For a second time in under 24 hours, No. 6 women’s hockey bested a ranked opponent, downing No. 10 Quinnipiac 4-1 to complete the six-point weekend and stay even with Colgate atop the ECAC standings.
While Quinnipiac’s defense-first identity presented a different challenge than Princeton’s roaring offense from the night before, the Red held steady and won the weekend by a combined score of 10-2.
Unlike the night before, Cornell’s offense struck quickly on Saturday afternoon. Just 24 seconds into the game, sophomore forward Karel Prefontaine won the puck behind the Quinnipiac net and sauced a pass to senior forward Lily Delianedis, who fired in a one-timer from between the faceoff circles. The goal was the quickest the Red has scored this season and came a day after Delianedis gained her 100th point as a Cornellian.
“It was nice to get the early start and get a lead on them because they are a stingy team defensively,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “That was huge, getting that early goal.”
Five minutes after going down a goal, the Bobcats would respond when a deflected shot found the stick of a Bobcat forward who rifled a shot past sophomore goaltender Annelies Bergmann. Moments later, Quinnipiac came within inches of taking the lead but a deflected shot rolled off the top of the crossbar and away from the net.
The Bobcats continued to attack Cornell’s defense, but a Quinnipiac slashing penalty just over halfway through the first period allowed the Red to take a breath defensively. While Cornell struggled to pressure the Bobcat defense during the ensuing five-on-four, the Red used the penalty to flip the momentum and again looked potent on offense.
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With three-quarters of the opening period complete, junior defender Grace Dwyer gave Cornell a 2-1 lead when she rocketed in a slap shot from the left point. The goal was Dwyer’s second and gave her ten points on the season.
“It was a sweet pass from K.C. [senior forward Katie Chan],” Dwyer said. “I just try to be ready for it and then when it came [I] just saw it go through the glove. I don’t think the goalie was really ready.”
The Red took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, but not before the Bobcats hit the crossbar for the second time in the period.
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The second period started out with back-and-forth play, with both teams getting solid looks on net. Eight minutes in, the Bobcats challenged a hit near the blueline for contact to the head, but the contact was ruled incidental and the challenge was unsuccessful.
As the period continued, the intensity of play ratcheted up and led to some chippiness. Quinnipiac was awarded its first power play after senior defender Rory Guilday pinned a Bobcat skater to the boards well after a whistle.
“In Rory’s case, I don’t want [Cornell’s opponents] continuing to battle away with our goaltender, but at the same time, you got to keep it within the line,” Derraugh said “So it is a fine line that we walk and it’s a very difficult game to referee.”
The Bobcats power play, which entered the night just 24th in the nation, looked lethal. Multiple heavily screened shots led to rebounds and lengthy scrums in front of the Cornell net, but Bergmann and Cornell’s penalty kill were impenetrable.
“We try to be aggressive. That’s our mentality,” Dwyer said. “Try to kill it quick. Stay up on people.”
For the second week in a row, Cornell nearly scored off a faceoff win set play, but a Prefontaine shot went bar down and bounced away from the goal.
As evidenced by the 2-1 score, the first two periods of the game were close, and the Bobcats entered the second intermission with 24 shots on goal to Cornell’s 22.
The Bobcats dominated the start of the third period, controlling the pace of play and racking up shots on Bergmann. With 15 minutes left in the game, Guilday morphed from defender to netminder when she saved a shot that got by Bergmann while standing on the goal line.
Despite the pressure, Quinnipiac could not tie the game, and eventually, Cornell’s offense would strike a third time. With six minutes to go, senior forward Kaitlin Jockims broke out of the neutral zone on a one-on-one with a Bobcat defender thanks to freshman forward Lindzi Avar’s pass. Jockims and the defender raced by the Quinnipiac net, but the Cornell forward left the puck at the top of the crease for the trailing Chan. For the second night in a row, Chan deked the opposing netminder and scored a huge insurance goal to put the Red up two.
“It’s auto,” Chan joked about her move. “It just kind of happened both times, but I’m glad it worked out.”
The goal was the second to stem from the Chan-Jockims-Avar line in the game and the fifth of the weekend.
“Playing with Lindzi and K.J. [Kaitlin Jockims] has been so much fun,” Chan said. “It’s funny because my dad calls them the twin towers because they are so big, but it’s been so much fun being able to play with them.” Both Avar and Jockims are listed as 5’10” while Chan stands at 5’2″.
Quinnipiac had a quick chance to respond when sophomore forward Delaney Fleming was sent to the penalty box for two minutes, but Cornell’s penalty kill allowed just a single shot on goal while maintaining the two-goal lead.
Seven minutes later, Cornell was awarded a power play of its own when a Bobcat was whistled for cross-checking. Like the Bobcats in the previous period, Cornell challenged the penalty hoping it would be upgraded to a five-minute major, but for a second time in the afternoon, the referees upheld their on-ice call.
Quinnipiac emptied its net with three minutes remaining and almost immediately scored on a wrap-around attempt, but the puck slid along the goal line and refused to go across.
A junior forward Avi Adam empty netter sealed the win for the Red. With the goal, the Red has now scored four or more goals in each of its last three games. Meanwhile, the Bobcats dropped to 0-7-1 on the season when allowing two or more goals.
“We have been really talking a lot about just being consistent in our play and consistent in our habits,” Derraugh said. “It’s never perfect, but I thought we were pretty good today in that regard.”
Cornell will head east next weekend to face Dartmouth on Friday night before meeting Harvard the following afternoon. Both games will be available on ESPN+.