GAME INFORMATION
GAME #26: Cornell at Brown
DATE: Friday, February 12, 2010
TIME: 7 pm
SITE: Providence, R.I. - Meehan Auditorium
2009-10 RECORDS: Cornell - 11-8-6, 10-2-6 ECAC Hockey; Brown - 2-18-4, 0-15-3 ECAC Hockey
SERIES RECORD: Brown leads, 34-33-8
LAST MEETING: Cornell won, 6-0, on Dec. 5, 2009, in Ithaca, N.Y.
LIVE VIDEO: www.BrownBears.com
LIVE STATS: www.BrownBears.com

GAME #27: Cornell at Yale
DATE: Saturday, February 13, 2010
TIME: 4 p.m.
SITE: New Haven, Conn. - Ingalls Rink
2009-10 RECORDS: Cornell - 11-8-6, 10-2-6 ECAC Hockey; Yale - 9-13-3, 7-10-1 ECAC Hockey
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads, 42-12-1
LAST MEETING: Tied, 2-2, on Dec. 4, 2009, in Ithaca, N.Y.
LIVE VIDEO: www.YaleBulldogs.com
LIVE STATS: www.YaleBulldogs.com

The Cornell women's hockey team takes to the road for the final time in the regular season for 2009-10, seeking to secure home ice for the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs. The Big Red will look to do so while also trying to claim its first outright Ivy League crown since the 1999 season when it faces Brown and Yale this weekend.

HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH
In his fifth season behind the Big Red bench, Doug Derraugh has turned the Cornell women's hockey program into one of women's college hockey's top young programs. Derraugh has a career record of 48-80-15, but has taken the Big Red to double-digit win totals in each of the last three seasons for the first time since Cornell had six straight double-digit win totals from 1995-96 through 2000-01. He has also guided the Big Red to its third straight berth in the ECAC Hockey playoffs. Derraugh is assisted by Danielle Biloudeau, in her fourth season, and Edith Zimmering, in her first year with the Big Red.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time on the season last year when it blanked Quinnipiac and Princeton at Lynah Rink for a three-point weekend. Cornell and Quinnipiac skated to a scoreless tie before the Big Red routed Princeton, 6-0, to clinch a share of the Ivy League title. Sophomore Chelsea Karpenko scored a pair of goals against the Tigers while classmate Catherine White added three assists in the contest. Amanda Mazzotta was stellar on the weekend, stopping all 35 shots she faced in the two games. For the season, White leads the Big Red with 27 points on seven goals and 20 assists, while Karpenko has a team-best 12 goals to go along with nine assists for 21 points. In goal, Mazzotta has played all but one game in between the pipes, posting a 1.60 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. The Big Red has been exceptional on special teams, convering on 22-of-103 power-play chances this season (21.4 percent) while allowing only three power play goals (84-of-87 successful kills) for a 96.6 percent success rate.

ABOUT BROWN
The Bears have struggled this season to a 2-18-4 mark entering the weekend, and are still searching for their first win in league play. Losers of eight straight, the Bears have been shut out nine times this season, including three times on their current losing skid. Four players share the team lead in scoring with eight points apiece. Paige Pyett has a team-best six assists to go with one goal for seven points, while Sasha Van Muyen has a team-high five goals and one assist for six points. In goal, freshman Katie Jamieson has played most of the time, posting a 3.04 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. The Bears have struggled on the power play, scoring just seven times in 102 chances (6.9 percent) while killing off 93-of-116 opponents' power plays (80.2 percent).

THE SERIES WITH BROWN
Cornell has won four straight times against the Bears, including a 6-0 victory earlier this season in Ithaca. Brown's last win in the series came in Jan. 2007. All-time, Cornell trails in the all-time series, 34-33-8, with the chance to even the all-time record with a win against Brown on Friday.

ABOUT YALE
Yale is locked in a tie with Dartmouth for the eighth and final spot in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, with both teams bringing identical 7-10-1 league marks into the weekend. The Bulldogs have gone 5-3 in their last eight games, though Yale was swept last weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard. Bray Ketchum leads the Yale offense with 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points in 25 games, while Alyssa Zupon shares the team assist lead with 10. In goal, Jackee Snikeris seen most of the action, posting a 2.61 goals-against average with a .922 save percentage. Yale has converted on 15-of-106 power play chances (14.2 percent) while killing off 86-of-104 opponents' power plays (82.7 percent).

THE SERIES WITH YALE
Cornell holds a 42-12-1 lead in the all-time series with Yale, with the two teams tying for the first time in the series history when they met at Lynah Rink back in December. Cornell defeated the Bulldogs last season in Ithaca for the first time since 2003.

THE PLAYOFF CHASE
With its win over Princeton on Feb. 6, the Cornell women clinched a berth in the ECAC Hockey playoffs for the third straight season. Cornell, with 26 points and four games remaining, can not be caught by the eighth-place teams, Dartmouth and Yale, who both have 15 points with four games and eight possible points remaining. Cornell is also a frontrunner to be one of the four teams to host a first-round series, something the Big Red has never done. Cornell holds a four-point lead over fifth-place Quinnipiac and Rensselaer with four games remaining. A four-point weekend this weekend for the Big Red women would assure Cornell of a first-round home weekend, regardless of the results gained by Quinnipiac and Rensselaer.

A CROWN OF IVY
Cornell's 6-0 victory over Princeton on Feb. 6 gave the Big Red at least a share of the 2010 Ivy League title, Cornell's first since the 1999 season. Cornell is currently tied atop the Ivy League standings with Harvard, but Cornell has two games in hand over the Crimson, who have played their full slate of games against Ivy League foes. A single point this weekend against either Yale or Brown would give the Big Red the title outright. Cornell has won or shared the Ivy League title nine times, winning the outright title eight of those times.

DOUBLE VISION ONCE AGAIN
The Cornell women's hockey team has recorded double-digit wins this season, marking the third year in a row that Cornell has done so. The Big Red last won at least 10 games in three straight seasons during a stretch of six years with double-digit win totals from 1995-96 through 2000-01.

DRAWING A BLANK
Cornell was held scoreless on Jan. 10 at Providence, the first time this season Cornell has failed to score at least one goal. Cornell was also held scoreless by Quinnipiac on Feb. 5, but picked up a tie in the 0-0 contest. By contrast, Big Red opponents have been shut out eight times through the first 25 games. Cornell has also scored two or more goals 17 times through the first 25 games. When Cornell scores two or more goals, the Big Red is 10-2-5.

NO SOUP FOR YOU!
Cornell sophomore goaltender Amanda Mazzotta has posted eight shutouts this season, becoming the Big Red's all-time single-season leader in that category. She surpassed Kathryn LoPresti's six shutouts from 1988 when she blanked Quinnipiac on Feb. 5, then added her eighth shutout the next night against Princeton. Mazzotta's eight shutouts are the second-most among all Cornell goaltenders, men or women, and trails David McKee's 10 in 2004-05 for the most by a Cornell goaltender.

OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
The formula for a winning hockey team is obvious - scoring plenty of goals and not giving up goals. The Cornell women's hockey team has followed that formula to perfection, ranking third in ECAC Hockey with 54 goals scored, trailing only Harvard's 60 and Dartmouth's 57. On defense, the Big Red is second in fewest goals allowed, conceeding just 24 goals, five behind league-leading Clarkson.

MOVING ON UP
Catherine White is quickly moving her way up the list of national scoring leaders, entering the weekend with a 1.23 points-per-game average. White ranks 17th in the nation in that category, while her 0.91 assists-per-game average ranks fifth in the nation.

DON'T LEAVE HER OPEN
Opposing teams facing Cornell's power play should make sure they know where Chelsea Karpenko is, as the sophomore forward ranks tied for fourth in the nation in power-play goals with seven. Laura Fortino is tied for eighth in the nation with six goals on the power-play.

OFFENSE FROM DEFENSE
Cornell's freshmen defensemen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau are among the top defensemen in scoring across the nation. Fortino is ranked second, averaging 0.91 points per game, while Rougeau is fifth, potting 0.82 points per contest. The pair are also the highest-scoring freshmen defensemen in the country, and also rank sixth and ninth, respectively, among all freshmen in per-game scoring.

ON A ROLL
Catherine White has scored at least one point in all but one of Cornell's games since the start of the new calendar year, collecting 12 points in the eight games. She was only held scoreless during the Big Red's 0-0 tie against Quinnipiac on Feb. 5. Of her points over that span, 10 have been assists, boosting her season total in that category to a team-leading 20.

GOING STREAKING, TOO
Catherine White's not the only one who has been on a roll lately, as Laura Fortino has also scored in seven of the eight games since the start of the new year. Fortino has 12 points over that span, including six goals and six assists. Fortino has four multi-point games in her last eight.

CLUTCH IS EVERYTHING
When the Cornell women's hockey team has needed a goal in the closing minutes of games, Karlee Overguard has delivered. The junior has a pair of game-tying goals in the last several weeks, first knotting the score with four seconds left at Harvard on Jan. 15 for a 4-4 tie against the Crimson, then tallying the tying mark with 1:16 to play against St. Lawrence on Jan. 29.

WELCOME RETURNS
Cornell's lineup was boosted by the return of three players who missed three games due to their participation at the MLP Cup, representing Canada. Catherine White, Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau each missed the games against Syracuse and Providence for the international competition in Ravensburg, Germany, where they claimed the gold medal. The trio, comprising three of the Big Red's top four scorers, combined to score 10 of Cornell's 17 points on the weekend. Fortino had four of those points (2-2--4), with Rougeau (1-2--3) and White (0-3--3) both tallying three. With the three players gone on international duty, the Big Red went 0-3.

NON-LEAGUE NOT FRIENDLY
Cornell closed out the non-conference portion of the season with a 1-6 record after dropping three games to open the new year. The Big Red went 1-4 against College Hockey America foes at Lynah Rink while dropping a pair at Providence of Hockey East.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Cornell's special teams units are among the top teams in the nation, ranking third in power-play percentage (21.4 percent) and first in penalty killing (96.6 percent). On the man advantage, the Big Red trails only New Hampshire (27.7 percent) and Mercyhurst (25.7 percent). While playing short-handed, Cornell has a full four percentage point lead over second-place Minnesota. The Big Red is one of only six teams to have a penalty-killing percentage over 90.0.

TWO-WAY PLAYERS
Cornell's women's hockey team has a pair of players who give new meaning to the term two-way player, as senior Melanie Jue and freshman Xandra Hompe are dual-sport athletes. Jue is a goalie for the field hockey team, and is ranked fourth in the nation in save percentage this season. Hompe, meanwhile, is a forward for the women's soccer team, tallying a pair of assists this fall for the Big Red.

UP NEXT
Cornell closes out the regular season when Union and Rensselaer visit Lynah Rink for a pair of games. The Big Red will battle Rensselaer on Friday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m., before wrapping the regular season with a Saturday against Union at 4 p.m.