Face Off: Tuesday, January 18 • 7 p.m.

Site: Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pa.

2010-11 Records:

Cornell - 17-1-0, 12-0-0 ECAC Hockey

Mercyhurst - 18-4-, 7-0-0 College Hockey America

Series Record: Mercyhurst leads, 12-1-1

Last Meeting: Mercyhurst won, 4-3 (ot), on Nov. 2, 2010, in Ithaca, N.Y.

Media Information

Live Audio: www.cornellbigred.com/showcase

Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/hurst/whockey

Game Notes in PDF Format

HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH

Now in his sixth season as head coach of the Cornell women's hockey team, Doug Derraugh has turned the program into a contender for the national championship. With a 75-82-15 overall record, Derraugh guided the Big Red to a 21-9-6 record last season and a berth in the national championship game. He led Cornell to its first-ever ECAC Hockey regular season and tournament championships and first appearance in the NCAA tournament, defeating traditional powers Harvard and Mercyhurst on the way to the national title game. He has led the Big Red to double-digit win totals in each of the past four seasons and set a program record for wins in a season with 21 in 2009-10. Derraugh took over the program prior to the 2005-06 season after a 13-year professional playing career in Europe and has transformed the Big Red into one of the top young programs in the country. He is assisted by fifth-year assistant coach Danielle Bilodeau, a former Cornell player and 2001 graduate, Edith Zimering, in her second season with the Big Red, and volunteer assistant coach Meredith Roth, in her first year with Cornell.

ABOUT THE BIG RED

Cornell extended its winning streak to 13 games with a pair of victories in New York's Capital District last weekend, defeating Rensselaer, 6-1, on Friday before taking a 4-2 win against Union on Saturday. Brianne Jenner and Jessica Campbell led the way on the weekend with four points each, with Jenner scoring three goals and adding one assist and Campbell tallying one goal and three helpers. In all, nine skaters recorded points on the weekend for the Big Red. Lauren Slebodnick and Katie Wilson split time in goal on the weekend, with Slebodnick stopping 15 of the 16 shots she faced in the win on Friday night and Wilson making 12 saves on 14 shots on Saturday for the win. On the year, Rebecca Johnston leads the Big Red offense with 27 points in 16 games, while Jenner has a team-best 14 goals to go along with 12 assists for 26 points in 16 contests. In all, six different skaters are averaging at least a point per game this season. In goal, Amanda Mazzotta has played most of the time this season, despite sitting out each of the last four contests due to injury, and has a sparkling 0.91 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage with four shutouts. Slebodnick has seen most of the time in Mazzotta's absense, recording a .986 save percentage and a 0.26 goals-against average and two shutouts. Cornell ranks among the nation's leaders in scoring offense (third, 4.39 goals per game), scoring defense (first, 0.83 goals allowed per game), power play efficiency (first, 26.1 percent) and penalty killing percentage (first, 96.3 percent).

ABOUT MERCYHURST

Mercyhurst enters Tuesday's meeting with a four-game winning streak, raising the Lakers' record to 18-4 overall and 7-0 in College Hockey America action. The Lakers have posted shutouts in each of their last three games, blanking Syracuse, 6-0, and winning a pair of contests against Brown last weekend, 6-0 and 12-0. The Lakers, boasting the nation's top scoring offense at an amazing 5.73 goals per game, are led offensively by Meghan Agosta's 57 points on 24 goals and 33 assists in just 21 games. In all, seven different players are averaging a point per game or better this season. In goal, Hillary Pattenden has played most of the minutes, posting a 2.27 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage with three shutouts. Mercyhurst has converted on 34-of-131 power-play chances this season (26.0 percent, second nationally), while killing off 114-of-129 opponents' power-play chances this season (88.4 percent, sixth nationally).

THE SERIES WITH MERCYHURST

Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against Cornell, 12-1-1, though Cornell's lone victory in the series came in the biggest matchup between the two schools, in last season's national semifinals in Minneapolis, Minn. Mercyhurst won each of the first seven meetings between the two programs before Cornell earned a 2-2 tie on Feb. 25, 2006, in Ithaca, N.Y. The Lakers then claimed the next four contests leading up to last season's national semifinals. In games played at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, the Lakers hold a 6-0-0 lead against the Big Red.

REVIEWING THE FIRST MEETING

Cornell and Mercyhurst will be meeting for the second time this season, with Tuesday's game a rematch of the Nov. 2 contest at Cornell's Lynah Rink. In that game, the Big Red never trailed, but fell by a 4-3 margin in overtime on Jesse Scanzano's overtime game-winner. Cornell took the lead in each of the three periods before the Lakers tied the score later that same period. Brianne Jenner scored two goals and added an assist for the Big Red, with Jessica Campbell adding a pair of assists. Bailey Bram had all three goals in regulation for the Lakers. Amanda Mazzotta stopped 25 shots in the loss for Cornell, while Hillary Pattenden stopped 22 shots in the contest for the Lakers. That loss for Cornell still stands as the only defeat of the 2010-11 season.

FRONT RUNNERS

One of the more amazing statistics with the Cornell women's hockey team this season has been the amount of time that Cornell has led in games this season. The Big Red has played with the lead for 72.9 percent of the minutes played (788:02 of the 1081:06). By contrast, Cornell has only trailed for a grand total of 6:37, or 0.6 percent of the total minutes. Cornell has only trailed in two of the 18 games this season, with Quinnipiac scoring first on Oct. 29 and Syracuse doing the same on Nov. 30.

ROAD WARRIORS

After playing 11 of the first 14 games of the season at home, the Big Red is in the midst of a stretch that finds Cornell playing six out of seven games away from Lynah Rink. Cornell opened the stretch last weekend at Yale and Brown, and will play single games at Mercyhurst on Jan. 18 and Colgate on Jan. 22, in addition to a home contest against the Raiders on Jan. 21. The Big Red is a perfect 7-0 on the road this season, including a 1-0 mark in non-league games, picking up a win at Syracuse on Nov. 30.

ONE IMPRESSIVE STREAK

Dating back to last season, Cornell has won 28 of its last 30 games, with the two losses over that stretch both coming as overtime defeats. Cornell closed out the 2009-10 season with an 11-game winning streak before falling in the national title game to Minnesota-Duluth in triple overtime, then began the 2010-11 season with wins in its first four games before losing in overtime to Mercyhurst, 4-3, at Lynah Rink on Nov. 2. Since then, the Big Red has won 13 straight contests, and has allowed just six goals over that span.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

Cornell's defense has allowed just 15 goals this season, and has allowed more than one goal just three times. Cornell allowed two goals in the season opener against Robert Morris, then conceeded four to Mercyhurst on Nov. 2. Most recently, the Big Red allowed a pair of goals to Union – the most allowed in league play this season – on Jan. 15.

THE STREAK ENDS...

Freshman goaltender Lauren Slebodnick went the first 197:32 of her career without allowing a goal, spanning the first five appearances. Her streak came to a close with a goal at the 8:49 mark of the second period on Jan. 14 at Rensselaer. Slebodnick's streak is the seventh-longest such streak in ECAC Hockey history.

COUNTING TO 100

Junior Rebecca Johnston has joined teammate Catherine White in reaching the 100-point mark for their careers this season. White became the 13th player in Cornell history to score 100 points when she reached that mark on Nov. 26 against Niagara, while Johnston became the 14th player to reach that mark  with a hat trick on Jan. 7 at Yale. White took 74 games to reach 100 career points, while Johnston did so in her 65th career contest. Senior Karlee Overguard is the next closest player to 100 points, entering this weekend with 76 points in 112 games. 

SHORT-HANDED? NO PROBLEM

Cornell was without five players for the weekend series at Yale and Brown on Jan. 7 and 8 due to their participation with the Canadian U22 National Team at the MLP Cup, but the Big Red didn't miss a beat. Cornell still blanked Yale, 5-0, and Brown, 3-0, to stretch its winning streak to 11 games. Complicating matters, starting goaltender Amanda Mazzotta was out of action due to injury, and senior captain Amber Overguard missed the Jan. 8 contest against Brown after suffering an injury the previous night at Yale.

HELPING HANDS

Cornell got contributions from a number of players on Jan. 7 and 8 at Yale and Brown, as the Big Red remained unbeaten in league play. At Yale, six of the 12 skaters recorded at least one point, with four players having a multi-point game. Against Brown, six of the 11 skaters scored at least one point, led by junior Karlee Overguard's two-assist night. For the weekend, nine of the 12 skaters to dress for at least one game picked up at least one point.

WELCOME HOME

Sophomore Xandra Hompe had a welcome homecoming of sorts on Jan. 7 at Yale. Hompe, a native of New Canaan, Conn., located about an hour west of New Haven, Conn., took the opportunity of playing near her hometown to score her first career points, picking up two assists in the 5-0 win at Yale. Hompe then capped her weekend by scoring her first career goal the following night in a 3-0 win at Brown.

READY THE UNDERSTUDY

With starting goaltender Amanda Mazzotta sidelined due to injury on Jan. 7 and 8 at Yale and Brown, freshman Lauren Slebodnick stepped into the crease and picked up where Mazzotta left off, posting 23 saves in a shutout at Yale and another 15 stops the following night at Brown. 

A CAREER YEAR

Senior Hayley Hughes is enjoying her final season with the Big Red, as the Toronto, Ontario, native has posted a career best for points this season, with just under half the team's games still to come. Hughes has eight goals and seven assists for 15 points, surpassing the 12 points she scored as a freshman for her career best. The eight goals are a career best for a season, while her seven assists are one point shy of her career best, set as a freshman.

PACKING THEM IN

Cornell's win over Clarkson on Dec. 4 came in front of the largest crowd to ever see the Big Red women's hockey team play at Lynah Rink. That contest was played in front of 2,326 fans, easily surpassing the old mark of 1,528, set on March 7, 2010, when Cornell defeated Clarkson, 4-3, in overtime of the ECAC Hockey championship game. Cornell is averaging 560 fans per game this season at home, the seventh-highest average attendance in the nation.

900 AND COUNTING

Cornell's 3-1 victory on Dec. 3 against St. Lawrence marked the 900th game all-time in the history of the Cornell women's hockey program. The Big Red has a 410-445-50 all-time record for a .481 winning percentage. 

NUMBER ONE

With Cornell's sweep over Niagara on Nov. 27-28 and Wisconsin splitting its series with Minnesota-Duluth that same weekend, the Big Red moved up to first in the nation both the USA Today/USA Hockey and USCHO.com polls. This marked the first time in program history that the Big Red has been ranked as the top team in the nation in either of the two polls. Cornell slipped down to second in both polls after Wisconsin defeated Mercyhurst on Jan. 2 in St. Cloud, Minn.

DRAWING A BLANK

While Cornell's offense provides the headlines, it the Big Red's defense that is suffocating opponents and turning into victories. The Big Red has allowed just 15 goals in 18 games and has surrendered just seven goals in 12 league games. Cornell has allowed more than two goals just once this season, giving up four goals in a 4-3 loss to Mercyhurst on Nov. 2, the only blemish of the season on Cornell's record. The Big Red allowed just six goals during the entire month of November.

MS. CONSISTENCY

Rebecca Johnston has posted the incredible feat of having scored at least one point in each of the 16 games she has appeared in this season for the Big Red. Johnston has 27 points on 13 goals and 14 assists. She has six multi-point games on the year, including a high of five against Niagara on Nov. 27 and has a pair of hat tricks (Nov. 27 vs. Niagara, Jan. 7 at Yale).

GOING STREAKING

Junior goaltender Amanda Mazzotta saw the second-longest shutout streak of her career snapped on Nov. 30 at Syracuse. Mazzotta's streak, which spanned parts of six games, lasted 218:51 before Syracuse's Kelly Dimmen got the Orange on the scoreboard. As impressive as that mark is, it's still more than a full game shy of Mazzotta's personal best mark of 286:54, set in Feb. 2010, a mark that stands as the fourth-longest streak in NCAA history. The mark is also the second-longest in ECAC Hockey history, bested last week by Princeton's Rachel Weber, whose streak ended at 289:43.

GET IN THE GAME

Freshman Lauren Slebodnick saw her first career action on Nov. 26-27 against Niagara, coming on in relief of starter Amanda Mazzotta both nights. Slebodnick stopped all 18 shots she faced in the two games.

REACHING A MILESTONE

Cornell's win on Nov. 19 against Princeton was the 400th victory in the history of the Cornell women's hockey program. Cornell now has 410 victories, the ninth-highest total among NCAA Division I programs. 

COUNTING TO 100

Cornell's win on Nov. 26 against Niagara marked the 100th victory for the Big Red since the NCAA officially recognized women's hockey as a championship sport prior to the 2000-01 season. Cornell is now 107-182-25 since women's hockey gained official status.

ON THE BREAK

Cornell's players had a rare week off on Nov. 12-13 due to a quirk in the league schedule. Rather than play a non-conference series that weekend, the Big Red elected to take the weekend off to evaluate the team's progress in the early part of the season. Cornell has not had a similar break in the schedule since taking off the weekend of Nov. 23-24, 2007.

WHILE YOU WERE GONE...

Two Cornell players weren't entirely off during the team's break on Nov. 12-13, as Rebecca Johnston and Brianne Jenner took part in the 4 Nations Cup in St. John's, Newfoundland. Competing with the Canadian National Team, the pair came home with the tournament's gold medal, defeating the United States in the championship game, 3-2, in overtime. Johnston was especially strong in that championship game, scoring a pair of goals including the overtime game-winner. Johnston finished with seven points on four goals and three assists, ranking her tied for third among all scorers in the tournament. The pair missed Cornell's weekend series against Harvard and Dartmouth on Nov. 5-6 as well, but the Big Red still posted a pair of victories in their absence.

WHAT A WEEKEND

With Rebecca Johnston and Brianne Jenner on international duty with the Canadian National Team at the 4 Nations Cup on Nov. 5-6, senior Hayley Hughes stepped up with the best weekend of her career. Hughes potted a pair of goals and assisted on the third in Cornell's 3-0 victory against Harvard on Friday night, then tallied three assists in the 6-1 win against Dartmouth the following day. Hughes' six-point weekend equaled one-quarter of her career point total entering the 2010-11 season and earned her ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career. 

FIRING BLANKS

Amanda Mazzotta became Cornell's all-time career leader in shutouts when she blanked Harvard, 3-0, on Nov. 5. With four shutouts this season, Mazzotta now has 16 shutouts in her Cornell career, surpassing the mark of 12 set by Kathryn LoPresti from 1985 through 1989. Mazzotta's 16 shutouts rank her tied for 13th all-time in NCAA history.

ONE BANNER YEAR

Cornell officially put the cap on the historic 2009-10 season on Nov. 6 against Dartmouth when the Big Red added three banners to the Lynah Rink rafters. Last year's four seniors – Laura Danforth, Melanie Jue, Kelly McGinty and Liz Zorn – were on hand for the unveiling of banners commemorating the program's ECAC Hockey championship, the Ivy League championship and national runner-up finish.

FOUR SQUARE

Cornell's wins on Oct. 29-30 at Quinnipiac and Princeton gave the Big Red victories in each of its first four games in a season for the first time since the 1978-79 season. That year, Cornell began the season with five straight wins on its way to a 13-5-1 overall record.

100 AND COUNTING

Senior Karlee Overguard's appeared in her 100th career game on Nov. 5 against Harvard, the most games of any player on the roster.  Overguard is on pace to become the school's career leader in games played, a mark that is currently held by 2010 graduate Laura Danforth. Danforth appeared in 124 games during her four-year career spanning 2006 through 2010. Two of Danforth's classmates, Liz Zorn (121) and Kelly McGinty (116), stand second and tied for third, respectively, in games played at Cornell. Overguard stands at 112 career games played, while fellow senior Hayley Hughes is five games away from the 100-games played mark herself.

LEAGUE OPENERS

Cornell won its ECAC Hockey opener for the second straight season with a 5-1 win at Quinnipiac on Oct. 29, and opened up 2-0 in league play for the second time in a row when it downed Princeton the following day by the same score. Last season, Cornell won its first five league games before falling to St. Lawrence. Prior to last season, the last time that Cornell won twice to begin the league campaign came during the 1998-98 season. 

HAT TRICK PLUS ONE

Freshman Jessica Campbell scored four goals for the Big Red in a 9-1 victory against Robert Morris on Oct. 23, just her second career game. Campbell scored once in both the first and second periods and finished off her four-goal performance with a pair of markers in the third period. Campbell's four-goal outburst was the first for a Big Red player since Colette Bredin scored five against Colby on Feb. 28, 1998, in a 9-3 Cornell victory.

EVERYONE IN THE ACT

Cornell's 9-1 victory against Robert Morris on Oct. 23 came as a total team effort. Of the 15 skaters to dress for that contest, 14 of them recorded at least one point, with only freshman defenseman Alyssa Gagliardi finding her way onto the scoresheet. Gagliardi didn't finish the weekend empty-handed, however, as she picked up an assist in the season opener on Oct. 22.

GOOD GIRLS

Cornell is the least penalized team in the nation, averaging just 6.1 minutes in the penalty box per contest. Cornell has been called for just 55 penalties in 18 games this season. By contrast, Mercyhurst is the second-most penalized team in the nation, spending 13.1 minutes per game in the penalty box.

ON THE BOARD

When junior Jenna Paulson recorded an assist on Oct. 23 against Robert Morris, it marked the first career point for the Toronto native. Paulson had played in 56 games through her first two seasons with the Big Red before collecting her first career point.

FROM THE START

The five skaters in Cornell's six-player freshman class each made their collegiate debut against Robert Morris on Oct. 22-23, with all five of them recording their first career points. Jessica Campbell picked up four goals on the weekend and leads the team in scoring, while Brianne Jenner tallied a goal and an assist and Hayley Cudmore picked up a pair of assists. The other two newcomers, Olivia Cook and Alyssa Gagliardi, both recorded one assist on the weekend. 

OH CANADA!

Of the 20 members of the Cornell roster in 2010-11, nine were selected to participate in the Canadian U22 National Team Selection Camp in early August, and eight of those players were named to the select team that faced the United States in a three-game series later that month. The eight included goaltender Amanda Mazzotta, defensemen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau, and forwards Jessica Campbell, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Chelsea Karpenko and Catherine White. Also invited to the camp but not named to the select team was defenseman Hayleigh Cudmore. The nine players invited to the camp far surpassed any other collegiate program, with Boston University placing four players in the initial camp and Mercyhurst placing three.

EARLY PICKS

When the ECAC Hockey preseason coaches poll was released, it was no surprise to see the Big Red standing as the favorite among league coaches to repeat as champions. Cornell received all 11 possible first-place votes with Clarkson gaining the final vote, with coaches unable to vote for their own teams. 

THE FIRST SIX

Along with the preseason coaches poll, the ECAC Hockey bench bosses selected the preseason all-league team, with four Big Red players named among the six spots. The Big Red placed defensemen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau and forwards Rebecca Johnston and Catherine White among the top six, with Quinnipiac goaltender Victoria Vigilanti and Harvard forward Kate Buesser rounding out the league's preseason selections.

EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN

Cornell returns four players who have previously earned AHCA All-America honors during their career, including the program's first First-Team selection in sophomore defenseman Laura Fortino, who was selected to the nation's top six in her freshman season. Joining in that group are 2010 second-team selections Catherine White and Lauriane Rougeau and 2009 second-team pick Rebecca Johnston. 

GO FOR THE GOLD

Rebecca Johnston returns to the Big Red for her junior season after sitting out the 2009-10 campaign while centralized with the Canadian senior national team. Johnston was named to the Canadian team that captured the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, playing in five of Canada's six games and scoring one goal with five assists and a +9 rating.

WORLD CHAMPIONS

Cornell's roster includes a pair of players who were a part of the Canadian team that won the IIHF U18 World Championship last spring. Freshmen Jessica Campbell and Hayleigh Cudmore were both members of that squad, with Campbell being named the most valuable player of the tournament for her play.

DRAWING A BLANK

Last season, opponents found it exceptionally hard to score on Cornell goaltender Amanda Mazzotta. The junior netminder set a Cornell record – men's and women's – by posting 11 shutouts last year, surpassing the total of 10 set by men's goaltender David McKee during the 2004-05 season. The previous best by a women's goaltender was six, set by Kathryn LoPresti in the 1988-89 season.

GOING STREAKING

Last season, Cornell goaltender Amanda Mazzotta recorded the fourth-longest shutout streak in NCAA history, recording four straight shutouts from Feb. 5 through Feb. 13. Her total time stretched for 286:54, at the time, the longest streak in ECAC Hockey history. Wisconsin alumna Jessie Vetter owns two of the three longest streaks in NCAA history, including the record of 448:39.

TREATY OF NEUTRALITY

Cornell's two games at the NCAA Frozen Four last season marked the 42nd and 43rd games the Big Red has played on neutral ice. Cornell holds a 23-17-3 record all-time when playing at a neutral venue. Prior to last season's national championship weekend, the Big Red's last neutral site game came on Jan. 21, 2001, when it lost to St. Lawrence, 4-1, at Lake Placid, N.Y. The Big Red is not scheduled to play any neutral site contests this season, but could potentially play as many as four, should Cornell advance in postseason play.

PENALTY KILLING? NO PROBLEM

Cornell was exceptional at staying out of the penalty box last season, ranking 33rd among the 35 teams in Division I in penalty minutes per game. Even when the Big Red found itself shorthanded, however, Cornell still played outstanding defense. The Big Red ranked first in the nation in penalty-killing percentage, allowing just 10 goals in 131 opponents' power plays (92.4 percent). Cornell's 2009-10 percentage ranked eighth all-time in NCAA history.

TWO-WAY PLAYER

Sophomore forward Xandra Hompe gives new meaning to that term, as the New Cannan, Conn., native is a dual-sport athlete. Hompe spends her fall season with the Cornell women's soccer team, where she finished tied for third on the team in scoring and tied for the team lead in assists with four. 

LYNAH LOCKDOWN

Cornell went 4-0 in postseason games at Lynah Rink last season. Prior to thiat, the Big Red had never won a postseason game, and had never played a postseason game at home.

UP NEXT

The Big Red returns home for the first time since Dec. 4 when it takes on Colgate in a 7 p.m. contest on Friday at Lynah Rink. The stay at home will be brief, as the Big Red takes on the Raiders the following afternoon in a 4 p.m. contest at Starr Rink in Hamilton, N.Y.