Women’s hockey hasn’t scored during five-on-five play in 20 days.
Last Saturday, the Red came from behind to snag a 4-3 overtime victory over No. 14 Colgate after not once taking the lead during regulation time. Thanks to one shorthanded and two power play goals, No. 4 Cornell pushed into extra time and managed to score the game-winner.
On Friday, the unranked Union (6-7-2, 2-5-0 ECAC) gave the Red a serious case of déjà vu. The Garnet Chargers struck first and kept Cornell (8-2-0, 5-2-0 ECAC) from retaliating — except on special teams. After 60 hard-fought minutes, the Red had powered through a game of catch-up for the chance to fight it out in overtime.
This week, Cornell’s efforts didn’t pay off, and it was Union that came away with the 4-3 win. This was the Chargers’ third ever victory, and its first time scoring more than three goals, against the Red. It also marks the second year in a row that Union has upset a top-10 ranked Cornell.
After falling behind with its second conceded penalty kill goal of the season, Cornell took advantage of a power play opportunity in the opening frame. Junior defender Piper Grober tied the score 14:26 into the first period when her wrist shot snuck by the screened Union netminder.
The goal was Grober’s fourth of the season, the most of any Cornell defender and tied for second most on the team. Both Dwyer sisters, sophomore Rose and senior Grace, picked up assists.
The first half of the second period passed uneventfully until Union went back on the power play. Maddie Leaney notched her second goal of the day after tapping in a shot that rebounded off the pads of junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann.
Cornell mustered a response in the third period, when the Chargers earned their third — and final — skater advantage of the game. A mid-rink steal by senior forward Georgia Schiff and senior defender Alyssa Regalado set up junior forward Beatrice Perron-Roy for a one-on-one with a Colgate defender.
Perron-Roy shot to the far high corner to beat Union goaltender Monja Wagner and even up the score. However, the 2-2 tie wouldn’t stay on the board for long.
Like last weekend, when senior forward Avi Adam’s shorthanded goal was followed by a Colgate goal within the same power play, Union didn’t waste time mounting an answer. Seconds after Cornell got off the penalty kill, a slapshot while the Red regrouped from a deflected shot snuck through Cornell’s defenses.
With eight minutes left in regulation, the Red needed an opening — and it got one, in the form of its second power play of the game. Half a minute into the opportunity, Regalado slid a shot from the faceoff circle past a screen to tie up the game once more.
The 3-3 result held through the end of the third period, and Cornell entered overtime for the second consecutive game.
Just over the halfway point in the extra frame, Union caught the Red out of formation with a pass past three Cornell defenders that put Leaney alone in front of the goal. With a shot over Bergmann into the top of the net, Leaney — last week’s ECAC Forward of the Week — completed a hat trick and secured the 4-3 victory for the Chargers.
Four of the game’s seven overall goals were scored on the power play, while one was netted just as a power play ran out and another was made shorthanded. The Red’s two power play goals out of two attempts will likely help keep it at the top of the nation in power play percentage, where it had a 37.1 percent success rate before the weekend.
Union took 17 shots in the second period, but its offensive output stalled in the third, managing just four shots on goal over the final 20 minutes. The Red, in contrast, remained consistent throughout the game, consistently taking over 12 shots each period.
Cornell now travels to Troy to take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the second match of the weekend. Faceoff is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Alexis Rogers is the sports editor on the 143rd editorial board. She is in the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts & Sciences, and she can be reached at arogers@cornellsun.com.
