Box Score (PDF)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – No. 10/10 Cornell women's hockey kicked off a weekend of awareness on Friday afternoon with its annual Do It For Daron game to benefit mental health initiatives. The Big Red rode a five-goal second period to roll past Union 8-2 to move to 9-3-2 in ECAC Hockey play. The game was preceded by a touching opening ceremony with D.I.F.D co-founder Stephanie Richardson dropping the puck for a ceremonial faceoff between her daughter, Cornell junior defender, Morgan Richardson and Morgan's former teammate, current Union freshman blue-liner Caitlyn McLaren.
 
Cornell kicked the offense into high-gear in its return to Lynah Rink. Boosted by the return of senior star Jillian Saulnier; the power-packed Big Red top-line of senior Brianne Jenner (2g-2a), Emily Fulton (2g-1a) and Saulnier (1g-3a) combined for 11 points and had a hand in six of Cornell's eight tallies on the day. Freshman blue-liner Erin O'Connor added a goal and two assists, while junior Taylor Woods (1g-1a) and sophomore Sydney Smith (1g) added tallies for the Big Red. Junior Jess Brown and sophomore Brianna Veerman both added a pair of assists, while Richardson also added an apple for Cornell.
 
Sophomore netminder Paula Voorheis (W, 9-7-3) picked up the victory, stopping 12-of-13 shots over the first 40 minutes. She ceded the net to junior Stefannie Moak to start the third period; Moak made four saves on five Union shots on goal.
 
Junior forward Jessica Kaminsky potted a goal in the first period for the Dutchwomen, while junior defender Elizabeth Otten netted her first collegiate goal as part of her first career multi-point effort. Senior goaltender Shenae Lundberg turned aside 44 Cornell shots.
 
Right from opening puck-drop, the Big Red looked intent and focused on reestablishing its rhythm in the offensive end after struggling to find the back of the net on the road the past few weekends. Cornell  (11-7-3, 9-3-2 ECAC Hockey) dominated possession in the attacking zone over vast stretches of the opening 10 minutes, but the Dutchwomen did an excellent job of sacrificing the body to clog shooting lanes.
 
Finally, the Big Red broke through on Saulnier's seventh of the season. As the puck just barely trickled out of the zone, Saulnier quickly gathered the puck in the neutral zone and whipped it to Fulton on the right wing. Fulton sent it back to Saulnier who barged into the slot and ripped a wrister top-shelf to the blocker side of Lundberg to stake the Big Red to a 1-0 lead with 6:39 left in the period.
 
The top-line struck again just 4:10 later with Fulton this time plundering the net for her 11^th of the year. The play started with O'Connor and Saulnier working a high-cycle near the right point. The freshman blue-liner moved down the boards below the goal line, before backhanding the puck to Fulton in the right circle. The senior winger launched a wrister that deflected off Lundberg's pad, trickling just barely over the goal line before she could recover to double the Cornell lead.
 
Union (4-19-4, 1-13-1 ECAC Hockey) answered with goal just 30 seconds after Fulton's marker. After Otten fired a shot from the point that was stopped by Voorheis, Kaminsky corralled the rebound and swung behind the net. She whipped a wrap-around shot that found its way under the Big Red netminder's pads to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 1:59 left in the first.
 
Jenner pumped in her first of the game just 1:04 into the middle period, blasting home a one-timer from the left circle on a cross-ice feed from Woods. The two-goal lead would remain until the 15:53 mark of the period in which the Big Red would explode for four goals in 3:59 to take a 7-1 lead to the intermission. Jenner again would spark the run on a fantastic no-look backhand redirect of a Saulnier shot-pass to the crease.
 
Fulton would add her second of the game and 12^th of the season, wristing home a puck that bounced to her just below the left circle. O'Connor would tally her goal on the powerplay with a booming slapper that found its way through a textbook screen in front of Lundberg with 1:14 left in the period. Woods capped the spree with eight seconds left in the period, as Brown's shot deflected off her body and fluttered into the net.
 
With the game well in hand, Cornell rolled all three lines in the third period. Smith would add an early tally just 3:50 into the frame, beating teammate Brown by a whisker to knock home a shot from between the circles, as both players were left wide-open.
 
The Dutchwomen added a powerplay of their own to cap the scoring in the game. Working a five-on-three, with Saulnier off for interference and Cassandra Poudrier serving a delay of game minor, Otten fired a powerful shot from the left point that eluded Moak and went into the cage.
 
The eight goal output was the third straight game that the Big Red has marked eight goals against Union at Lynah Rink. The two goals put Brianne Jenner at 90 for her career, becoming just the fifth Cornell player to reach that threshold. Saulnier's three assists pushed her into fourth on the all-time list with 107 career apples.
 
The Big Red will continue awareness weekend tomorrow afternoon when it welcomes Rensselaer to Lynah Rink for a 3 p.m. puck drop. The team will hold a fundraiser to benefit breast cancer research, while a bone marrow donor registry will be open in the concourse of Bartels Hall from 3-to-9 p.m. The events will be part of the Big Red vs. Cancer initiative held in conjunction with the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes and the Be The Match organizations.