After a tie and a loss to No. 15 Mercyhurst on the road to open the season, No. 11 women's hockey will head west to the home of the defending national champions. The Ice Breaker Tournament, held this year in Columbus, Ohio, is a unique chance for the Red to take on some of the best non-ECAC teams in the country.
Cornell (0-1-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) will begin by taking on No. 12 Penn State on Friday, before taking on either defending national champion No. 2 Ohio State or defending New England Women’s Hockey Alliance champion, Stonehill.
Outside of the important on ice matchups, this weekend will represent a homecoming of sorts. Sophomore forward Delaney Fleming spent her freshman year in Columbus with the Buckeyes and will return to her old home rink in just her third game in a Cornell sweater. Head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 noted the rarity of adding a transfer student.
“[Fleming was] only the second transfer that we have had come through our program. We really did a lot of homework to make sure that not only were we bringing in the right kind of player, but also the right type of person and character,” Derraugh said.
Fleming will be a much needed boost to a forward corps that lost Patty Kazmaier Award winner Izzy Daniel ’24 to the Professional Women’s Hockey League over the summer. Already a question mark heading into the season, Cornell’s lack of scoring was apparent in the Red’s opening series against Mercyhurst. The Red tied the Lakers 0-0 in game one, before dropping game two by a 2-1 score. However, Derraugh noted that while the scoring was not there, the offense still looked solid.
“I would say it would have been a concern if we hadn't put 85 shots on net over the weekend,” Derraugh said.
The weekend’s offensive problems did not stem from a lack of opportunity, but instead from problems with executing.
“When you have 85 or 86 shots on goal and you only get one goal, then obviously you have got to sharpen up the attention to detail around the net and finishing around the net,” Derraugh said.
The Red will have difficult opponents in Columbus as it continues to try to shake off its early rust. First up will be the Nittany Lions (6-2-0, 0-0-0 AHA), coming off four straight wins against ECAC foes. Penn State defeated Union and Dartmouth by a combined score of 15-6 and is led by former Patty Kazmaier Award top-10 finalist Tessa Janecke, who leads her team in both goals (5) and assists (6). Derraugh described her as “one of the best forwards in the NCAA”
“They're big, physical, they have a lot of spread out front … — they have got all the ingredients,” Derraugh said of the Nittany Lions. “It will be a really good challenge for us here early in the season.”
In game two, the Red will face either Stonehill or Ohio State. The Skyhawks (1-6-0, 1-3-0 NEWHA) would be a familiar foe for the Red, as Cornell thumped Stonehill 7-1 when they matched up in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament. Stonehill has struggled to start the season, in part due to the loss of its leading points totaller last season. Alexis Petford, who also scored the lone Skyhawk goal against Cornell, transferred to Colgate for her junior year.
Ohio State would be a huge test for the Red. The Buckeyes (7-2-2, 4-2-2 WCHA) defeated Wisconsin, 1-0, in last year’s title game, and are off to another hot start. Cornell has faced Ohio State four times since 2019 and has gone 1-3.
“We played Ohio State recently in the last couple years and their coaching staff hasn't changed, so we have a pretty good idea what to expect there,” Derraugh said. “We just want to focus on our play and make sure that we are executing and playing up to our potential going into the ECAC season.”
Puck drop for the Red’s matchup with Penn State will be at noon on Friday, while game two against either Stonehill or Ohio State will take place Saturday at a time yet to be determined. All action will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
Eli Fastiff is a senior editor on the 143rd editorial board and a member of the class of 2026 in the College of Arts and Sciences. You can follow him on X @Eli_Fastiff and reach him at efastiff@cornellsun.com.
