Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. - No. 10/10 Cornell women's hockey kept on scoring Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 7-1 victory over Rensselaer at Lynah Rink. The seven spot brought the weekend goal total to 15, which was the highest two-game output since laying back-to-back nine goal outputs on Colgate on Nov. 16-17 of 2012. The victory moves Cornell to 10-3-2 in ECAC Hockey play; moving the squad into a three-way tie with St. Lawrence and Clarkson for third-place with 22 points.

It was a highlight day for freshman winger Morgan McKim, as she collected her first two collegiate points. She capped the seven-goal Big Red offensive explosion with a third period goal.
 
The senior top-line of Jillian Saulnier (1g-2a), Brianne Jenner (1g-1a) and Emily Fulton (2g-1a) combined for eight more points on Saturday. Sophomore Sydney Smith scored for her second straight game and fourth in five games overall, while junior Cassandra Poudrier added her second goal of the season.
 
Sophomore forward Brianna Veerman added two helpers for the second consecutive day, while Taylor Woods and Jess Brown both collected their 10^th assists of the season in the contest. Freshman defender Erin O'Connor added an assist.
 
For the second consecutive day, Cornell (12-7-3, 10-3-2 ECAC Hockey) jumped on its opponent with early strikes. The Big Red tallied three times in the first period, including twice in the opening 4:02 of the contest.
 
Saulnier got the Big Red on the board 2:21 into the game on her eighth goal of the season and 68^th of her career, tying Chelsea Karpenko (2008-11) for ninth all-time in program history. Making a quick transition out of its own zone, Fulton streaked through center-ice before dishing to Jenner on the right wing. The captain moved it back to Fulton between the circles, who then fired a shot on net that was initially stopped. Saulnier cleaned up the rebound, poking the puck under Rensselaer (5-19-4, 3-12-1 ECAC Hockey) netminder Kelly O'Brien.
 
Jenner added her own goal shorthanded just 1:41 later on fantastic display of effort and determination. With Veerman in the box on a two-minute minor for checking, Cornell put its offensively potent penalty-kill unit to work. The play started with an errant drop pass by RPI junior forward Alexa Gruschow that eluded everyone and drifted toward center-ice. Jenner made an outside-inside fake to poke the puck past sophomore defender Hannah Behounek for a partial break. She fended off the beaten defender, who was whistled for hooking on the play, before ripping a backhand past the blocker side of O'Brien for a 2-0 lead. She would finish the day just one point short of tying Digit Degidio (1979-83) for third on the program's all-time point list.
 
Smith would cap the excellent opening period for the home team with her fourth goal of the year. Brown started the play, winning a puck battle at the right half wall in her own defensive zone. Veerman picked up the loose puck and whipped it up ice to Smith, who was speeding through the neutral zone. Although she could not catch up to the pass, she won the race to the puck down below the RPI end line. She worked it behind the net to Veerman who peeled behind the net and sent the puck back to Smith who was crashing the crease. She opened of the five-hole with a fake before whipping it through the space in O'Brien's pads.
 
The Engineers clawed one-goal back early in the second period. Senior co-captain Taylor Mahoney moved the puck down low to Gruschow behind the net. The junior whipped the puck back to Mahoney, who was crashing the crease. Her initial shot was denied by Cornell goaltender Paula Voorheis (W, 10-7-3), but senior co-captain Ali Svoboda was there to finish off the rebound for her seventh goal of the year. Voorheis would finish with 11 stops in 40 minutes of action, before giving way to freshman Amelia Boughn for the third period.
 
The Big Red answered with three more tallies to blow the game open before the end of the period.
 
Fulton collected her first of two goals in the period with 10:21 left in the second. With the Big Red working on a powerplay, Saulnier circled the right faceoff dot before feeding O'Connor at the point. The freshman fired a booming slapper that was denied by O'Brien, but the rebound caromed out to Fulton who fired it into the open cage.
 
Poudrier pushed the lead to four-goals 3:30 later in the frame to knock O'Brien from the game. With the Big Red moving three players strong through the neutral zone, McKim fed Smith a pass on the left wing. The sophomore sent the puck quickly back to McKim, who then dropped it to Poudrier who was trailing the play. The junior lasered a slapper through a screen into the far side cage. The Engineer netminder would finish with 23 saves.
 
O'Brien's replacement, senior Brianna Piper, did not fare much better, as she was beaten on her first shot faced just 1:01 after Poudrier's marker. Saulnier again started the play, winning a puck battle on the right half wall free to Woods at the point. The junior moved the puck to Fulton in the slot. She turned and fired a wrister that squeezed through the pad and blocker of Piper to push the lead to 6-1.
 
McKim capped the scoring five-minutes into the third period. Smith gave the play life, skating hard to nullify a potential icing. She fired a backhand towards the crease that was tipped by Veerman into the slot right to the blade of McKim. The freshman whipped a backhander into the four-by-six, before being enveloped by her congratulatory teammates.
 
Boughn would stop all eight Engineer shots faced in her 20 minutes of action to complete the 7-1 victory.
 
Up next for the Big Red is a trip to Colgate on Tuesday evening. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.