No. 3 women’s hockey beat Brown, 6-2, on Feb. 14, securing the program’s seventh regular season title — the first since before the pandemic. The title was no guarantee for the Red, which placed just third in the pre-season head coaches poll.
Cornell’s season got off to a rough 1-3-1 start before head coach Doug Derraugh’s ’91 squad found its rhythm and rattled off a 12-game unbeaten streak. Alongside taking home the ECAC regular-season trophy, the Red (20-4-5, 16-2-4 ECAC) also secured the Ivy League title after going undefeated against the Ancient Eight.
While the Red prepares for the ECAC quarterfinals against Union, The Sun takes a look back at five key moments from Cornell’s regular season.
No. 1: Nov. 1., Lynah Rink, Ithaca
Game: Cornell (1-2-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) vs. Union (4-6-0, 2-0-0 ECAC)
Situation: 2-1 Union, 8:11 second period
Final Score: 3-2 Union
Whathappened:
“Just a minute after [senior forward Katie] Chan’s goal, a low-angle shot from Union’s Jill Willis was mostly stopped by [sophomore goaltender Annelies] Bergmann. However, Bergmann struggled to control the puck, and it deflected off her stick and into the net.” - Union Defeats No. 9 Women’s Hockey for First Time in 20 Years
Why it mattered:
Bergmann has been excellent this season. She ranks among the nation’s best in all major goaltending statistics, is tied for the lead in shutouts and was named as one of nine semifinalists for the Hockey Commissioners Association’s Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award. Yet, early on in the season, Bergmann and the Red struggled to shake off offseason rust. The Detroit native came into the matchup with Union having given up a career-high seven goals against Ohio State the weekend before and made an uncharacteristic mistake against the Garnet Chargers. That mistake led to the game-winning goal for Union — a team which, up until that point, had never won a game at Lynah Rink.
Despite it coming in just the fifth game of the season, that goal was the low point of the season for Cornell. Moments after the puck was in the back of the net, junior forward Alyssa Regalado skated over to Bergmann in net to give her some words of encouragement. Since that point, Bergmann has allowed just 28 goals in 24 games, and Cornell has lost just once.
“[We] shot ourselves basically in the foot,” Derraugh said.
No. 2: Nov. 23. Hobey Baker Rink, Princeton, New Jersey
Game: Cornell (6-3-2, 6-1-1 ECAC) at Princeton (5-4-0, 3-4-0 ECAC)
Situation: 3-3, 4:41 second period
Final Score: 4-3 Cornell
What happened:
“It was just a shot that was put in front and it bounced off a few people’s skates and then I was just kind of off on the 40 or 45 [degree angle] on the back door and it bounced out and around and I popped it in,” said junior forward Avi Adam. “It wasn’t a huge skating goal or anything, but I think it was really crucial that we had people in the right positions so that I could be open on the backside there.” - No. 7 Women’s Hockey’s Captures Tie, Win, Thanks to Consecutive Multi-Goal Comebacks
Why it mattered:
After the upset loss to Union, Cornell found its rhythm. The Red reeled off five straight wins — giving up just two goals over the stretch — to garner much-needed momentum as it entered the toughest weekend of the ECAC season up to that point: on the road versus then-No.8 Quinnipiac and scorching-hot Princeton. On Friday night against Quinnipiac, Cornell fell behind the Bobcats 3-1, before storming back in the third period to earn a tie. Meanwhile, Princeton upset then-No. 5 Colgate in overtime to earn the Tiger’s third straight win, setting up an intriguing Saturday afternoon matchup.
Despite the tough comeback the night before, Cornell came out flat against Princeton. The Tigers struck three times before the Red could respond, giving Cornell its second multi-goal deficit of the weekend. But just like the night before, Cornell fought back. Senior forward Lily Delianedis got the scoring started for Cornell midway through the second period in what was a key moment to the season itself, and two more Red in six goals evened the score. Then, with under three minutes to go in the period, Adam capped off the second period scoring explosion to take the lead, which Cornell seems to not have given up since that day.
Instead of suffering a second early season upset, the comeback win continued Cornell’s momentum amid what would become a 12-game undefeated streak.
“I think when we came back to the locker room [down 3-0] we were like we still have 40 minutes to play in this game,” Adam said. “I think it was really crucial to just stick with one another and come together as a group.”
No. 3: Jan. 4. Appleton Arena, Canton, New York.
Game: Cornell (10-3-2, 7-1-1 ECAC) at St. Lawrence (12-5-4, 6-1-2 ECAC)
Situation: 2-2, 0:11 third period
Final Score: 2-2
What happened:
“With 11 seconds to go and the score tied Saturday night against St. Lawrence in Canton, New York, Cornell’s place in the standings and undefeated streak was pushed to the back of the team’s mind. Instead, fury over a blown icing call threatened to spoil what had been a stellar weekend. Unhappy with Cornell’s complaints, a referee awarded a bench minor to the Red, giving St. Lawrence another two minutes with the skater advantage.” - No. 6 Women’s Hockey Pushes Unbeaten Streak to 11 With Win and Tie Against Top 10 Opponents
Why it mattered:
There are a few “what if” moments in any athletic season. Some are moments that could have gone better, some are moments that you wish had a chance to happen at all and some are moments that could have gone worse. This is one of those moments.
What if, on the road against a top-10 opponent with 11 seconds left in regulation, a bench minor for arguing with the referee led to the second ECAC loss of the season for Cornell? Would the team have been able to muster the mental strength to take down Colgate the following week? Would the team still have gone on to win the ECAC regular season?
Thanks to Cornell’s penalty kill and two huge minutes in net from Bergmann, Cornell will never know. The penalty was killed off, and the Red held on for the rest of overtime to secure the tie.
“I’m not going to give you too much detail on that. I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus,” Derraugh said.
No. 4: Jan. 10. Class of 1965 Arena, Hamilton, New York
Game: Cornell (10-3-3, 7-1-2 ECAC) at Colgate (17-5-0, 8-2-0 ECAC)
Situation: 2-0 Cornell, 20:00 third period
Final Score: 2-1 Cornell
“On Friday night in Hamilton, New York, No. 6 women’s hockey accomplished what last year’s team could not, knocking off the Raiders for the first time in nearly two years.
Cornell’s Friday night win over Colgate — a dominant 2-1 performance — came thanks to a pair of goals from senior defender Rory Guilday and a stellar effort from Cornell’s penalty kill unit.” - No. 6 Women’s Hockey Earns Weekend Split With No. 5 Colgate
Why it mattered:
Following the 2-2 tie against St. Lawrence, Cornell faced its toughest weekend of the season: the annual home-and-home series with Colgate. Not only were the Raiders ranked fifth in the nation, but no active Cornell player had ever beaten Colgate in its home arena. The Raiders had taken down the Red four times last season — including in the ECAC and NCAA tournaments — that contributed to the 8-2 record against Cornell since the end of the pandemic.
Every time Cornell played Colgate last season, each game was closer than the last. In the final matchup, an NCAA Tournament regional final, the Raiders’ game winning goal came with under five minutes to go in the third period.
Despite taking a 2-0 lead into the second intermission, recent history weighed heavily on Cornell. For the past few years, every time it seemed like Cornell had a chance to beat the Raiders, it would collapse in the third period. Sure enough, a Colgate goal with just under five minutes remaining brought the score to within a goal. Then, with 1:57 remaining, Adam was called for tripping giving the Raiders a skater advantage. History seemed to be repeating itself.
Instead, Cornell’s penalty kill and Bergmann, who together helped salvage a tie a week before, came up huge again. The Red killed its sixth penalty of the game and finally took down Colgate.
“Just like last year, if Cornell can get by Colgate, anything is possible” - Season Preview: Despite Losing Daniel, No. 11 Women’s Hockey Enters New Season Primed for Success
No. 5: Feb. 14. Lynah Rink, Ithaca
Game: Cornell (10-3-3, 7-1-2 ECAC) vs. Brown (14-10-3, 9-8-3 ECAC)
Situation: 2-2 , 0:30 second period
Final Score: 6-2 Cornell
What happened:
“After the second Brown goal, the game’s intensity ratcheted up as both teams fought to find a third goal.
That goal would come with just 39 seconds remaining in the second period thanks to sophomore forward Delaney Fleming. The Ohio State transfer fired a rebounding puck past Anya Zupkofska, who had replaced [Rory] Edwards in net to start the period.” - Women’s Hockey Wins ECAC Regular Season Crown, Downs Brown 6-2
Why it mattered:
In Cornell’s fourth season since the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament — which the Red was favored to win — Derraugh’s squad has returned to the top of the ECAC. This season didn’t start out the way the Red would have hoped, but it ended in just the way it wanted.
Needing just three points out of six over its final regular season weekend, Cornell took an early 2-0 lead over Brown. However, the Bears roared back to tie the score, 2-2. With the game hanging in the balance, Fleming struck. The Ohio State transfer’s game-winning goal helped capture the conference title for her squad, in an effort to keep Cornell — if it keeps winning — on home ice until the Frozen Four.
"[Winning the championship] shows that your team has shown consistency throughout the season, which is not an easy thing to do. So it would mean a lot if we're able to accomplish that"- No. 4 Women’s Hockey Sets Sights on ECAC Title, Honoring Seniors in Final Regular Season Weekend
Cornell will take on Union in the ECAC Postseason Tournament quarterfinals this weekend at Lynah Rink. Game one of the best-of-three series will commence at 6 p.m. Friday night, with game two (and three if necessary) set for 3 p.m. the following day. All action will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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.
