ITHACA, N.Y. – Following a two-week layoff, Cornell women's hockey broke out in a big way over the weekend. The Big Red scored early and often in a pair of comfortable victories over ECAC Hockey and Ivy League foes Brown and Yale. Now the team sets its sites on a strong conclusion to its season-long five-game home stand when it welcomes Colgate to Lynah Rink on Tuesday evening for a 7 p.m. puck drop.
 
Cornell Big Red (2-4-0; 2-2-0 ECAC Hockey) vs. Colgate Raiders (3-8-0; 1-3-0 ECAC Hockey)
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 | 7:00 PM | Ithaca, N.Y. – Lynah Rink
Live Stats | Live Video (ILDN)
 
Game Notes
Cornell | Colgate
 
Big Red Headlines
Cornell returned to game action this past weekend following a two-week layoff. While the Big Red looked out of sorts to begin the season dropping its first four games – two without the services of its top two centers Brianne Jenner and Jillian Saulnier and head coach Doug Derraugh – the team remained confident, knowing that brighter times were ahead. The team used the break to press the reset button on the season and start fresh. It certainly seems to have worked as the team broke out in a big way this weekend against ECAC Hockey and Ivy League foes Brown and Yale. Keyed by the returns of Jenner and Saulnier, the Cornell offense kicked into high gear tallying 11 goals in the two blow-out victories. Both players accounted for four points on the weekend, while the Big Red gained some big contributions from the blue-line. The team started the weekend on Friday afternoon, as it bested Brown 5-1 for the squad's first victory of the season. Jenner and Saulnier each tallied two goals, while Kaitlin Doering – playing left wing on the top-line – potted the game-winner. The team celebrated "Cornell Women's Hockey Team Day" with a resounding 6-2 victory over Yale in the team's annual fundraiser game to benefit the United Way of Tompkins County. Similar to the day before, Cornell jumped on Yale early, scoring two goals in the opening 4:06 of play to stake the early lead. The goals kept on coming as team added two each in the second and third periods. Taylor Woods notched the game-winner – her first of two goals on the afternoon – while Erin O'Connor added a goal and two assists. The weekend sweep evened the Big Red's conference record to 2-2-0.
 
About Head Coach Doug Derraugh '91
Derraugh enters his 10^th season at the helm of the Cornell women's ice hockey program. Returning to his alma mater before the 2005-06 season, he quickly transformed a program that posted only four wins in the season prior to his appointment into a consistent presence in ECAC Hockey and on the national stage. The Cornell program continues to grow under the guidance of the veteran coach. In 2013-14, he led the program to its fourth ECAC Hockey Tournament title over the last five seasons. All five of the Big Red's NCAA Tournament appearances have come under his leadership. Derraugh has twice been named ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year, most recently during the 2012-13 regular-season and tournament championship season. He is the winningest coach in the history of the program with a 172-105-21 record at Cornell. He returns both excellent assistant coaches Danielle Bilodeau '01 (ninth season) and Edith Racine (sixth season) in 2014-15.
 
Raider Headlines
Similar to the Big Red, Colgate has struggled during the early portion of this season. The team opened the year on a three game road swing, dropped a 2-1 decision at Syracuse in the opener and splitting a two-game series at Robert Morris. Following the road swing, the Raiders have played their last eight games in the friendly confines of Starr Rink. The results have not improved with the change in venues as Colgate posted just a 2-6 mark in those contests. However, the team does enter Tuesday night's matchup coming off a 4-3 overtime victory over Brown, snapping a five-game losing streak in the process. The Raiders went 1-1-0 on the weekend, losing to Yale 3-0 on Friday. Saturday's tilt with Brown was a back-and-forth affair as the team's traded goals, before Colgate scored in sudden death for the victory. Freshman forward Megan Sullivan posted a huge game tallying a goal and two assists, including the game-winner 2:15 into the overtime session. She has played a huge impact in her first season in Hamilton, leading the squad with 10 points (5 goals – 5 assists) and four power-play tallies. The Raiders have done a good job of creating chances with the player advantage, averaging just shy of five power-play chances per game, but the team has only been able to convert on 7-of-54 chances this season. On the other hand, the penalty-kill has been excellent as it has converted on 40-of-45 (88.9%) this season. Brittney Brooks and Ashlynne Rando have split time in the net as each has seen substantial minutes between the pipes this season. Brooks enters with the better GAA (2.33) and save percentage (.910), but Rando leads the squad with two of the team's three victories.
 
The Series Against Colgate…
Cornell holds firm control of the all-time series against its local rival. The Big Red has posted a record of 33 wins – 11 losses – and three ties against the Raiders overall. The teams first met in 1973-74 with the Big Red posting convincing 11-1 and 16-1 victories. The series has seen two separate prolonged breaks from 1978-83 and from 1989-2000, but Cornell went on to win the first 15 matchups between the two programs. Things have been more competitive since the resumption of the home-and-home series in 2001. Since Derraugh took over the program before the 2005-06 season, Cornell is 14-7-1 against Colgate. However, the Big Red has won 11 in a row dating back to the 2009-10 season. Over those 11 matchups Cornell has outscored Colgate 66-16 in those matchups, which includes a 42-9 margin in games played at Lynah Rink. The Raiders last win at Lynah Rink came on Jan. 10, 2009, when the Raiders Katie Stewart deposited a wrist-shot past Cornell net-minder Kayla Strong with just 1:41 remaining in regulation for the 2-1 victory.
 
Last Season's Series Against the Raiders…
Cornell played a tight series with Colgate last season despite sweeping both contests in the season series. The team's squared off on a home-and-home back-to-back on Feb. 7 and 8 of last season. The Big Red scored a 4-3 overtime victory in the opening game of the set at Starr Rink. Emily Fulton, Cassandra Poudrier and Jillian Saulnier each collected a goal and an assist in the victory, with Saulnier just beating the horn with the game-winner at 4:41 of the overtime session. Cornell handled Colgate a little easier at Lynah besting the Raiders 3-1 on the strength of two second period tallies from Alyssa Gagliardi and Hayleigh Cudmore. Saulnier again marked  a goal and an assist, while Paula Voorheis got the win in net, making 24-of-25 stops.
 
Cornell Women's Hockey Team Day
For the second straight season, the City of Ithaca Mayor, Svante Myrick, declared this past Saturday "Cornell Women's Hockey Team Day" in conjunction with the team's United Way fundraiser game. "I invite all members of the community to join me in thanking the team, and the work they do in support of United Way of Tompkins County," Mayor Myrick said in a statement last week. The teams conducted a pre-game ceremony that honored members of the Tompkins Girls Hockey Association's Cub Club and its partnership with Cornell Women's Hockey. In all, 1,034 people packed Lynah Rink to help raise money for the United Way of Tompkins County and took in the Big Red's 6-2 victory over Yale.
 
The Lynah Advantage
Cornell has thrived in the friendly confines of Lynah Rink. Known as one of the most raucous and intimidating environments in all of collegiate hockey, the "Lynah Faithful" has consistently had a psychological impact both in boosting the Big Red, while simultaneously throwing the opponent off its game. Over the last five seasons Cornell has defended its home ice with a vengeance. The Big Red is 83-16-3 at Lynah over its last six seasons counting the early 2-2-0 mark this season.
 
Poll Position
With the slow start to 2014, Cornell has fallen out of the top-10 in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey polls. It is the first time in over five seasons that the Big Red has not been ranked in the top-10 in at least one of the two major polls. The last time it happened was Week Four of the 2009-10 season. Cornell had gone 127 consecutive weeks ranked in the top-10 of at least one of the polls. While only the USCHO.com poll has been released this week, Cornell likely will need to score victories in the team's upcoming two-game road set at Minnesota-Duluth in order to gain consideration to re-enter the top-10 of either poll. Cornell currently is the second team in the receiving votes category of the most recent USCHO.com poll, while the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll will not be release until Tuesday.
 
Winning-Time
Cornell has been the winningest program in ECAC Hockey over the last five seasons. The Big Red has averaged over 26 wins per season in compiling a 133-29-10 (.802) record since 2009-10. Cornell won the regular-season title four of those five years with the stretch of four straight coming to an end last season. The next closest ECAC Hockey squads in terms of recent wins are Harvard and Clarkson. The Crimson have amassed a 106-42-17 (.694) record, while the Golden Knights check-in with a 118-54-21 (.666) record. Cornell looks to have the ball rolling after an impressive weekend sweep of Brown and Yale.
 
Dynamic Duo
Cornell seniors Brianne Jenner and Jillian Saulnier were certainly missed as the team started off 0-2-0 at Lynah Rink without the services of its top two centers. The duo did not take long in making an impact following both players return to the lineup this past weekend. Jenner got the Big Red off and running with a goal just 1:55 into the first period against Brown. The captain would later add a goal early in the third period on the power-play, while Saulnier turned the lead into a rout with two goals in the span of 1:08 to cap the scoring for the Big Red. Both players also marked multi-point games on Saturday in the second game of the weekend set. Jenner chipped in two assists, while Saulnier added a goal and a helper in the 6-2 victory. Jenner now sits in a tie for second on the team with six points (3 goals – 3 assists), while Saulnier is tied for fifth with five points (3 goals – 2 assists). Both players are averaging more than a point per game pace.
 
All Gold Everything
Brianne Jenner returns to East Hill for her senior season in 2014-15 and she's bring some hardware with her. The Big Red captain won a gold medal as a member of the Canadian National Team that defeated the United States 3-2 in overtime in the gold medal game of the XXII Olympic Winter Games held in Sochi, Russia. Although Jenner was one of the youngest members of Team Canada in the Olympics, she had a monumental impact in winning Canada's fourth straight gold medal. After the United States held a 2-0 lead through 56-minutes, Jenner sparked the furious Canadian comeback in the final 3:30, firing home a shot through heavy traffic in front of the USA net. Canada would go on to score the tying goal in the final minute, before ending it with a power play marker halfway through the first overtime session to complete the comeback. Fellow Cornellians Lauriane Rougeau '13 and Laura Fortino '13 joined Jenner in celebrating the gold medal achievement.
 
Coach Canada
While head coach Doug Derraugh has been a fixture as the bench boss for the Big Red for the last nine seasons, he will also wear another coaching cap in 2014-15. This past summer, Hockey Canada announced that Derraugh will serve as the head coach for the Canada National Women's Team for the first year of the new Olympic cycle following the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, this past year. He brings a wealth of experience to the position and will be quite familiar with team operations after serving as an assistant coach on the Canadian National Team that won the gold medal at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship. Derraugh is expected to miss minimal game action for the Big Red; however, associate head coach Danielle Bilodeau '01 and assistant coach Edith Racine will be more than capable to step in if a conflict does arise.
 
4 Nations Cup
Cornell had a big presence at last week's 4 Nations Cup that was hosted at Kamloops, British Columbia. In addition to Derraugh being the bench boss for Team Canada, seven current and former Big Red players participated at the event. Current team members Jillian Saulnier and Brianne Jenner had huge impacts at the tournament for Team Canada. Saulnier (1-0 – 1pt) scored the game-winning goal in Canada's 2-0 opening game victory over Sweden, while Jenner (0-1 – 1pt) scored the lone goal in the shootout of Canada's 3-2 victory over the United States in the gold medal game. Former Cornellians Rebecca Johnston '12 (3-0 – 3pts), Laura Fortino '13 (0-2 – 2pts), Lauriane Rougeau '13 (0-1 – 1pt), and Jessica Campbell '14 (3gp) also had excellent tournaments for the Canadian team. Alyssa Gagliardi '14 also appeared in one game on the blue line for the United States. The tournament victory was Derraugh's first at the helm of the national team.
 
 
Fast Start for Fulton
Senior right wing Emily Fulton has gotten off to a torrid start on the offensive end this season. She leads the Big Red with a 3-7 – 10 line through the first six games of the year. She posted the second most points of any Big Red player over the weekend, chipping in five helpers in the two games. She currently is tied for eighth in the conference for points (10), while she's tied for fifth in assists (7). She ranks second in ECAC Hockey, behind Clarkson forward Shannon MacAulay, with a 1.67 points per game average.
 
O'Connor's Outburst
Freshman defender Erin O'Connor had been an immediate contributor on a Big Red blue-line which saw a lot of attrition from last year's team. While she had not cracked the score sheet through the season's first two weeks, she broke out in a big way this past weekend. She led the team with six points and a +5 rating in extended ice time against Brown and Yale. She tallied her first collegiate assist as part of a three apple effort against Brown. On Saturday, she netted her first collegiate goal on the power-play, while adding two more apples. She now ranks second on the team in both points and assists.
 
Blue-Line Bash
The blue-line had its coming out party this past weekend, chipping in major contributions in the Big Red's weekend sweep. Junior Taylor Woods, who had been slotted at forward earlier this season, made the shift to defense and seemingly acclimated quickly to her role. She tallied two goals – including the game-winner on Saturday – and an assist in her first game action as a defender. Her output keyed an onslaught of goals from the back as Sarah Knee, Morgan Richardson and Erin O'Connor also tallied goals for the Big Red in Saturday's game against Yale.
 
Penalty Problems
One area the Big Red could stand to improve is penalty prevention. Cornell has found themselves shorthanded 32 times through the team's first six games, which included 12 times over the two-game set against Brown and Yale. While the team is relinquishing penalties, it has not been burned in recent games as the penalty-kill has found its groove after a tough opening series in Boston College.  The Big Red has killed 24 of the last 28 (.857) opponent power-plays. The team has also looked threatening on the offensive end with a skater down, tallying two shorthanded goals and generating several opportunities on the kill this past weekend. Cornell will look to limit the chances against a Colgate squad that has drawn the second most penalties (54) of all ECAC Hockey squads.
 
Punch on the Power-Play
The return of Jenner and Saulnier to the top power-play unit paid huge dividends, both in the amount of penalties drawn and the Big Red's ability to capitalize on its chances. Cornell drew 13 penalties over the course of the two games this past weekend and translated those opportunities into four power-play goals. Despite only playing six games this season, Cornell now is tied for third in ECAC Hockey with seven power-play markers this season. The team is tied for third in the conference with a 25% (7-of-28) conversion rate with the player advantage.
 
Provincial Party
Of the 20 players on the Cornell roster for the 2014-15 season, 15 hail from our neighbor to the north. The Big Red has players from five different provinces, which include: Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. Ontario is the province with the most representatives with ten of the 15. The other five players hail from the United States; two from Illinois and one each from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
 
Fresh Faces
The Big Red will welcome five new members to the squad in 2014-15. The Class of 2018 will be a big boon to the back line as the class is comprised of a goalie, three defenders, and one forward. Two of freshmen hail from Illinois in Erin O'Connor (Evanston, Ill./Chicago Young Americans) and Sydnee Saracco (Countryside, Ill./Chicago Mission). Two others come to East Hill from Toronto, Ontario in goalie Amelia Boughn (Mississauga Junior Chiefs) and Sarah Knee (Toronto Junior Aeros). The lone forward of the group is Morgan McKim (Mars, Pa./Shattuck-St. Mary's).  The common theme amongst the newcomers is size. The new class averages 5-8 and it is expected to bring an added level physicality in front of the net and in puck battles along the wall this season.
 
The Breakdown
The Big Red boasts a nice blend of talented youth and experienced veterans in 2014-15. The roster is comprised of: three seniors, six juniors, six sophomores, and five freshmen. The group is very tight-knit with a number of players also playing together in the club and international level as well. A trio of sophomores (DeBruin, Veerman, and Voorheis) played their club hockey for the Aurora Junior Panthers. A freshman/sophomore combination (Boughn and Doering) played their club hockey for the Mississauga Junior Chiefs, while senior Jillian Saulnier and freshman Sarah Knee both come from the Toronto Aeros club system. Six players were also part of the Canadian Under 18 National Team.
 
 
Career Numbers Watch
* Brianne Jenner currently sits in sixth place on the all-time list in career points (184), fourth in assists (103), and seventh in goals (81). She needs four points to tie Rebecca Johnston (2007-11) for fifth all-time. With her two assists on Saturday against Yale she passed Catherine White (2008-11) for fourth all-time. After her two-goal game against Brown, she now is just three goals short of tying Amy Stanzin (1982-86) for sixth all-time.
* Jillian Saulnier currently sits in ninth place on the all-time list in career points (156) and is seventh all-time in assists (93). She needs just one point to tie Amy Stanzin (1982-86) for eighth all-time. With her assist at Boston College she passed Rebecca Johnston (2008-11) all alone into seventh place on the all-time list. She currently sits at 62 career goals and needs just four more to tie Catherine White (2008-11) for 10th on the all-time list.
* Emily Fulton currently sits at 93 points – 40 goals and 53 assists – she needs seven points to reach 100 for her career.
 
Up Next
Cornell will hit the road for the first time since its season opening series against Boston College. The Big Red will head west to face off with nationally ranked Minnesota-Duluth of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association on a two-game set this weekend. It will be the first meeting between the two program's since the Bulldogs edged the Big Red in overtime of the NCAA Women's Frozen Four Championship following the 2009-10 season. Opening faceoff on Friday, Nov. 21, is scheduled for 5:07 p.m. EST, while Saturday's puck drop will take place a 7:07 p.m. EST.