In late November in Princeton, New Jersey, women’s hockey barely escaped an upset, scoring four unanswered goals to beat the Tigers, 4-3. With memories of the close matchup from two months prior still fresh in Cornell’s mind, the Red made sure that the outcome of Friday night’s rematch was never in doubt.
“We had something to prove because I think [Princeton] thought they could hang with us more than they really could,” said freshman forward Lindzi Avar.
Prove something they did. Cornell (13-4-3, 9-2-2 ECAC) crushed the Tigers (13-7-0, 7-6-0 ECAC) 6-1, shutting down the nation’s second-best offense en route to the Red’s fifth win against a ranked opponent this season.
Cornell’s six goals came from five different skaters, a sign of the team’s depth which has been a key for head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 since the start of the season. Underclassmen contributed to all but one of Cornell’s six goals, as Avar led the way with two goals and three points followed by sophomore forward Karel Prefontaine’s two points.
“We’re starting to get [offensive output] from different people on different nights and that’s what we’re going to need to have success,” Derraugh said.
Princeton’s offensive potency was evident from early in the first period, testing Cornell’s defense with repeated odd-number rushes and high-percentage shots. However, Cornell would strike first, thanks to sophomore forward Beatrice Perron-Roy.
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Just under five minutes into the game, Perron-Roy picked up the puck at the center line and made a skillful pass to herself off the boards to beat a Tiger defender. Having created an open lane to the goal, the Cornell forward skated in on netminder Jennifer Olnowich, who committed herself to stopping the possible shot. Sensing the opportunity, senior forward Claudia Yu raced to the back post and buried Perron-Roy’s backdoor pass.
The goal was just the fourth of the season to stem from Cornell’s fourth line, and was Yu’s second of the season, her first also coming against the Tigers back on Nov. 23. After the game, Derraugh lauded the line’s play both that night and across the season as a whole.
“They really did a great job with their role today [and] brought momentum when they went out there. They had a lot of play in the offensive zone [and] scored our first goal,” Derraugh said. “You call them the fourth line, we’re very comfortable playing all four lines”
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Despite gaining the momentum with the early goal, Cornell spent four minutes of the opening period on the back foot, conceding two power plays to the Tigers whose power play entered the night ranked third in the nation.
While the Red killed Princeton’s first-skater advantage with little problem, the Tigers seemingly tied the game late in the first period during a power play before the goal was disallowed for high-sticking after a review.
After the two penalties, the Red retaliated. Cornell earned a power play of its own, but could not convert. However, the Red doubled its lead after controlling play over large swathes of the opening minutes of the second period. The Red’s second goal of the game came when senior forward Katie Chan found herself skating in on Olnowich alone thanks to a Tiger turnover in the neutral zone. Chan stickhandled around, then slipped the puck by the Princeton netminder in a shootout-style move.
Five minutes later, Avar scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season by firing in a rebound off her own shot into the Tiger net. The goal was Avar’s third in as many games and she credited her increasing experience and confidence playing with her linemates for the mid-season success.
“Learning to play with my linemates better, I do feel like I know what to expect a lot more so it definitely slows down the game,” Avar said. “It’s easier to anticipate the game, where they [Avar’s linemates] are going to be, what plays I can make. So, that’s definitely helped.
One of Avar’s fellow underclassmen, sophomore goaltender Annelies Bergmann, agreed that gaining experience and confidence can help slow the game down while adjusting to the college game.
“If you’re calm, the play’s calm,” Bergmann said. “So it does feel a bit slower out there which is nice.”
Bergmann’s recent strong play continued on Friday, stopping 18 shots and conceding just one goal. It was the 11th game of the season in which Bergmann and Cornell’s defense conceded less than two goals. The Cornell netminder credited her team’s effort in practice for the continued defensive success.
“I think it’s just the little details that we’re doing in practice,” Bergmann said. “[We’re] always getting out there for extra reps or watching video with the coaches and I think everyone’s just buying in.”
Less than a minute after Avar brought the score to 3-0, Princeton would find its only goal of the night on a beautiful shot from the low slot. Cornell appeared to restore its three-goal lead when senior defender Ashley Messier gloved down an airborne puck before pushing it by Olnowich. Unfortunately for Cornell, the referees whistled Messier for a hand pass and the goal was disallowed.
Instead, Cornell’s fourth goal would come less than a minute into the third period via a hard wrist shot from senior forward Lily Delianedis. The goal gave Delianedis her 100th collegiate point and was her seventh goal of the season.
Avar would notch her second goal of the game five minutes later — on a Cornell power play — deflecting a shot from Prefontaine by Olnowich, chasing her from the game. Nine of Avar’s ten goals this season have come at Lynah Rink.
“I guess I just like to score at home — more fun for the home crowd,” Avar said. “It’s just worked out well for me.”
Senior forward Gabbie Rud would make the score 6-1 late in the final period, capping off a key Ivy League and ECAC win for the Red. With the win, Cornell joined Colgate in passing St. Lawrence in the ECAC standings and, once again, is tied for first with the Raiders. The Red also sits first in the Ivy League standings, having started the season a perfect 6-0 against its fellow Ancient Eight members.
“We’re just playing a team game now, and everyone’s contributing,” Bergmann said. ”It’s a lot of fun to play with and a lot of fun to watch.”
Cornell will take on No. 10 Quinnipiac Saturday at 3 p.m. at Lynah Rink with action streamed on ESPN+.