PRINCETON, N.J. AND HAMDEN, Conn. — After opening ECAC Hockey play against Rensselaer and Union, the Big Red's next challenge comes in the form of a pair of road games against ranked conference opponents. Cornell's first weekend of the season away from Lynah Rink begins with a trip to fellow Ivy, Princeton. The Tigers are unbeaten and untied through four games and made their way into the national polls this week.  The Big Red will then head to No. 7/7 Quinnipiac, which slipped in the rankings this week after the Bobcats suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of unranked Yale.
 
GAME 5: Cornell Big Red at No. 10/10 Princeton Tigers
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Hobey Baker Rink — Princeton, N.J.
2015 RECORDS: Cornell 0-3-1 (0-1-1 ECAC Hockey), Princeton 4-0-0 (2-0-0 ECAC Hockey)
LIVE STATS:  GoPrincetonTigers.com
STREAMING VIDEO: Ivy League Digital Network
 
GAME 6: Cornell Big Red at No. 7/7 Quinnipiac Bobcats
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, 4 p.m.
WHERE: High Point Solutions Arena — Hamden, Conn.
2015 RECORDS: Cornell 0-3-1 (0-1-1 ECAC Hockey), Quinnipiac 5-1-1 (1-1-0 ECAC Hockey)*
LIVE STATS: QuinnipiacBobcats.com
STREAMING VIDEO: QuinnipiacBobcats.com
*Records do not include Friday's games
 
GAME NOTES:
Cornell | Princeton | Quinnipiac
 
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell earned its first ECAC Hockey point of the season last Saturday with a 2-2 tie against Union after falling to Rensselaer in overtime Friday night. Freshmen Pippy Gerace netted her first career goal to help the Big Red climb out of a 2-0 hole against Union and junior Hanna Bunton tallied her second of the season to even the score. On Friday, junior Kaitlin Doering got her first of the year to get the Big Red on the board after the second period ended in a scoreless draw. In the first weekend of the season, Cornell dropped a pair of games to No. 2/2 Boston College.
 
ABOUT PRINCETON
In an eventful start to the season league-wide, unbeaten Princeton has been one of ECAC Hockey's dark horses thus far. Predicted in the preseason coaches' poll to finish sixth in the league, the Tigers cracked the national top 10 this week for the first time this season after sweeping Yale and Brown last weekend to open ECAC Hockey play. Though no team has played more than three league games, Princeton is already the only team unbeaten and untied. One of the Tigers' strengths is their evenly distributed offense — nine different players have found the back of the net through Princeton's first four games. Freshman Karlie Lund leads the team in points with five on a goal and four assists. Junior Morgan Sly has the team lead in goals with three. Lund and Sly each had three points in the Tigers' season-opening sweep of Mercyhurst when Princeton took a pair of one-goal wins, 3-2 and 2-1. Junior Fiona McKenna's first goal of the season was the game-winner late in the Tigers' 4-3 decision over Yale to open league play. Sophomore goaltender Alysia DaSilva posted a shutout in her first game in net this season, with Princeton taking a 3-0 win over Brown. Senior Kimberly Newell was between the pipes for the Tigers' first three wins, posting an even 2.00 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.   
 
THE SERIES VS. PRINCETON
Since the teams first met in the 1974-75 season, Princeton holds a narrow 43-38-4 edge over the Big Red. The Tigers won 14 straight meetings after women's hockey became an NCAA sport at Cornell in 2000-01, but since Doug Derraugh took over the program in 2005-06, the Big Red is 13-8-1 over the Tigers. Two of those losses came last season, when Princeton took the season series on a pair of one-goal wins. In the first meeting of the season, Oct. 31 at Lynah Rink, the Tigers led 5-2 after two periods. Cornell's third period rally fell just short, giving Princeton the 5-4 win. On Feb. 7 in New Jersey, the Big Red took the lead on a pair of power play goals, but the Tigers scored twice in the third period to win, 3-2. In eight career games against Princeton, senior Taylor Woods has seven points on three goals and four assists.
 
ABOUT QUINNIPIAC
The Bobcats, currently ranked No. 7 in both national polls, have been ranked in the nation's top 10 for 51 consecutive weeks, dating back to the beginning of the 2013-14 season. Quinnipiac fell two spots in the polls this week after unranked Yale handed the Bobcats their first loss of the season, a 4-3 decision. In its ECAC Hockey-opening series last weekend, Quinnipiac held its opponents to just 12 shots, setting a program record against Brown, allowing just three shots en route to a 4-0 victory. The Bobcats conceded just nine shots from the Bulldogs, but four of them found the back of the net, including the game-winner with just under four minutes left. Quinnipiac beat Yale, 6-3, earlier in the season in a non-conference matchup. The Bobcats also posted a pair of wins against Hockey East's Maine, 3-1 and 5-1. Like Princeton, Quinnipiac opened the season with a close series against Mercyhurst, tying the weekend's first game 3-3 before beating the Lakers, 2-1, the next day. Sophomore Taylar Cianfarano has been an offensive catalyst for the Bobcats and currently sits in second in ECAC Hockey for points with 13 on seven goals and six assists through seven games. Freshman Melissa Samoskevich, who has had an impressive debut campaign thus far, is right behind with 12 points on three goals and nine assists, earning her ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month honors for October. In net, junior Sydney Rossman is the only goaltender to see time for the Bobcats and currently holds a 1.84 goals-against average and .883 save percentage.
 
THE SERIES VS. QUINNIPIAC
The Big Red is 12-6-6 against the Bobcats since the programs first met in 2003-04. Cornell and Quinnipiac split the season series last year, with the then-No. 5 Bobcats taking the first game, 3-0, on Nov. 1 at Lynah Rink. When the Big Red traveled to Hamden, Conn., on Feb. 6, junior Kaitlin Doering's third-period goal knotted the score at three and forced overtime, where junior Hanna Bunton scored the game-winner for Cornell.
 
ABOUT HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH '91
Entering his 11th season directing Cornell women's hockey, Derraugh has brought the program to national prominence. He amassed a 189-112-24 record in his first ten seasons with the Big Red and has led the team to four ECAC Hockey Tournament Championships, four Ivy League Championships and five NCAA tournament appearances, including three trips to the Frozen Four. From 2009-10 to 2013-14, his teams notched five consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in program history.
 
FRESHMEN FIREPOWER
In the Big Red's 2-2 tie with Union, head coach Doug Derraugh put together an all-freshmen line of Pippy Gerace, Lenka Serdar and Christian Higham. It was this line that sparked Cornell's rally from a two-goal deficit, with Gerace poking home her first career goal and the Big Red's first of the game with assists from both of her linemates, Serdar and Higham's first Cornell points as well. The trio combined for nine shots against Union and all finished plus-1.
 
ALL TIED UP
In Cornell's ECAC Hockey opening weekend against Rensselaer and Union, in which both games needed overtime, the Big Red played 90 minutes, 17 seconds with the score tied, including 61:14 in the overtime loss to the Engineers. Cornell and RPI were scoreless through the first two periods before unior Kaitlin Doering scored the game's first goal 3:05 into the third, but the Engineers tied it 1:20 later. The next day, Union took a 2-0 lead before the Big Red answered to even the score at two in the second. The game would stay tied through the third and a five-minute overtime.
 
GOING FOR MOAK
Senior goaltender Stefannie Moak was called upon to play 50:31 in the Big Red's 2-2 tie with Union on Oct. 31. Moak stopped all 12 shots that came her way, including several key saves, providing a momentum shift for Cornell as the team rallied to even the score at two in the second period.
 
THE PUCK STOPS HERE
Junior goaltender Paula Voorheis posted a spectacular performance in net in the Big Red's season opener against Boston College on Oct. 24. Against BC's potent offense, Voorheis made 40 saves, including stopping all 17 shots that came her way in the second period. Voorheis allowed just two goals on the night, with the Eagles' other two tallies coming in the form of empty net goals when Cornell pulled Voorheis in favor of an extra attacker in the games' waning moments.
 
STREAK SNAPPER
Junior Hanna Bunton scored the Big Red's first goal of the season 4:50 into the third period on Oct. 24 against Boston College. The goal marked the first time BC goaltender Katie Burt had let a puck past her in over 150 minutes of play. Burt had posted back-to-back shutouts against New Hampshire and Maine the weekend before.
 
'C' IS FOR CASSANDRA
Senior defenseman Cassandra Poudrier will be serving as the Big Red's captain for the 2015-16 season. In addition to her strength on the ice, head coach Doug Derraugh also notes that Poudrier is well-liked and well-respected by her teammates. She finished last season with a +13 rating and 76 blocked shots. Classmates Taylor Woods and Stefannie Moak will serve as the assistant captains.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The Big Red has six newcomers this season: four forwards, a defenseman and a goaltender. Pippy Gerace, Lenka Serdar, Diana Buckley and Christian Higham will play up front, while Micah Hart will add depth at the blue line and Marlene Boissonnault will be an option between the pipes. The class is split across the northern border, with Higham, Hart and Boissonnault hailing from Canada and Gerace, Serdar and Buckley coming from the United States. Higham, Hart and Boissonnault were silver medalists with Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championships. The forwards will bring speed and hockey smarts to the Big Red offense, while Hart, who captained the silver medal Canadian team, will add experience and poise at the blue line. 
 
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS
Last season, Cornell ranked first in ECAC Hockey and second in the nation for assists, racking up 133 in conference play and 183 overall. Sophomore Erin O'Connor led the Big Red's returning players with 18 helpers on the season.
 
FOR CLUB AND FOR COUNTRY
Entering the 2015-16 season, the Big Red has eight players who have represented Team Canada at some level. Senior Cassandra Poudrier, junior Hanna Bunton and freshman Micah Hart have all spent time with the senior Canadian Women's National Team. Poudrier competed in the 2015 Four Nations Cup for Team Canada. Senior Morgan Richardson helped the U-18 Canadian team to an IIHF World Championship in 2012, while freshmen Hart captained a U-18 team that also featured classmates Christian Higham and Marlene Boissonnault to a silver medal at the 2015 U-18 IIHF World Championships. Junior Sydney Smith has also spent time with the Canadian U-18 Team. Several American players have attended USA Hockey development camps as well.
 
GOING PRO
In the newly formed National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), teams can draft players entering their final year of NCAA eligibility in order to sign them once they finish their collegiate play. Senior captain Cassandra Poudrier was picked 18th overall in the 2015 NWHL Draft by the Connecticut Whale. Four Cornell women's hockey alumnae are currently playing in the league, which is in its first season: Alyssa Gagliardi '14 (Boston Pride), Lauren Slebodnick '14 (Boston Pride), Jenny Scrivens (Niesluchowski) '10 (NY Riveters) and Erin Barley-Maloney '13 (NY Riveters). In addition, eight former Cornellians are playing in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Emily Fulton '15 was a first round CWHL draft pick this season, going to the Toronto Furies. Linemates Brianne Jenner '15 and Jill Saulnier '15 were both drafted by the Calgary Inferno, where they will join Rebecca Johnston '12, Jessica Campbell '14 and Hayleigh Cudmore '14. Laura Fortino '13 (Brampton) and Lauriane Rougeau '13 (Montreal) also play in the league.
 
UP NEXT
After this weekend's games, Cornell will face-off against a pair of regional opponents. The Big Red will take a brief break from ECAC Hockey play to travel to local foe Syracuse on Saturday, Nov. 14. Puck drop against the Orange is set for 4 p.m. Heading into a weekend series with Lindenwood, Syracuse is 4-5 overall and 2-1 in College Hockey America. Cornell then returns to Lynah Rink for the last time in 2015 on Tuesday, Nov. 17 for a 7 p.m. conference contest against Colgate. The Raiders also play Quinnipiac and Princeton this weekend.
 
RECORDS WATCH
*Junior Hanna Bunton currently holds the No. 20 spot all-time in program history for career game-winning goals with six. She is two game-winners way from being tied for 10th.
*Senior Taylor Woods is just one game-winning goal away from tying Hanna Bunton at No. 20.
*Woods is tied for 16th all-time with 11 career power-play goals. Adding one power-play goal would tie her for 11th. She is four power-play goals away from tying Emily Fulton, Brianne Jenner and Catherine White for fourth.
*Bunton and Woods are tied for 12th all-time with two short-handed goals.
*Woods' 278 career shots on goal are good for 12th all-time. She needs 21 shots on goal to surpass Caeleigh Beerworth in the No. 11 spot. Woods was also No. 15 for shots per game with 2.60 entering her senior season.
*Senior Cassandra Poudrier is 18th all-time with 213 career shots on goal and 17th in shots per game with 2.18. She is just 3 shots away from taking the 16th spot and passing Laura Danforth and Brianne Schmidt.
*Bunton needs just one shot on goal to break into the all-time top 20.
*Junior Paula Voorheis sits at No. 6 for most career wins in program history with 24. Fourteen wins would tie her for fourth with Amanda Mazzotta.
*Voorheis also holds the No. 8 spot for career shutouts with five. She needs two shutouts to tie for fifth all-time.
*Voorheis has moved into the No. 11 spot for saves with 1177 with 30 saves against Rensselaer on Oct. 30.