ITHACA, N.Y. – Fresh-off a 1-0-1 home stand against No. 7 Mercyhurst and Syracuse, in which the squad put together two of its strongest efforts on the season, Cornell women's hockey will look to carry the momentum on the road where the squad is still in search of its first victory on enemy ice. The Big Red will wrap up the 2014 portion of its schedule with its annual northern upstate swing through Clarkson and St. Lawrence. First, the Big Red will take-on defending National Champion and currently sixth-ranked Golden Knights, with opening faceoff at Cheel Arena scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, December 5. Cornell will then head to Canton, N.Y., to face-off with the Saints on a 3 p.m. puck drop at Appleton Arena on Saturday, December 6.
 
Cornell Big Red (4-6-1, 3-2-0 ECAC Hockey) at No. 6 Clarkson Golden Knights (11-5-1, 5-1-1 ECAC Hockey)
Friday, December 5, 2014 | 7:00 PM | Potsdam, N.Y. – Cheel Arena
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
 
Cornell Big Red (4-6-1, 3-2-0 ECAC Hockey) at St. Lawrence Saints (7-5-2, 4-2-1 ECAC Hockey)
Saturday, December 6, 2014 | 3:00 PM | Canton, N.Y. – Appleton Arena
Live Stats | Live Video
 
Game Notes
Cornell | Clarkson | St. Lawrence
 
Big Red Headlines
Cornell returned to action earlier this week, following an eight-day break for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Big Red hosted two non-conference games against College Hockey America foes Mercyhurst and Syracuse at Lynah Rink, with Cornell going 1-0-1. The team put together two of its strongest efforts of the season and continues to turn the corner following its difficult start to the non-conference slate. The Big Red kicked of the week with a 1-1 tie against rival No. 7 Mercyhurst. The red had some glorious chances over the final half of the game - including breakaways for both Jillian Saulnier and Brianne Jenner - but Morgan Richardson's first period tally was the lone puck to beat Amanda Makela in the tie. The Red continued its strong play the following night, blasting Syracuse 6-2. Freshman Amelia Boughn notched her first career victory in net, while five different players scored a goal in the run-away win.
 
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 173-107-21 record at Cornell. He returns both excellent assistant coaches Danielle Bilodeau '01 (ninth season) and Edith Racine (sixth season) in 2014-15.
 
Golden Knight Headlines
The defending National Champion Golden Knights have gotten off to another strong start in 2014-15. The squad enters the weekend with a 11-5-1 mark overall and a 5-1-1 record in ECAC Hockey play. The team is currently ranked sixth in both major national polls. Clarkson is 7-2-1 over its last 10 games with the only losses coming against ECAC Hockey leading No. 4 Quinnipiac over that stretch. Most recently, the Golden Knights split a pair of games at the Nutmeg Classic in Storrs, Conn., over Thanksgiving Weekend. The team scored a 2-1 overtime victory over the host Huskies in the opening game of the weekend. Shannon MacAulay - ECAC Hockey's leader in both goals and points - netted both tallies in the victory including the game-winner just over three -minutes into overtime. The Golden Knights dropped the second game of the weekend by a 3-1 margin to Quinnipiac. Amanda Titus scored her second goal in three games, while Shea Tiley stopped 26 shots in the loss.
 
The Series With Clarkson...
Cornell leads the all-time series against Clarkson 21-12-2, which includes the Big Red's 1-0 victory over the Golden Knights in last season's ECAC Hockey Tournament Final. The two programs first met in 1974-75, with Cornell taking the first matchup 6-0. The Big Red would go on to win the first 11 games in the series, before the teams ended the annual matchups at the conclusion of 1981-82 season. The teams resumed the series in 2003-04, with Cornell posting a 10-12-2 record against Clarkson. The Big Red is 8-7-2 in games played in Potsdam, but only three of those victories have come since the resumption of the series. Last season's victory at Cheel Arena in the ECAC Hockey Tournament Final was the Big Red's first victory at Clarkson since the team's 3-2 victory during the 2008-09 season.
 
Last Season's Matchups With Clarkson...
The Big Red split the regular season series with the Golden Knights last season with each team winning at home. Cornell took the first matchup of the season by a 6-3 margin at Lynah Rink in the ECAC Hockey opener for both teams. The Big Red tallied three times in the opening 20 minutes on a pair of goals from Jillian Saulnier and an even strength marker from Caroline DeBruin, taking a 3-1 lead to the intermission. Hayleigh Cudmore stretched the Big Red lead to 4-1 just 2:28 into the second period, but Clarkson cut the lead to just 4-3 on  a second period power-play goal from Jamie Lee Rattray and a third period even strength marker from Brittany Styner. Jessica Campbell snatched momentum back with a goal at 13:34 of the period, while Alyssa Gagliardi tallied on the power-play to ice the Big Red victory. Clarkson returned the favor in a rematch for first place in the conference later in the season. The Golden Knights jumped out to the 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Carly Mercer and Vanessa Gagnon. Emily Fulton cut the deficit to 2-1 on a power-play goal in the second period, but Jamie Lee Rattray reestablished control for Clarkson with a goal just over midway through the second in the 3-1 Clarkson victory. The teams met for the final time in the ECAC Hockey Tournament Final, with the Big Red securing the 1-0 victory at Cheel Arena. Cassandra Poudrier netted the lone goal at 14:27 of the first period, while net-minder Lauren Slebodnick stopped 26 shots in the shutout.
 
Saint Headlines
St. Lawrence has been a tough team to get a read on through an up-and-down first half to the season. There is no question that the Saints will be one of the Big Red's most difficult tests despite entering the weekend with a middling 7-5-2 overall record. The squad opened the season with a surprising split in a home-and-home against the defending National Champions. The second series of the year might have been even more impressive. The Saints gave Boston College its toughest games of the year, including dealing the Eagles its only blemish of the season to date in a 2-2 tie at Appleton Arena in the second game of the series. Despite the impressive start, the squad limped out of the gate to a 1-2 start to ECAC Hockey play, while losing three-of-four overall. The stretch included puzzling lopsided losses to both Brown and Dartmouth. Since snapping out of the losing skid with a 2-1 victory over then-10th ranked Dartmouth, the squad has been on a roll. The Saints ride a four game unbeaten streak heading into this weekend, which includes a 2-2 tie at No. 4 Quinnipiac in the team's most recent game. The Saints figure to stretch that mark to five heading into the matchup with Cornell with a matchup against Colgate on Friday.
 
The Series With St. Lawrence...
Cornell and St. Lawrence have played an extremely even matched series throughout the history of both programs. Cornell slightly trails the overall series with a 30-32-5 record all-time against the Saints. The team's first met during the 1976-77 season, with the Big Red sweeping the home-and-home with 3-1 and 7-1 victories. The Big Red is 12-15-4 all-time in games played in Canton, N.Y. However, Cornell is unbeaten in its last five trips to Appleton Arena, posting a 3-0-2 mark since 2009-10. All five of those matchups have been close, as Cornell's three victories came by just a margin of five total goals. While both team's offensive units have typically boasted some explosive firepower, the recent matchups at Appleton Arena haven't necessarily been high scoring affairs. Cornell has averaged three goals per game over the stretch, but that number is skewed by a six goal effort in 2011-12. St. Lawrence has averged two goals per game during that stretch, which includes a four goal effort in the 2011-12 matchup.
 
Last Season's Matchups With St. Lawrence...
Cornell went 1-0-1 against the Saints last season. The Big Red took the opening game of the season during the opening weekend of conference play with a 6-4 victory at Lynah Rink. Rylee Smith got the Saints on the board first, but back-to-back power-play markers from Jillian Saulnier and Emily Fulton gave Cornell the 2-1 lead at the first intermission. After Jessica Hon tallied to cut the Saints deficit to 3-2, Cornell scored three consecutive times on a pair of goals from Jessica Campbell and Kelly Murray to take control of the game. Brooke Webster would add a pair of goals later in the third period, but it would be too-little-too late. The two squads tied the return matchup at Appleton Arena. It was again the Saints that got on the board first with Jenna Marks finding the back of the net at 12:23 of the opening period. The Big Red would fire 52 shots on net in the contest, with Hanna Bunton finally breaking through with the equalizer with just under six minutes remaining in the game.
 
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. With the two losses against Minnesota-Duluth Cornell is not receiving votes in either of the latest releases of the poll.
 
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. Jenner got the Big Red off and running in Cornell's victory over Brown with a goal just 1:55 into the first period. 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 the following day against Yale. Jenner chipped in two assists, while Saulnier added a goal and a helper in the 6-2 victory and added a pair of apples against Colgate. Saulnier and Jenner are tied for second on the team with identical 4-7-11 lines through their first nine games played this season.Both players are averaging well over a point per game for their careers.
 
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.
 
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 6-9 – 15 line through the first 11 games of the year. She broke a two-game point drought with a goal in the Big Red's 6-2 victory over Syracuse. She currently is tied for fourth in the conference for points (15), while she's tied for fifth in assists (9). She ranks third in ECAC Hockey and 11th overall nationally with a 1.36 points per game average. Her 15 points are tied for 35th most in NCAA Division I this season. She has recorded a multi-point game in six of her 11 games played this season.
 
O'Connor's Outburst
Freshman defender Erin O'Connor has been an immediate contributor on a Big Red blue-line which saw significant attrition from last year's ECAC Hockey title squad. While she had not cracked the score sheet through the season's first two weeks, she has broken out in a big way in recent weeks. 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. Against Yale, O'Connor netted her first collegiate goal on the power-play, while adding two more helpers. She is fourth on the team in points (10) and tied for second in assists (7). In her most recent contest against Syracuse she posted a 1-1 – 2  line for third multi-point game of the season. She currently ranks second in points and tied for first in power-play goals (2)among all Dvision I freshmen blue-liners. O'Connor was also the recipient of the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week award earlier this season.
 
Work Shift for Woods
The Cornell blue-line has been a little bit of a work in progress this season, as the squad has had to break in two new starters, while also coping with the loss of two major contributors from last year's squad. One way Doug Derraugh has attempted to alleviate the issues of youth and inexperience in the defense corps has been the shifting of Taylor Woods from a forward role to part of the defense. The junior had played her entire collegiate career as a forward, but has acclimated quickly to her new role. She has injected the young defense with a hefty dose of energy and confidence, while her smooth skating has helped stabilize the Big Red's defensive zone exits and breakouts. The move has also paid off for Woods on the stat-sheet as she has scored two goals since being moved to the back. She has paired with fellow junior Cassandra Poudrier to form the Big Red's top unit.
 
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.
 
Jumpin' Jenner
Cornell figured to get a big boost when it found out it was returning one of the program's all-time greats in senior captain Brianne Jenner. The center has not disappointed and seems to be hitting her stride as the conference season begins to heat up. She has posted a 1-4 –5 line over her last four games and currently is tied for second on the team with 11 points (4g-7a) through nine games played this season. In her most recent contest she collected three assists, as the Big Red put six puck in the net against Syracuse. Jenner has also really come on strong as the Big Red's top faceoff option. She currently sits at exactly 50% on the season with 104 faceoff wins in 208 opportunities. With a strong finish, Jenner has a legitimate chance to finish in the top-three on the program's all-time lists for points, goals, and assists. The only other Big Red player to accomplish that feat was Cheryl Hines (1976-80).
 
Sensational Saulnier
Saulnier has also heated up since being paired with Jenner on the team's top line. She marked a goal and assist in the Big Red's 6-2 victory over the Orange on Tuesday. The goal came on a fantastic give-and-go with Jenner, after the senior captain stripped the puck from the defender on the left half wall. Similar to Jenner, Saulnier is also creeping up the all-time lists in several categories and will likely challenge for top-five all-time rankings in several categories.
 
Scoring Depth Shines
One fear of loading up one line with so much firepower is that it does not leave enough scoring punch for the rest of the lineup. That can lead to a dearth of goals if the opponent can key on stopping the loaded unit. Cornell will hope that its last two contests are an indication of things to come, as the squad's scoring depth shined coming back from Thanksgiving Break. Six different players tallied goals for Cornell in the early games this week, including a pair from Hanna Bunton against the Orange.
 
Career Numbers Watch
* Brianne Jenner currently sits in fifth place on the all-time list in career points (189), third in assists (107), and seventh in goals (82). With her three point effort against Syracuse, she passed Rebecca Johnston (2007-11) for fifth all-time. With her three assists on Tuesday against Syracuse she passed Cyndy Schlaepfer (1975-1978) for third all-time. After her one-goal game against Brown, she now is just two goals short of tying Amy Stanzin (1982-86) for sixth all-time.
* Jillian Saulnier currently sits in eighth place on the all-time list in career points (162) and is tied for sixth all-time in assists (98). With her two points against Colgate she passed Amy Stanzin (1982-86) for eighth all-time. With her two assists against Syracuse she tied Laura Fortino (2009-13) for sixth all-time. She currently sits at 64 career goals and needs just two more to tie Catherine White (2008-11) for 10th on the all-time list.
* Emily Fulton currently sits at 98 points – 43 goals and 55 assists – she needs two points to reach 100 for her career.
 
Up Next
Cornell will return to action following the New Year, when it welcomes Canadian power McGill for an exhibition at Lynah Rink on Jan. 2.