The last time women’s hockey conceded three goals in a single period was on Jan. 11, 2025, during the second game of its weekend against Colgate.
On Saturday afternoon, history repeated itself. Following a scoreless first period, the Red allowed three goals by No. 14 Colgate, while scoring two, in the second.
No. 4 Cornell sought redemption after falling 3-0 the day before in Hamilton. What it got was a penalty-filled, high-scoring clash that wrecked the Red’s perfect penalty kill and forced it to play catch-up.
Yet, despite its imperfections, Cornell fought back from deficit to push the game into overtime. An avoidable penalty by the Raiders gave the Red a late skater advantage, and when it needed to, the Cornell power play performed.
The Red secured a hard-fought 4-3 overtime victory — even though its only lead was the one it held at final time.
“As much as you hate to lose, I thought [the loss on Friday] was good for us,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “We hadn’t been behind in any game. Everybody can be in a good mood and be a good teammate when you never face any adversity.”
Cornell (8-1-0, 5-1-0 ECAC) faced plenty of adversity in the first period. The Red spent more time on the penalty kill than at full strength during the first seven minutes of the game.
One minute into the game, sophomore forward Lindzi Avar received a penalty that gave Colgate (6-7-1, 2-3-1) an early extra-skater advantage. Thanks to a defensive lockdown by Cornell, the Raiders couldn’t manage a single shot on junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann.
Two minutes later, junior defender Piper Grober was sent to the box — this time, Colgate mustered a more coordinated effort, but it wasn’t enough to pierce the Red’s defenses.
As the clock wound down on the first period, Cornell took its third penalty of the game. Tensions grew in the final minutes of the period as the Red fought for opportunities, with play — and interactions after the whistle — becoming more physical.
“You can accept some of those penalties where you’re just being physical and trying to play the body, and maybe it doesn’t go your way,” Derraugh said. “It’s those ones where you get hit and then you try to retaliate, those are the ones that you try to avoid.”
As it had in the first period of Friday’s game, the Red saw low offensive production in the opening 20 minutes, taking 10 shots. This inability to generate chances was augmented by six minutes of shorthanded play, but the Raiders’ eight shots showed the strength of the Cornell penalty kill.
The second period started with high energy — and it only grew from there.
Junior forward Karel Prefontaine broke away less than two minutes into the frame but was tripped by the sticks of Colgate defenders. Though the opportunity was spoiled, Prefontaine earned a penalty shot, which goaltender Brooke Davis successfully blocked.
Not long after, the Raiders went on the penalty kill for the first time, with two players sent to the box for interference and slashing. Cornell’s power play, which had the best scoring rate in the country before coming up short in four attempts on Friday, battered Davis with shots but came up short in the three-on-five opportunity.
The Raiders quickly clawed back control, and seconds after returning to even strength, Alexa Aubin broke away while the Red was still in attack formation. Aubin shot over Bergmann’s shoulder to put Colgate on the board.
Closely following the goal, Avar took another penalty, again forcing Cornell to the kill. However, when senior forward Avi Adam saw an opportunity to charge the Raiders’ goal, she took it. Adam scored the Red’s first shorthanded goal since Feb. 14, tying the score 1-1.
Despite the goal, the Raiders were still on the power play. Off the ensuing faceoff, Colgate returned to the attack, and Avery Pickering took a low shot from close to the blueline that snuck through Cornell’s defenses, lifting the Raiders back into the lead just 29 seconds after the Red had evened the score.
This was Cornell’s first allowed power play goal of the 2025 season, snapping a 22-penalty-kill streak.
The game’s pace didn’t relent, and before the halfway mark of the period, Cornell was back on the kill. A deflected Colgate shot bounced in the crease but stayed out of the goal, and the ensuing scuffle resulted in a Colgate penalty, which led to a minute and a half of four-on-four play.
With limited skaters on the ice, Colgate struck fast, beating Cornell’s defenders to the net and potting their third goal of the night. Seconds past the game’s halfway point, the score sat at 3-1 in favor of the visitors.
From there, penalty chaos ensued. With 2:38 remaining in the period, Colgate took a penalty. At 2:19, a Cornell penalty evened the playing field. At 2:01, the Raiders sent another player to the box — setting up a three-on-four advantage for the Red.
With the clock reading 1:55, Adam scored her second goal of the game and narrowed the deficit to 2-3.
“We had to make adjustments from yesterday because we didn’t capitalize on those [power plays],” Adam said. “Just making small tweaks and making sure we’re opening up different lanes, especially on our power play. … It worked today.”
Due to Colgate’s two-skater penalty, the teams played four-on-four until the final 19 seconds, when Cornell went back on the power play for the remainder of the period. The second 20 minutes were riddled with penalties — three on Cornell and six on Colgate.
After the eventful middle period, the third began relatively calm. After 14 minutes, neither squad had capitalized. The score remained fixed until a Colgate penalty brought back Cornell’s hunger.
“It was a really good bounce back from yesterday,” Adam said. “It shows how close our team is and how resilient we are. We hadn’t really been tested by a team like that so far this year, so for us to be able to regroup that quickly after a game [like] yesterday shows a lot.”
With just under six minutes remaining in regulation, the Red’s dominant power play made an appearance. Senior defender Grace Dwyer sent three shots Davis’ way before passing over to Grober, who slotted home the game-tying goal.
After the remainder of the third period passed scoreless, the game went into overtime. When Aubin and Dwyer became entangled and fell to the ice, Aubin threw Dwyer’s stick aside and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct call that gave the Red a crucial four-on-three advantage.
It would be Prefontaine who broke through, seconds into the power play. With a strong shot past Davis, Prefontaine earned Cornell its first — and final — lead of the game.
“I think I strive in those moments,” Prefontaine said. “I’m someone who plays better when there’s a lot of pressure.”
Cornell didn’t score a single goal over the course of two days while both teams were at full strength. The inability to capitalize during five-on-five play sank Friday’s match, but it was able to use Colgate’s penalty-ridden performance to clinch a win on Saturday.
“As a coach, when they are giving an effort, you know you can’t be upset,” Derraugh said. “Mistakes are going to happen. That’s the game of hockey. When a team comes with energy and effort and works hard and does their job, then regardless of the outcome, you’ve got to give them credit.”
The Red heads back on the road next week, traveling first to Union College on Nov. 12 and facing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Nov. 13. Both games will be available for streaming 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.
