Late Penalty Call Sinks Women’s Hockey in 1-0 Loss to No. 4 Penn State
On Tuesday in State College, Pennsylvania, the difference between a tie, win or a heartbreaking loss seemingly came down to a single call from the referees.
On Tuesday in State College, Pennsylvania, the difference between a tie, win or a heartbreaking loss seemingly came down to a single call from the referees.
“Two of the best teams in the country coming into town this weekend, it will be a real test to see where we’re at right now,” Derraugh said.
The weekend marked a new way for the Red to be inconsistent, but also demonstrated the team’s resilience. After five straight games away from Lynah Rink, the pieces are there for a return to the strong early season form for Cornell.
On Nov. 1, women’s hockey notched its seventh victory to set a program record season-opening winning streak. Since then, not much has gone right for Cornell.
The Red jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back, outshooting the Engineers 34-17 in a dominant 4-1 victory.
Women’s hockey hasn’t scored during five-on-five play in 20 days.
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.
No. 4 Cornell struggled with an aggressive No. 14 Colgate forecheck, while also failing to string together passes in the offensive zone.
Women’s hockey is off to one of its best starts in program history, winning the first seven of its games in convincing fashion. The Red have four shutouts, a 30-5 goal differential, and two wins over ranked opponents.
The Red’s unrelenting forecheck caused turnovers and secured possession for a vast majority of its afternoon tilt against the Bears, earning the team its seventh win of the young season.
“Our d[efense], no matter what, they’re gonna have my back," said junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann. "If I could split the shutout puck every single way between the d[efenders], I would.”
After a slow start last season that saw three losses in its first five contests, the Red (5-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) has come out of the gates swinging in 2025-2026 and has yet to trail in a game.
With the win, the Red improves to 5-0-0 for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.
Bergmann recorded her second shutout of the season and third career against Dartmouth in a dominant performance.
The Red’s 12 goals this season have come off the sticks of 10 different skaters.
“So many of my great memories happened in the dressing room here with the girls,” Jenner said. “We had such a great group, and I think that's what I think of. I think of the times on the bus, in the dressing room, and just all the fun that we had together.”
“It’s our first weekend as a team, but I think we played together and we started off [the season] on the right foot.”