking penalty with just over two minutes to go. Brown pulled its goaltender to go on a six-on-four advantage during the penalty and scored on a rebounded shot to halve the Cornell lead.
The Red managed to hold on for the remaining minute and a half of the period to complete the weekend sweep.
While Bergmann was the star for Cornell and was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week, the weekend’s play was made extra impressive due to who was missing. For a second straight weekend, sophomore forward Karel Prefontaine was scratched due to injury, while senior defender Rory Guilday was selected to play for Team USA in the Rivalry Series against Canada, which took place from Nov. 6 to 10.
Cornell will be back at home at Lynah Rink this weekend, taking on Harvard Friday night at 6 p.m. and Dartmouth on Saturday at 3 p.m. All action will be streamed live on ESPN+.