ITHACA, N.Y.  — Cornell women's hockey returns to ECAC Hockey play in a midweek matchup with local rival Colgate. Because the Big Red and the Raiders are travel partners, the teams have played the same ECAC Hockey teams and have posted similar results. Both sides played Union to a 2-2 draw and took Rensselaer to overtime. Though Colgate shut out then-No. 7 Quinnipiac in a scoreless tie, the Raiders fell to No. 10 Princeton, 3-2, the day after the Big Red defeated the Tigers.
 
GAME 8: Cornell Big Red vs. Colgate Raiders
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Lynah Rink — Ithaca, N.Y.
2015 RECORDS: Cornell 2-4-1 (1-2-1 ECAC Hockey), Colgate 6-2-4 (0-1-3 ECAC Hockey)
LIVE STATS:  CornellBigRed.com
STREAMING VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
 
GAME NOTES:
Cornell | Colgate (coming soon)
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
The Big Red found its highest offensive output of the season against Syracuse, taking a 5-2 win for its first non-conference victory of the season. Cornell's first ECAC Hockey win of the season came on Nov. 6 against No. 10/10 Princeton when senior Taylor Woods scored a shorthanded goal with 1:16 left before netting the game-winner with 21 seconds remaining. The Big Red also took a point from Union, erasing a two-goal deficit to tie, 2-2. Cornell fell in a conference game to Rensselaer in overtime, 2-1, and lost to then-No. 7/7 Quinnipiac, 3-1. In the first weekend of the season, Cornell dropped a pair of games to No. 2/2 Boston College, including a 4-1 loss where the Eagles' final two goals came as empty-netters.
 
ABOUT COLGATE
All six of the Raiders' wins so far this season have come out of conference, beginning with a sweep of Robert Morris behind a five-point debut weekend from freshman Shae Labbe to open the season and a commanding 6-2 defeat of Providence. After playing to a tie with Connecticut, Colgate took its first hit, splitting a weekend series with first-year Division I team Merrimack. The Raiders opened ECAC Hockey play with three consecutive ties: against Union, Rensselaer and then-No. 7 Quinnipiac. Colgate's lone conference loss came at the hands of No. 10 Princeton, a narrow 3-2 decision. The Raiders then squeaked a series win over RIT this past weekend, winning by scores of 3-2 and 3-1. Colgate has been strongest in the first period, outscoring its opponents 14-4. Through the Raiders' first 12 games, eight different skaters have at least three goals. Labbe leads the team with seven goals while fellow freshman Bailey Larson has the team's most points on four goals and eight assists. Senior Ashlynne Rando (4-2-3) has seen the bulk of the work between the pipes and currently holds a 2.08 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
 
THE SERIES VS. COLGATE
The Big Red holds a 35-11-3 advantage over the Raiders all-time, including a 10-game win streak dating back to the 2009-2010 season. Colgate's last win over Cornell, a 2-1 decision, came on Jan. 10, 2009 in Ithaca. The Big Red's 2014-15 season series win culminated in a 3-2 overtime victory on Emily Fulton's golden goal in Hamilton on Feb. 3. The last time Colgate visited Lynah, on Nov. 18, 2014, the Big Red got goals from Fulton, junior Kaitlin Doering and sophomore Erin O'Connor en route to a 3-1 win.
 
ABOUT HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH '91
Entering his 11th season directing Cornell women's hockey, Derraugh has brought the program to national prominence. He amassed a 189-112-24 record in his first ten seasons with the Big Red and has led the team to four ECAC Hockey Tournament Championships, four Ivy League Championships and five NCAA tournament appearances, including three trips to the Frozen Four. From 2009-10 to 2013-14, his teams notched five consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in program history.
 
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
After averaging just over a goal a game through the first six games of the season, the Big Red found its offensive touch against Syracuse, exploding for five goals, including three in the first period. Four different Big Red skaters scored and nine got on the scoresheet.
 
ALL HANDS ON DECK
Heading into this season, the team emphasized that the Big Red would need offensive production from all skaters, rather than just a few individuals, to be successful. With Poudrier, Smith and Buckley registering their first points of the season on Nov. 14 against Syracuse, 13 of the 18 skaters who have seen playing time this season have now gotten on the scoresheet.
 
FRESHMEN FIREPOWER
Since the Big Red's 2-2 tie with Union, head coach Doug Derraugh has put together an all-freshman line of Pippy Gerace, Lenka Serdar and Christian Higham. It was this line that sparked Cornell's rally from a two-goal deficit, with Gerace poking home her first career goal and the Big Red's first of the game with assists from both of her linemates, Serdar and Higham's first Cornell points as well. Since then, Gerace has netted another goal (Nov. 14 at Syracuse) and Serdar has picked up a second assist (Nov. 6 at Princeton). Freshman Diana Buckley also recorded a pair of assists in the 5-2 win at Syracuse.

WOODS WOWS
Senior assistant captain Taylor Woods recorded her first two goals of the season in dramatic fashion, scoring a short-handed goal with 1:16 left to even the score with No. 10/10 Princeton on Nov. 6 before netting the game-winner with 21 seconds to go.

BEATING THE UNBEATEN
Cornell's thrilling 2-1 win over No. 10/10 Princeton was the Tigers' first loss of the season, after going 4-0-0 in their first four games. Princeton was the last team in ECAC Hockey to surrender an unbeaten, untied record. The win was also the Big Red's first victory over a ranked opponent this season.

SHUTOUT STREAK SNAPPERS (x3)
*Taylor Woods' first goal at Princeton snapped Tigers goalie Alysia Dasilva's shutout streak of 118 minutes, 44 seconds. Dasilva's previous outing was a 4-0 blanking of Brown.
* Junior Hanna Bunton scored the Big Red's first goal of the season 4:50 into the third period on Oct. 24 against No. 2/2 Boston College, marking the first time BC goaltender Katie Burt had let a puck past her in over 150 minutes of play. Burt had posted back-to-back shutouts against New Hampshire and Maine the weekend before.
*Quinnipiac goaltender junior Sydney Rossman hadn't surrendered a goal in 81:28, riding a scoreless overtime draw against Colgate, when Bunton netted the first goal of the game at 12:29 of the first period on Nov. 7, an eventual 3-1 Bobcats victory.
 
ALL TIED UP
In Cornell's ECAC Hockey opening weekend against Rensselaer and Union, in which both games needed overtime, the Big Red played 90 minutes, 17 seconds with the score tied, including 61:14 in the overtime loss to the Engineers. Cornell and RPI were scoreless through the first two periods before unior Kaitlin Doering scored the game's first goal 3:05 into the third, but the Engineers tied it 1:20 later. The next day, Union took a 2-0 lead before the Big Red answered to even the score at two in the second. The game would stay tied through the third and a five-minute overtime.
 
GOING FOR MOAK
Senior goaltender Stefannie Moak was called upon to play 50:31 in the Big Red's 2-2 tie with Union on Oct. 31. Moak stopped all 12 shots that came her way, including several key saves, providing a momentum shift for Cornell as the team rallied to even the score at two in the second period.
 
THE PUCK STOPS HERE
Junior goaltender Paula Voorheis posted a spectacular performance in net in the Big Red's season opener against Boston College on Oct. 24. Against BC's potent offense, Voorheis made 40 saves, including stopping all 17 shots that came her way in the second period. Voorheis allowed just two goals on the night, with the Eagles' other two tallies coming in the form of empty net goals when Cornell pulled Voorheis in favor of an extra attacker in the games' waning moments.
 
'C' IS FOR CASSANDRA
Senior defenseman Cassandra Poudrier will be serving as the Big Red's captain for the 2015-16 season. In addition to her strength on the ice, head coach Doug Derraugh also notes that Poudrier is well-liked and well-respected by her teammates. She finished last season with a +13 rating and 76 blocked shots. Classmates Taylor Woods and Stefannie Moak will serve as the assistant captains.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The Big Red has six newcomers this season: four forwards, a defenseman and a goaltender. Pippy Gerace, Lenka Serdar, Diana Buckley and Christian Higham will play up front, while Micah Hart will add depth at the blue line and Marlene Boissonnault will be an option between the pipes. The class is split across the northern border, with Higham, Hart and Boissonnault hailing from Canada and Gerace, Serdar and Buckley coming from the United States. Higham, Hart and Boissonnault were silver medalists with Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championships. The forwards will bring speed and hockey smarts to the Big Red offense, while Hart, who captained the silver medal Canadian team, will add experience and poise at the blue line. 
 
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
Last season, Cornell ranked first in ECAC Hockey and second in the nation for assists, racking up 133 in conference play and 183 overall. Sophomore Erin O'Connor led the Big Red's returning players with 18 helpers on the season.
 
FOR CLUB AND FOR COUNTRY
Entering the 2015-16 season, the Big Red has eight players who have represented Team Canada at some level. Senior Cassandra Poudrier, junior Hanna Bunton and freshman Micah Hart have all spent time with the senior Canadian Women's National Team. Poudrier competed in the 2015 Four Nations Cup for Team Canada. Senior Morgan Richardson helped the U-18 Canadian team to an IIHF World Championship in 2012, while freshmen Hart captained a U-18 team that also featured classmates Christian Higham and Marlene Boissonnault to a silver medal at the 2015 U-18 IIHF World Championships. Junior Sydney Smith has also spent time with the Canadian U-18 Team. Several American players have attended USA Hockey development camps as well.
 
GOING PRO
In the newly formed National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), teams can draft players entering their final year of NCAA eligibility in order to sign them once they finish their collegiate play. Senior captain Cassandra Poudrier was picked 18th overall in the 2015 NWHL Draft by the Connecticut Whale. Four Cornell women's hockey alumnae are currently playing in the league, which is in its first season: Alyssa Gagliardi '14 (Boston Pride), Lauren Slebodnick '14 (Boston Pride), Jenny Scrivens (Niesluchowski) '10 (NY Riveters) and Erin Barley-Maloney '13 (NY Riveters). In addition, eight former Cornellians are playing in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Emily Fulton '15 was a first round CWHL draft pick this season, going to the Toronto Furies. Linemates Brianne Jenner '15 and Jill Saulnier '15 were both drafted by the Calgary Inferno, where they will join Rebecca Johnston '12, Jessica Campbell '14 and Hayleigh Cudmore '14. Laura Fortino '13 (Brampton) and Lauriane Rougeau '13 (Montreal) also play in the league.

RECORDS WATCH
*Junior Hanna Bunton and senior Taylor Woods are currently tied for the No. 22 spot all-time in program history for career game-winning goals with six. They are each three game-winners way from being tied for 10th.
*Woods is tied for 16th all-time with 11 career power-play goals. Adding one power-play goal would tie her for 12th. She is four power-play goals away from knocking Jeri Maerz out of 10th.
*Woods' short-handed goal against Princeton tied her for 10th all-time with three man-down tallies.
*Bunton is tied for 12th all-time with two short-handed goals.
*Woods' 288 career shots on goal are good for 13th all-time. She needs 11 shots on goal to surpass Caeleigh Beerworth in the No. 12 spot. Woods was also No. 13 for shots per game with 2.69 entering her senior season.
*Senior Cassandra Poudrier has moved into 18th all-time with 218 career shots on goal. She is just 5 shots away from taking the 15th spot and passing Dana Antal.
*Junior Paula Voorheis sits at No. 6 for most career wins in program history with 25.
*Voorheis also holds the No. 8 spot for career shutouts with five. She needs two shutouts to tie for fifth all-time.
*Voorheis moved into the No. 12 spot for saves with 30 saves against Rensselaer on Oct. 30. She now has 1227.
 
UP NEXT
After the matchup with Colgate, the Big Red will go on the road for two non-conference swings, beginning next weekend in Erie, Pa., at Mercyhurst. Cornell will play a two-game series against the Lakers with puck drop at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20 and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. Though Mercyhurst currently sits in first place in College Hockey America, all five of the Lakers' wins have been in conference. The Big Red then heads to Vermont on Thanksgiving weekend, where they will face Boston University and Vermont in the Vermont Women's Hockey Classic.