Box Score Post-Game Press Conference

ITHACA, N.Y. – Another thrilling late goal brought the Big Red women's hockey team back from behind, but this time the team could not complete the comeback in overtime.
 
Jillian Saulnier struck with a slap shot goal with only 55.6 seconds left in the third period to tie the NCAA Quarterfinal game against Mercyhurst at 3-3, but the Lakers' Jenna Dingeldein ended Cornell's season with an overtime goal 4:49 into the extra period at Lynah Rink on Saturday.

The Lakers advance to the NCAA Frozen Four in Minneapolis, Minn., next weekend, while the careers of three Cornell seniors come to a close.
 
No. 2 Cornell (27-6-1) fell behind 1-0 midway through the first period but fought back to take a 2-1 lead on goals from Brianne Jenner and Jess Brown. Then the Lakers got two in the third period including what looked like it might be the game-winner from Caroline Luczak with 1:13 left.

But Cornell pulled goaltender Lauren Slebodnick – who had made 29 saves on 32 shots to that point – and got an offensive-zone faceoff when Mercyhurst iced the puck. Saulnier got a clean faceoff win from Jenner and fired the puck past Stephanie Ciampa, sending the Lynah Rink crowd of more than 2,300 into a familiar frenzy.
 
The final 56 seconds of regulation passed without incident, and both teams headed in for a 15-minute intermission.
 
Unlike last season's triple-overtime rollercoaster of an NCAA Quarterfinal game, which Cornell won 8-7 against Boston University after nearly 60 minutes of bonus hockey, Saturday's contest ended within five minutes of the overtime.
 
With Cornell taking the first four shots on goal of the extra frame, things appeared to be going the Big Red's way. But the Lakers set up in the offensive zone, and Lauren Kilroy took a long-distance shot from the right point. Her shot was blocked, but Dingeldein was in the right spot to knock home a rebound and end Cornell's year.
 
Jenner scored a point on each Cornell goal, upping her career total to 178 points. She also got her 100th career assist on Saulnier's goal.
 
The Lakers took a 1-0 lead 8:34 into the contest when a shot from the left point rang off the end boards and back in front of the net. Jenna Hendrikx took a quick shot that Slebodnick saved, but Gina Buquet was there for a second rebound and hammered the puck home between Slebodnick's legs.
 
Mercyhurst outshot the Big Red 16-7 in the first period and also had two power play opportunities to Cornell's one. The Lakers' first chance with the advantage was cut short, though, when Jessica Campbell drew a tripping penalty while shorthanded.
 
Cornell nearly took an early lead in the game as Brianne Jenner found Campbell with a cross-ice pass that Ciampa saved with her left pad. Emily Fulton also rang a shot off the crossbar later in the period that could have tied the game.
 
Cornell's time to score came in the second period, though, as Jenner got things started on a five-on-three power play. With Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau passing the puck back and forth along the blue line and Mercyhurst down two skaters, Fortino launched a shot that got blocked into the glass behind the net. Jenner was there to pick up the loose puck, and she took it up to the blue line and into the slot before firing. Her shot went over Ciampa's glove and into the net, knotting the contest at 1-1 at the 12:29 mark of the second.
 
Then, with 59.2 seconds left in the period, freshman Jess Brown struck for her third goal of the season. The play was in the left corner of the Big Red offensive zone, and a Mercyhurst player looked to be escaping with the puck. But Jenner came in and knocked the puck off her stick, and the puck went to Brown behind the net. The freshman curled around the net and took a shot, beating Ciampa down low to give Cornell its first lead of the afternoon.
 
That lead lasted only until the middle of the third period as Stephanie DeSutter tied the game at 2-2. After Cornell nearly converted on its end, Mercyhurst emerged with a three-on-two. Dingeldein finished the play with a pass to DeSutter on the open left side of the net, and the Lakers brought the game even.
 
That set up the frantic final minute with Luczak and Saulnier exchanging goals on faceoffs 21 seconds apart and forcing overtime.
 
Cornell seniors Rougeau, Fortino and Erin Barley-Maloney saw their Big Red careers end on Saturday. Rougeau and Fortino are the top two players in Cornell history in plus/minus and multiple-time All-America selections. The two also received multiple First Team All-ECAC and All-Ivy awards during their four years at Cornell. Barley-Maloney, an Honorable Mention All-Ivy member this season, finishes her tenure in Ithaca with 71 career points.
 
Mercyhurst will play in the national semfinal against Boston University or Clarkson on Friday.