Box Score (PDF)

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Providence Friars held the women's hockey team scoreless on Friday night and ultimately skated away with a 2-0 win after netting a pair of goals in the second period. 

Cornell (8-5-1, 6-2-1 ECAC Hockey) pressured Providence (10-10-1, 5-6-1 WHEA) in the early going of the first frame but couldn't quite connect on passes. It was the first game of 2017 for both squads, with the Big Red not having played since Dec. 3.

The Big Red nearly went up a goal five minutes in as senior co-captain Kaitlin Doering out-skated the defense to earn breakaway attempt only to have Clare Minnerath use her left pad to keep the game scoreless. The play evened out and the teams entered the first intermission in a deadlock.

"You could see that it's been awhile since we played a game," said head coach Doug Derraugh. "A lot of things weren't quite clicking."

The second period looked to be going Cornell's way as the Big Red pressured the Friars into taking two penalties in the first 10 minutes of play but it was the Friars that found the net first when Brooke Boquist drove the puck towards the net and dished a pass back to Kathleen McHugh who finished it for the lead. It was Boquist that stuffed home an insurance goal with 7:40 to play in the middle period.

Cornell kept working to get the puck past Minnerath in the final period, with senior Hanna Bunton and freshman Paige Lewis coming up with some big individual efforts towards the goal.

On a power-play chance with under three minutes to play, Cornell nearly potted one past Minnerath when freshman Amy Curlew drew the defense towards her on the left wing and whipped a pass to an open Grace Graham at the far post but Minnerath slid across just in time for the save.

"I thought we got better as the game went on. The third period, I thought, was our best period so hopefully we can carry that over to tomorrow," said Derraugh.

Senior goaltender Paula Voorheis (4-4-0) – who made a key save on a Cassidy Carels breakaway in the first and then came up big again with a series of saves on a Big Red penalty kill in the third – finished with 25 saves while Minnerath (1-0-0) made 26.

Providence held a small edge in shots on goal, 27-26, while Bunton finished with a game-high nine shots on goal. Doering finished with a game-high 13 wins in the circle.

Cornell will take another crack at Providence tomorrow at 3 p.m.