For more information on the rivalry between women’s hockey and Colgate, check out this feature.
Eleven teams make the NCAA women’s hockey tournament and the Red sits at 11 in the NCAA Percentage Index, the statistical formula used to determine at-large bids to the tournament. So if the season ended today, would No. 11 women’s hockey be in the NCAA tournament?
Unfortunately for Cornell, the answer is no. With all five conference winners automatically receiving a slot in the tournament, only six at-large bids are available. And whichever team emerges victorious from the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance postseason tournament — a conference with a 4-40-0 record against non-NEWHA teams — will not be in the top 11 in NPI.
But the season is not over just yet. If the Red want to play in a third consecutive NCAA tournament, it will need to beat No. 13 Colgate, and likely win its semifinals matchup as well.
Colgate’s Path to Lynah:
When the ECAC playoff bracket was finalized on Feb. 14, five-seed Clarkson seemed destined to be Cornell’s second-round opponent. The Red defeated the Golden Knights to claim the tournament’s four-seed, pushing Clarkson into the first-round.
With the Red set to host the highest remaining seed outside the top-four, all the then-No. 12 Golden Knights needed to do to set up a quick rematch was defeat the lowest ranked team in the conference — Union. Instead, the Garnet Chargers notched their first road win over Clarkson in program history, upending the ECAC Hockey playoffs and putting the Red and the Raiders on a collision course.
Despite being picked to finish second in the pre-season coaches poll, the Raiders (19-14-1, 13-8-1 ECAC) have had a turbulent path to the second round of the ECAC playoffs. Like Cornell (18-10-2, 14-7-1 ECAC), Colgate’s 2025-2026 schedule is littered with both surprising losses — like those to Dartmouth, Rochester Institute of Technology and Brown — and impressive wins.
In the second half of the season, the quality wins have become more common than the disappointing losses. In 2026, Colgate has managed wins over then-No. 7 Princeton and Clarkson, and has lost only once to a team outside the top 15.
In its ECAC tournament first-round matchup, the six-seed Raiders dispatched 11-seed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 4-2, thanks to a trio of second period goals and a three point night from Alexis Petford.
Special Teams
The biggest takeaway from Cornell and Colgate’s pair of meetings in November is the importance of special teams. When the two teams first squared off, Colgate looked dominant in a 3-0 win that left head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 searching for answers.
“Who knows,” Derraugh said after the game when asked for an explanation of the team's struggles. “I’m not gonna sit here and make excuses. They were better than us. That's the bottom line.”
Part of the problem for the Red was an inability to generate offense over its four power plays — Cornell averaged just a shot per minute with the skater advantage.
The next day in Ithaca, the Red’s special teams responded. Cornell’s first goal came shorthanded, and its next three — including the overtime game-winner — came on the power play. The Raiders recorded a power-play goal of their own in the Red’s 4-3 comeback win, which saw the two teams combine for 32 minutes of penalties.
Overall, Cornell’s special teams holds a statistical advantage over Colgate's, with the Red owning an 85.5%-81.4% advantage on the penalty kill and a 28.0%-23.1% advantage on the power play.
The Goaltending Matchup
Another area where Cornell looks to capitalize in the difference in quality and experience of netminders. For the Red, junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann has turned in a third straight elite regular season and enters the ECAC tournament playing well, notching three shutouts in her past six games.
The Detroit native has plenty of experience playing in pressure-filled games, including her 11 collegiate postseason starts, her time with both the junior and senior American national teams, and her glass-ceiling shattering days in boys hockey.
“She’s played in a lot of high pressure games her entire life,” Derraugh said. “I think she enjoys those situations, I think she embraces that [pressure].
Meanwhile, Colgate is relying on a relatively untested netminder. Freshman Brooke Davis made her first postseason start last weekend against RPI, saving 23 of the 25 shots she faced. In her 24 appearances this season, Davis posted a .921 save percentage and a 2.36 goals against average.
Avar’s Return Remains a Mystery
Sophomore forward Lindzi Avar’s status remains unclear. The 2024-2025 team’s leading goal scorer has missed five straight games dating back to Jan. 30, despite her injury being described as day-to-day since it occurred. On Feb. 18, Derraugh declined to give any indication on whether she was planning to return in the playoffs, hoping the mystery of her status presents a wrinkle in Colgate’s preparation for the best-of-three series.
Cornell and Colgate will face off at 3 p.m. on Friday, Saturday — and Sunday, if necessary — at Lynah Rink. Tickets are free for Cornell students, and all games will air 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.
