Leilani Burke/Sun Assistant Photography Editor

Players celebrate after Gabbie Rud '25 scores at the women's ice hockey game against St. Lawrence at Lynah Rink on Jan. 31, 2025.

January 31, 2025

No. 5 Women’s Hockey Crushes No. 7 St. Lawrence, Takes First In ECAC Standings

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Coming off a disappointing weekend on the road, No. 5 women’s hockey kicked off a crucial late-season weekend with a dominant performance at home. Cornell routed No. 7 St. Lawrence, 6-0, and took control of first in the ECAC by half a point.

“We did the little things right and it was a good team win,” said senior defender Rory Guilday. “We had the right plays and supported one another.”

Despite missing freshman defender Rose Dwyer — who had played in every game this season for Cornell — the Red (16-4-4, 12-2-3 ECAC) shut out the Saints (16-8-5, 10-4-3 ECAC) in front of a roaring crowd at Lynah Rink. 

“It was a super fun atmosphere, Lynah really showed out,” said sophomore goaltender Annelies Bergmann. “I think our team continued to hound the puck and we didn’t let off the brake pedal once, so it was a fun game.”

For the first few minutes of the opening period, St. Lawrence controlled play and Cornell struggled to maintain possession of the puck in the neutral and offensive zones. Cornell head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 attributed the early struggles to the team’s excitement for the matchup, but once Cornell settled in, the momentum began to swing.

The first high-percentage chance for the Red came five minutes into the opening period when Saints netminder Emma-Sofie Nordström misplayed a puck in front of her net, but the Red could not capitalize. 

Instead, Guilday got the scoring started for the Red seven minutes into the evening. The Cornell captain caught a deflected pass at the point and rocketed a one-timer by Nordström for her fourth goal of the season.

“I just saw the puck and decided to try to get it on net and thankfully it went through,” Guilday said. “We had bodies in front taking the goalie’s eyes away, and I think it deflected off of something.”

“It also helps when you have the hardest shot in the ECAC,” Bergmann added with a laugh.

While both teams looked potent offensively throughout the period, the Red appeared to get the better of the chances. With eight minutes left in the opening period, junior forwards Mckenna Van Gelder and Avi Adam nearly doubled Cornell’s lead on an odd-man rush, but Van Gelder failed to tuck the puck by Nordström’s pad. 

As the first wound down, Guilday found herself on a one-on-none breakaway, but Nordström stood tall. 

Despite taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, the first period was evenly matched as evidenced by the identical eight saves made by each goaltender. 

In the second period, Cornell quickly doubled its lead when senior defender Ashley Messier fired a wrist shot into the back of the net from the left faceoff circle. The goal came less than a minute into the period, and was her fourth of the season. 

Like the first period, the second was a back and forth affair with both teams getting plenty of opportunities to test the opposing goaltender. Over a quarter way through the period, senior forward Lily Delianedis hit the side of the net with a shot and, moments later, was whistled for roughing.

Bergmann made a series of impressive saves on the ensuing St. Lawrence power play, one of which led to a one-on-none chance for senior forward Kaitlin Jockims, but she could not find Cornell’s first shorthanded goal of the season. 

Even after the penalty was over, Bergmann remained under threat for the next few minutes but made tough save after tough save. 

“She looked really comfortable back there tonight. Sometimes you watch goaltenders and, even though they’re making saves, it looks like they are fighting the puck,” Derraugh said. “I thought tonight she looked like she was in control. It looked like the puck was moving slow for her tonight.” 

Despite the Saints’ pressure, Cornell would strike again. A wrist shot taken from the high slot by senior forward Gabbie Rud flew by Nordström and into the top left corner of the net. 

With St. Lawrence reeling, Cornell capitalized on the Saints’ defensive struggles. A deflected shot left the visitor’s defense disorganized, allowing Jockims to slip the puck to a wide open senior forward Katie Chan. Chan maneuvered around the Saints’ netminder to stretch Cornell’s lead to four. The goal gave Chan nine points in her last six games.

After the goal, the Saints called a timeout and replaced Nordström in net, but Cornell kept the momentum and earned its first power play of the game with 1:24 to go in the period. 

Cornell could not take advantage of the power play, but entered the second intermission with a 4-0 lead. Despite the score, Cornell and St. Lawrence both started the final period with sixteen shots on goal. The differences in the quality of shot attempts was key for Cornell, according to Derraugh. 

“We didn’t give up a ton of what I would call grade-A chances,” Derraugh said. “We didn’t give up a ton of odd man rushes, those kinds of things. So I thought defensively we were real solid.”

Halfway through the final period, Van Gelder notched her first goal since Cornell faced off with St. Lawrence last on Jan. 4. 

Surprisingly, down five goals, St. Lawrence pulled its netminder with under three minutes to go and Messier scored her second goal of the night to give the Red a 6-0 lead. The Cornell captain — who is transferring to Minnesota Duluth next season for her final year of eligibility — currently sits tied for second on the team in points. 

Bergmann’s 20-save performance was her seventh shutout of the season, tied for second-best in the NCAA. 

Next, Cornell will take on No. 9 Clarkson, which is coming off a brutal loss on the road to Colgate. The Golden Knights led 1-0, but surrendered a game-tying goal with ten seconds left in the third period and lost in overtime. Clarkson will be another tough test for Cornell, but the Golden Knights present a different kind of challenge than the Saints.

“St. Lawrence comes after you more. Clarkson plays a more patient game, very well structured, very sound defensively and then they wait for you to make mistakes.” Derraugh said. “You really have to manage the puck well and not try to force things.”

It is unclear whether Dwyer will return for tomorrow afternoon’s matchup with Clarkson. The Red found out they would be without Dwyer — who is under the weather —  Thursday night.

Cornell will take on Clarkson at 3 p.m. Saturday at Lynah Rink. Action will be streamed live on ESPN+.