ECAC Hockey Women's Quarterfinals
Game 1 • Colgate at Cornell
Face Off: Friday, Feb. 26 • 3:30 p.m.
Site: Lynah Rink • Ithaca, N.Y.

Game 2 • Colgate at Cornell
Face Off: Saturday, Feb. 27 • 2 p.m.
Site: Lynah Rink • Ithaca, N.Y.

Game 3 • Colgate at Cornell (if necessary)
Face Off: Saturday, Feb. 28 • 2 p.m.
Site: Lynah Rink • Ithaca, N.Y.

The Basics
2009-10 Records:
    Cornell: 15-8-6, 14-2-6 ECAC Hockey
    Colgate: 12-18-4, 8-10-4 ECAC Hockey
Series Record: Cornell leads, 21-11-3
Season Series: Cornell leads, 1-0-1
    Tied, 3-3, on Jan. 22, in Hamilton, N.Y.
    Cornell won, 6-0, on Jan. 23, in Ithaca, N.Y.

Media Information
Live Video: cornellbigred.com/showcase
Live Stats: sidearmsports.com/cornell/whockey

Game Notes in PDF Format

ITHACA, N.Y. -- For the first time in history, the Cornell women's hockey team will host playoff hockey, as the top-seeded Big Red will play host to eighth-seeded Colgate in a best-of-three series this weekend at Lynah Rink. Cornell, the ECAC Hockey regular-season champion, will play host to the Raiders on Friday at 3:30 p.m., with Saturday's game and the decisive game three, if necessary on Sunday, being played at 2 p.m. Live streaming video of all of the weekend's action is available through the Cornell Redcast subscription service.

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 led the Big Red to its first-ever ECAC Hockey regular-season championship and its first Ivy League title since 1996. With a career coaching record of 52-80-15, Derraugh has guided the Big Red to double-digit win totals in each of the last three seasons, the first time that has happened since Cornell won six straight from 1995-96 through 2000-01. He has also led the Big Red to its third straight berth in the league playoffs for the first time since reaching the post-season from 2002 through 2004. Derraugh, a 1991 graduate of Cornell, was named the program's head coach prior to the 2005-06 season following a 13-year professional playing career in Europe. He is assisted by Danielle Bilodeau, a 2001 Cornell graduate and former Big Red player, in her fourth season, and Edith Zimmering, in her first year with the Big Red.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell clinched its first-ever ECAC Hockey championship last weekend with a sweep against Rensselaer and Union, winning 2-1 on Friday against the Engineers before capping the season with a 6-1 victory over Union on Saturday. Sophomore Catherine White and freshman Laura Fortino led the way with three points each last weekend, with both players collecting a trio of assists. In an example of the teamwork carried throughout the season, 14 of the 16 skaters recorded at least one point last weekend. Amanda Mazzotta allowed just two goals and posted a .926 save percentage with a 1.00 goals-against average on the weekend. For the season, White leads all scorers with 33 points on seven goals and 26 assists, while Fortino has 26 points on nine goals and 17 assists. Sophomore Chelsea Karpenko leads the team with 15 goals to go along with nine assists for 24 points, while junior Karlee Overguard is also in double-digits in goals with 11, combined with five assists for six points. Mazzotta has played all but one game in goal, posting a 1.45 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage with 10 shutouts on the year. Cornell's special teams have been outstanding, converting on 25-of-116 power-play chances (21.6 percent) while killing off 94-of-97 opponents' power play chances (96.9 percent).

ABOUT COLGATE
Colgate earned its way into the tournament field by winning each of its final three games, edging out Dartmouth for the eighth and final playoff spot. Senior Katie Stewart leads all scorers with 24 goals and 15 assists for 39 points in 34 games, while classmate Evan Minnick has nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points. Junior Lisa Plenderleith has played most of the season in net for the Raiders, posting a 3.14 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage with one shutout. Colgate's power-play unit has converted on 29-of-187 chances this season (15.5 percent) while killing off 128-of-170 opponents' power-play chances (75.3 percent).

THE SERIES WITH COLGATE
Cornell leads the all-time series against the Raiders, 21-11-3, after going 1-0-1 against Colgate in the regular season. The two teams skated to a 3-3 tie on Jan. 22 in Hamilton, N.Y., before Cornell exploded for a 6-0 victory the following afternoon at Lynah Rink. Prior to this season's results, however, the Raiders had won each of the last three meetings.

HOME FOR THE POST-SEASON
Cornell claimed the top seed in the ECAC Hockey tournament when Clarkson picked up just one point last weekend in a pair of games against Dartmouth and Harvard, allowing Cornell to overtake the Knights by three points. As the top seed, the Big Red will play at home for as long as it remains alive in the tournament.

TOURNAMENT CHANGES
This season marks the first season under a new format for the women's ECAC Hockey championship. Like years past, the top eight teams qualify for the tournament, with the tournament re-seeded after the quarterfinal round. Unlike prior seasons, however, the top two seeds will play host to the semifinal round on Friday, March 5, with the championship being played at the home of the highest remaining seed on Sunday, March 7. Previously, the semifinals and final were played on back-to-back days at the highest seed entering the semifinals.

POST-SEASON HISTORY
The 2010 season marks the 10th time that the Big Red has qualified for the ECAC Hockey playoffs, and Cornell is playing at home for the first time. Prior to the 2001-02 season, the tournament was a single-elimination tournament for each round, with the best-of-three format being adopted for the quarterfinals from that point forward. Cornell qualified for the post-season four times under the old format (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) and fell to Providence twice and Brown and Harvard once each. Under the new format, the Big Red has been swept all five times, including each of the last four as the eighth seed, and each time playing at Harvard. Cornell is 0-14 all-time in post-season play.

BREAK OUT THE HARDWARE
The ECAC Hockey regular-season trophy isn't the only hardware captured by the Big Red women this season. Cornell also claimed the Ivy League trophy for the first time since 1996 with an 8-0-2 record against the other five Ivy League schools. Cornell was presented with both trophies after the regular-season finale against Union on Feb. 20 at Lynah Rink.

A CROWN OF IVY
Cornell's 4-0 win over Brown on Feb. 12 gave Cornell the Ivy League title outright, the Big Red's first since the 1996 season. Cornell has now won the league championship 10 times, winning the title outright nine times.

TO THE VICTORS GO THE SPOILS
As the end of the season awards start being announced, Cornell has had a large number of honors go towards its players. Catherine White, Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau were each named to the All-ECAC Hockey First Team, with Amanda Mazzotta earning third-team honors. In the Ivy League, White was named the league's player of the year and Rougeau was named the top rookie by the league's coaches. White, Rougeau, Fortino and Mazzotta each were named to the first team, with Chelsea Karpenko earning second-team All-Ivy honors.

DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!
Cornell has been outstanding during the final month of the regular season, going 5-0-1 over the last three weekends in clinching the regular-season title. The Big Red posted four shutouts in the six games during the month while out-scoring its opponents by a 18-2 margin.

ONE LONG BLANK
Cornell goaltender Amanda Mazzotta posted four straight shutouts from Feb. 5 through Feb. 13, in the process setting the fourth-longest shutout streak in NCAA history. Stretching from the third period against Clarkson on Jan. 30 to the second period against Rensselaer on Feb. 19, Mazzotta was in net for 286:54 consecutive scoreless minutes, the longest streak in ECAC Hockey history. Wisconsin's Jessie Vetter owns two of the  three longest shutout streaks in NCAA history, including the record of 448:39.

HOW FAR WE'VE COME
The four seniors on this year's team - Laura Danforth, Melanie Jue, Kelly McGinty and Liz Zorn - have truly seen it all over the course of their Cornell careers. As freshmen in 2006-07, the Big Red went just 4-23-2 and missed the ECAC Hockey playoffs. The Big Red made the playoffs as the eighth seed in each of the next two seasons, building up to winning the first league regular-season championship in school history.

DEFEND YOUR TURF
Cornell has done a good job of doing just that in league play this season, posting a stellar 8-1-2 at home this season against ECAC Hockey foes. The Big Red has allowed just 10 goals at Lynah Rink this season in league play, outscoring its opposition, 38-10.

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.

NO SOUP FOR YOU!
Cornell sophomore goaltender Amanda Mazzotta has posted 10 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 10 shutouts are the tied for the most all-time among Cornell goaltenders, male or female. Mazzotta is tied with David McKee, who had 10 shutouts in 2004-05. For her career, Mazzotta has 11 shutouts, one shy of LoPresti's career total of 10 shutouts from 1985-88.

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 10 times through the first 27 games. Cornell has also scored two or more goals 20 times through the first 29 games. When Cornell scores two or more goals, the Big Red is 13-2-5.

KAZMAIER WATCH
When the 45 nominees for the Patty Kazmaier Award were announced on Feb. 17, a trio of Cornell players were among those up for the award. Sophomore Catherine White and freshmen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau were each nominated for the award, which will be handed out on March 20. The 45 nominees will be cut to 10 on March 2, with three finalists being announced a week later.

CATHERINE THE GREAT
Catherine White has become one of the nation's top playmakers, as evidenced by her ranking as fifth in the nation in assists per game. White has 26 assists in 26 games for an average of one assist per game.

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN
Cornell's two freshmen defensemen rank among the nation's elite in terms of scoring among defensemen. Laura Fortino is second in the nation in points per game among defensemen, while Lauriane Rougeau ranks seventh in the nation. The two players have combined for 17 goals and 29 assists and rank second and fourth on the Cornell roster, respectively. Fortino also ranks fourth in the nation in scoring among all rookies, while Rougeau is ninth in that category.

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 18 points in the 12 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, 16 have been assists, boosting her season total in that category to a team-leading 26.

GOING STREAKING, TOO
Catherine White's not the only one who has been on a roll lately, as Laura Fortino has also scored in 10 of the 12 games since the start of the new year. Fortino has 18 points over that span, including six goals and 12 assists. Fortino has six multi-point games in her last 12 and seven on the season.

CLUTCH IS EVERYTHING
When the Cornell women's hockey team has needed a goal in the closing minutes of a game, 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 immediately following their return from international duty. Fortino had four of those points (2-2--4), with Rougeau (1-2--3) and White (0-3--3) both tallying three.

OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
The formula for a winning hockey team is obvious - putting the puck in the net and keeping it out of yours. The Cornell women's hockey team has followed that formula to perfection, ranking third in ECAC Hockey with 67 goals scored, trailing only Harvard's 69 and Dartmouth's 70. On defense, the Big Redhas allowed the fewest number of goals, conceeding just 26 goals in 22 league games. Clarkson and Quinnipiac are tied for second-fewest goals allowed in the conference, with both teams conceeding 28 goals in league play.

SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL
Cornell's penalty killing unit is on the verge of snapping the NCAA record for highest penalty-killing percentage in a season. The Big Red has killed off 96.9 percent of opponents' power plays this season, which is above the NCAA record of 95.7 percent, set by Harvard in 2003. That year, Harvard allowed just five goals in 117 chances. The Big Red this season has allowed just three goals in 97 opportunites.

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.

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
The winner of this weekend's best-of-three series will advance to the league semifinals. If Cornell should win, it would host a semifinal on Friday, March 5, at Lynah Rink. If Colgate wins, it would be on the road at the site of the highest remaining seed for the semifinal that same evening.