ITHACA, N.Y. - A dominant third period led to a 6-2 victory in the opening game of 2020 against Mercyhurst. With the win, Cornell women's ice hockey move to 12-1-1 on the season.
 
Senior forward Kristin O'Neill opened the scoring in the 15th minute of the first period. Junior forward Maddie Mills passed from behind the net to O'Neill, at the top left of the slot, for a Big Red goal. Senior defender Micah Zandee-Hart made the pass to Mills mid-ice as Mills brought the puck halfway across the rink. 
 
Towards the end of the first period, with 40.5 seconds left, Mercyhurst tied the score at 1-1. Junior Rachel Marmen made a shot from the right side of the ice and junior Alexa Vasko tipped the puck into the far corner for a tied game heading into the first intermission.
 
Not even a minute and a half into the second and O'Neill gave the Big Red back its lead with a tally from just outside the crease. Watching as O'Neill came skating in from the blue line, Mills made a pass just long enough for O'Neill to one-hit the puck passed junior goalie Kennedy Blair. Mills caught the puck in the back corner from junior defender Willow Slobodzian.
 
Cornell's senior forward Grace Graham added to the lead with a tally from the blue line. A pass from senior forward Paige Lewis and the fellow senior sent the puck straight into the net in the opposite corner. 
 
The Lakers' senior Emma Nuutinen scored her 12th goal of the year just 49 seconds later. Passing the puck back and forth between Nuttinen and senior Sam Isbell at the blue line, Nuutinen saw an empty pocket in net from the center of the blue line. 
 
The third period saw Cornell take the game away with three straight goals. After assisting on two, Mills scored the Big Red's fourth goal of the night. Looking for a shot, senior defender Jaime Bourbonnais slapped the puck towards Mills as she tipped the puck behind the goalie. One minute later, freshman forward Sydney Breza gets a piece of senior Micah Zandee-Hart's shot for a fifth goal with 14:13 left in the final period. About halfway through the period, senior forward Paige Lewis scored the final goal with 10:36 on the clock. Receiving a short pass from Breza, Lewis put the puck in the corner of the net from just outside the crease. 
 
Junior goalie Lindsay Browning stopped six of the Lakers' eight shots on goal while the Cornell offense combined for 27 shots on the Mercyhurst goal.
 
The Big Red will pay the Lakers once again tomorrow (Jan. 5) in a 1 p.m. matchup.