ITHACA, N.Y. – Come out to Lynah Rink on Friday and Saturday for the No. 4 Big Red's final home series of the regular season. The weekend features gigantic Ivy League and ECAC Hockey battles against No. 5 Harvard and Dartmouth that will go a long way in deciding both leagues' championships. The Big Red drops the puck against Harvard at 7 p.m. on Friday in a game that will also be televised live on Time Warner Cable, and Saturday's game will feature Senior Night festivities.
GAME INFORMATION
GAME #26: No. 4 Cornell vs. No. 5 Harvard
GAME TIME: Friday, February 15, 7 p.m.
GAME SITE: Lynah Rink (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Harvard leads 51-23-3
LAST MEETING: Harvard won 2-1 on Nov. 24, 2012
2012-13 RECORDS: Cornell (20-5, 15-3 ECAC Hockey | t-1st); Harvard (18-3-2, 14-1-1 | 3rd)
LIVE STATS:
Cornell Live Stats
LIVE VIDEO:
Redcast
LIVE TELEVISION: Time Warner Cable (Channel 51)
GAME #27: No. 4 Cornell vs. Dartmouth
GAME TIME: Saturday, February 16, 4 p.m.
GAME SITE: Lynah Rink (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Dartmouth leads 41-27-6
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 23, 2012
2012-13 RECORDS | LEAGUE STANDINGS: Cornell (20-5, 15-3 ECAC Hockey | t-1st); Dartmouth (14-7-4, 9-6-3 ECAC Hockey, 6th)*
LIVE STATS:
Cornell Live Stats
LIVE VIDEO:
Redcast
*Records before games on Feb. 15
#PACKLYNAH
Cornell is hoping to #packlynah for this weekend's games, as multiple special promotions will be available for both. Friday's game against the Crimson will include free admission to the first 2,000 Cornell staff, faculty and students as well as rally towels for those first 2,000. Saturday Cornell will be celebrating National Girls and Women In Sports Day, and female athletes will be able to get free entrance. Female athletes are encouraged to wear their jerseys to the game.
ABOUT THE BIG RED
The Big Red had its eight-game winning streak snapped on Friday with a loss to Quinnipiac in a game that was moved up six hours because of the winter storm in the Northeast. Victoria Vigilanti made 32 saves as Cornell dropped two points and no longer controls its own fate in the conference. The Big Red rebounded the next day, though, defeating Princeton 4-1 to spoil the Tigers' senior night.
Erin Barley-Maloney had a goal and two assists, and
Jessica Campbell scored the game-winner early in the third period. Cornell is currently on top of the ECAC Hockey standings and the Ivy League, though Harvard is lurking close behind in both races.
HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH
Now in his eighth season directing the Cornell women's hockey program,
Doug Derraugh has quickly brought the Big Red women to their current place among the nation's elite and is the winningest coach in program history. Taking a team that won just four games in the season prior to his arrival, Derraugh guided the Big Red to the national title game in his fifth season and back-to-back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2010, 2011 and 2012, completely turning around the culture of the women's hockey program at Cornell. Derraugh, a 1991 graduate of Cornell, was the last Big Red men's hockey player to score 30 goals in a season. He earned his 136th career win against Mercyhurst last week, breaking the previous school record for victories as a women's hockey coach (Bill Duthie, 135).
ABOUT HARVARD
The Crimson, based in Cambridge, Mass., is the No. 5 team in the country and riding high on a 3-0 victory against No. 3 Boston University in the Women's Beanpot consolation game on Tuesday night. Harvard did not play its schedule games against Yale and Brown last weekend because of the winter storm. The Crimson has one of the best goaltending tandems in the nation as Laura Bellamy and Emerance Maschmeyer have the first- and third-highest save percentage and goals against average in the country. The Crimson has the nation's top penalty kill (93.2 percent) and its second-best defense (0.92 goals allowed per game). On offense, Jillian Dempsey (23 goals, 17 assists) is the ninth-highest scorer in the country. Lyndsey Fry is also a capable scorer with 12 goals and 18 assists.
Harvard is coached by Katey Stone, now in her 19th year of leading the Crimson.
THE SERIES WITH HARVARD
Harvard leads the historical series with Cornell by a wide margin, holding a 51-23-3 advantage. After Cornell swept last season's series, the Crimson struck back with a 2-1 win in Cambridge earlier this season. In that contest, Emerance Maschmeyer made 21 saves as the Harvard defense held Cornell at bay for most of the night.
Erin Barley-Maloney had a tying goal in the second period to make it 1-1, but a Kalley Armstrong strike with 13 minutes left gave Harvard a 2-1 lead. From there, Fry added an empty netter to seal the win. It was Harvard's first win in the series since February 2009.
A WIN AGAINST HARVARD WOULD…
…give Cornell a 21-5 record overall this season… be Cornell's 108th consecutive game with a goal…keep Cornell a perfect 13-0 at Lynah Rink this year…keep Cornell atop the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH
The Big Green, based in Hanover, N.H., is currently in sixth place in the ECAC Hockey standings and looking to move up into a top-four position as the season comes to a close. They took four points from a weekend series against Brown and Yale and also tied with Harvard the week before. Dartmouth is led on offense by senior Reagan Fischer, whose 26 points are just ahead of senior Camille Dumais' 25. Dartmouth is also getting 19 points this season from Laura Stacey and Jenna Hobeika. In goal, Lindsay Holdcroft has a 2.09 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. The Big Green has the nation's fifth-best penalty kill (87.7 percent).
Dartmouth is coached by Mark Hudak, now in his 10th year with the Big Green.
THE SERIES WITH DARTMOUTH
The Big Green and Big Red have faced off 74 times over the years with Dartmouth holding a 41-27-6 advantage in all contests. Cornell, though, has won two straight including a 2-1 overtime victory in Hanover in November. In that contest, Laura Stacey scored late in the first period to give the home team a 1-0 lead, but
Taylor Woods equalized in the second period. That set the stage for
Jillian Saulnier's game-winner in overtime, a slapshot from the right point.
A WIN AGAINST DARTMOUTH WOULD…
…be Cornell's third consecutive against the Big Green…be Cornell's fifth consecutive win on a Saturday.
SENIOR NIGHT
The Big Red will be honoring three terrific seniors after Saturday's game against the Big Green.
Erin Barley-Maloney,
Laura Fortino and
Lauriane Rougeau will be playing their final regular-season games at Lynah Rink. Come to Lynah to thank these three seniors for their years of effort on the ice for Cornell.
IVY LEAGUE ON THE LINE
With two victories this weekend, the Big Red will claim the Ivy League championship for the fourth consecutive season. A loss to Harvard would put the Crimson in line to win the league, while Dartmouth needs multiple games to go its way in order to claim the title.
ECAC HOCKEY STANDINGS
Cornell and Clarkson are currently tied for first place in ECAC Hockey, though Harvard has two games in hand on the Big Red and Knights. The Big Red now needs help from Harvard in order to win the league regular season championship for the fourth straight year. With 30 points now in league play, the Big Red can finish no worse than fifth in the conference at the end of the regular season. Cornell needs just three more points to clinch home-ice advantage in the ECAC Tournament's first round.
KEEPING THE SCORE
Brianne Jenner is currently on a team-high 13-game point scoring streak. She began the year with an eight-game scoring streak, did not score in her next two appearances – both Cornell losses – and has tallied a point in every game since. She has multiple points in her last nine of her last 10 games. She has already surpassed her point production from her freshman year and is just five shy of her single-season record set last year at 58.
HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE
Cornell truly plays better in front of the home fans, and it needs your help this weekend as it attempts to break the single-game attendance record of 2,711. The Big Red, in its 12 home games this season, is averaging more than four points per game as a team more than it is averaging on the road. Offensive leader
Brianne Jenner is earning 2.67 points per game in Lynah Rink as opposed to 1.61 points per game away from home. The Big Red has scored 161 points in its 12 home contests but just 119 in 13 games away from Lynah. In home games, all players on the roster are at least a +1, and Jenner leads that category with +27. On the road, though, three Big Red players have minus ratings and the team high is
Lauriane Rougeau's +9.
PENALTY KILLERS
Friday's contest against the Crimson pits the top two penalty killing units in the country. The Big Red has the nation's second-best penalty killing percentage at 91.8 percent, while Harvard is just ahead at 92.3 percent. The Big Red is currently on a streak of killing off 35 of its last 37 penalties taken. Considering Cornell has the fifth-most penalty minutes per game (10.8) of any team in the country, the team's shorthanded efforts are especially important.
ALL-TIME NUMBERS
Cornell has multiple players moving up the career charts for assists, points and goals. In assists,
Laura Fortino is in fifth place all alone right now with 94 assists. Just behind her is
Brianne Jenner and her 90 assists, tied for seventh all time.
Lauriane Rougeau is also in the picture with 84 assists, good for ninth-most in school history. Jenner has also entered the Cornell top 10 for goals and points. She is seventh in points, now just six points shy of
Catherine White's 167 for sixth. She is also eighth in goals with 71.
DO IT FOR DARON SERIES
Cornell's against Rensselaer and Union on Feb. 1-2 were played as the “Do It For Daron Series.” Do It For Daron is a charity founded by friends and family of Daron Richardson to raise awareness and inspire conversations about youth mental health. Close to 2,000 Cornell fans came out to the games, many wearing purple to support the charity.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Another terrific week for the Cornell Big Red and
Brianne Jenner resulted in the junior receiving the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week Award for the second time this season on Feb. 5. Jenner had another double-digit point week, tallying 10 total points in three games against No. 7 Mercyhurst, Union and Rensselaer. She tied a season and career high with six points against the Dutchwomen, recording four goals and two assists. Jenner previously won Player of the Week on Jan. 21.
Lauren Slebodnick was named Goaltender of the Week on Jan. 21 as well, while
Taylor Woods (Nov. 20) and
Cassandra Poudrier (Nov. 6) have each earned an ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honor this season.
MONTHLY HONORS
The Big Red women's hockey team went 7-1 in January, and ECAC Hockey has recognized two Cornell players as essential to that terrific month by giving them ECAC Hockey Women's Monthly Awards on Thursday night.
Brianne Jenner, the team's leading scorer, was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Month, and goalie
Lauren Slebodnick was named the league's Goaltender of the Month. Jenner had a team-high 23 points in the month for Cornell while Slebodnick had seven victories and gave up just three goals in four conference games.
CENTURY MARK
The Big Red's streak of scoring at least one goal in a game is now 107 games long, dating back all the way to a 0-0 tie against Quinnipiac on Feb. 5, 2010. Cornell scored a goal in every game last year, something only it can say. This season, only six teams in the country have not been shut out in a game: Boston College, Clarkson, Cornell, Harvard, Minnesota and North Dakota.
NATIONAL POLLS
Cornell remained at No. 4 in the USCHO.com and USA Today national polls this week, staying just ahead of No. 5 Harvard. Minnesota remains undefeated at 30-0 and is still the unanimous No. 1. ECAC Hockey rival Clarkson comes in at No. 6 this week, Quinnipiac is receiving two votes after beating Cornell on Friday.
MARKERS FOR MADISON
Brianne Jenner is participating in a goal drive this year for a young girl with brain cancer, Madison Primeau. For every goal Jenner scores, Jenner's sponsors will donate money to a charity to help pay Madison's medical bills. Jenner, now with 28 goals on the season, has raised more than $1,500 for Primeau plus more than $250 in extra donations. To sponsor Jenner's charity, e-mail her at
bj72@cornell.edu.
OUTRANKING THE COMPETITION
In its last 30 games against ranked opponents from the start of the 2009-10 season until now, the Big Red holds a 19-11 record. Cornell was a very impressive 9-3 against ranked opponents in 2011-12.
NON-CONFERENCE SEASON COMPLETE
With the victory against Mercyhurst on Jan. 29, the Big Red concluded its non-conference schedule for 2012-13 with a 4-2 record. The Big Red split a season-opening series with Boston University, defeated Northeastern, Syracuse and Mercyhurst while also losing to Boston College. The Big Red has not had a losing out-of-conference record since the 2008-09 campaign.
MECO CUP
Seven Big Red players won the Gold with the Canada Under-22 roster for the Meco Cup in January.
Laura Fortino,
Lauriane Rougeau,
Hayleigh Cudmore,
Cassandra Poudrier,
Jillian Saulnier,
Brianne Jenner and
Jessica Campbell all traveled Germany to compete for their country and came away with Canada's ninth gold in 11 years.
USA CAMP
Cornell junior alternate captain
Alyssa Gagliardi spent some of her winter break participating in the 2012 U.S. Women's National Team Winter Camp in Blaine, Minn. Thirty-six total players were selected for the Winter Camp, and they were divided into two teams of 18 for three intrasquad scrimmages. Gagliardi was on the camp's White Team with three other current ECAC Hockey rivals.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
Cornell has multiple players near the top of the country in many categories.
Brianne Jenner has the nation's second-best points per game total with 2.30, while
Jillian Saulnier sits in 12th with her 1.60 points per game. Jenner's 1.22 goals per game put her second in the country in that category. Saulnier is fourth and Jenner is sixth in the nation with 1.24 and 1.09 assists per game, respectively.
Hayleigh Cudmore is eighth in points per game by defenseman (0.84).
Lauren Slebodnick has the country's sixth-best goals against average (1.51), its ninth-highest save percentage (.927) and its fifth-best winning percentage (.773).
As a team, the Big Red's 4.12 goals per game ranks it fourth in the country, and its 1.60 goals allowed per game is also third-best. Cornell has the nation's second-best penalty kill (91.8 percent).
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Quinnipiac and Princeton
Approaching career numbers:
REPRESENTING HER COUNTRY
Brianne Jenner missed the Princeton and Quinnipiac games in November as she competed with the Canadian National Women's Team at the 4 Nations Cup in Finland. Jenner and
Rebecca Johnston '12 each had an assist in Canada's four games as the Canadians wound up losing 3-0 to the United States in the gold medal game. Jenner returns to Ithaca with a silver medal from one of the top women's hockey competitions in the world.
UP NEXT
Cornell will wrap up the regular season with games at RPI and Union next weekend. The Big Red will battle with the Engineers on Friday at 7 p.m. while the Dutchwomen await on Saturday at 4 p.m. The ECAC Hockey Tournament's first round opens the following weekend.
