Matthew Korniczky/Sun Staff Photographer

Women's hockey has begun Ivy League play with a perfect 6-0 record.

January 24, 2025

Five Stats Explaining No. 6 Women’s Hockey’s Ivy League Dominance

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A year after its Ivy League title came down to the final game of the regular season, No. 6 women’s hockey is positioned to claim a share of the Ivy League title three weeks earlier. A weekend sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth would give the Red a share of the Ivy League crown, and a sweep coupled with a Yale loss to Princeton would give Cornell its 17th title outright. 

Just like in men’s hockey, winning the women’s hockey Ivy League championship does not guarantee a bid to the NCAA tournament. Instead, teams generally focus on winning the ECAC, the conference in which Ivy League hockey resides. However, winning the Ivy League is still Cornell’s first goal entering every season. 

Cornell has yet to lose a game in Ivy League play, defeating each team at least once already this season en route to a 6-0 start against the “ancient eight.” Here are five stats from Cornell’s first six games against Ivy opponents that help explain the Red’s perfect start:

10 Different Goal Scorers: After graduating the 2024 Patty Kazmaier winner Izzy Daniel ’24, head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 has emphasized the need for an all-hands-on-deck approach to Cornell’s offense. Cornell has met his call, with ten different skaters finding the back of the net against Ivy opponents. This diverse offensive outburst stands strong in comparison to last season, when just 15 Cornell players scored across its entire 34-game schedule, and has allowed the Red to average 3.8 goals a game in Ivy play. 

Opponents are 1/21 on the Power Play: Special teams can often be the Achilles heel of otherwise solid squads. Cornell’s penalty kill has made sure that’s not been an issue. The Red has conceded just a single power-play goal to an Ivy opponent, a six-on-four goal by Brown late in the third period on Nov. 9. The night before against Yale, Cornell’s penalty kill blunted six Bulldog power plays, while against Dartmouth and Harvard the Red killed four apiece, never allowing a goal. The Red’s 95.2 percent penalty kill during the Ivy League competition would rank first in the nation, nearly three percent above the next closest team Northeastern at 92.5 percent. 

1 Goal Allowed Per Game: Based on its penalty kill performance, it’s not surprising that Cornell’s defense has also performed excellently against its five peer schools. While the Red has allowed 1.93 goals a game against non-Ivy opponents, Cornell has been significantly stingier in Ivy play, allowing more than one goal just once while allowing a goal a game on average. Sophomore goaltender Annelies Bergmann has notched shutouts against Yale and Dartmouth, which by itself would tie her for 21st in the nation (Bergmann currently sits tied for second with six shutouts).

Outscoring Opponents 23-6: What does a suffocating penalty kill, a stingy defense and a surprising array of offensive firepower equate to? Lots of blowouts. Cornell has won half of its six Ivy League games by four or more goals, more than its two one-goal victories. The Red’s biggest Ivy deficit this year came after falling three goals behind to Princeton on the road on Nov. 23, but the Red scored four unanswered goals in an eight-minute span to come back. Cornell took its closest Ivy matchup personally, and a month-and-a-half later, trounced the Tigers 6-1. The Red have a +17 goal differential in Ivy play, while the nearest team (Yale) sits at just +5.

6-point lead to clinch a share, 9-point lead to clinch totality: This is the big one. Cornell currently sits at 18 points in the Ivy League table, six ahead of Yale with each team having played six of their ten total games. Cornell will play two Ivy opponents this weekend, which means by Saturday night the Red could sit at 24 points. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, can get no more than 24 points if they win out their final four games, and max out at 21 if they lose to Princeton on Saturday. So, if Cornell sweeps the weekend and Yale beats Princeton on Saturday, the Red clinches at least a share of the Ivy League title. With a sweep — or a win and a tie — and Yale loss, Cornell’s 17th Ivy title will reside in Ithaca alone.