ITHACA, N.Y. — After finishing the regular season with victories in four of its last five games, the Cornell women's hockey team takes the #6 seed into the ECAC Hockey Championships and a best-of-three quarterfinal series against #3 seed Colgate at Class of 1965 Arena. The games will be broadcast through the host school on ESPN+. (with an option for international viewers also available through Stretch Internet). The games can also be heard for free on internet radio, provided by and featuring Grady Whittenburg, the voice of home Big Red hockey games on ESPN+.

Series Information:

ECAC Hockey Championships, quarterfinal series (best of 3)
Cornell at #8 Colgate
SITE: Class of 1965 Arena — Hamilton, N.Y. 
GAME 1: 6 p.m. Friday, February 25
GAME 2: 3 p.m. Saturday, February 26
GAME 3: 3 p.m. Sunday, February 27 (if necessary)
BROADCAST (ESPN+ in the U.S.): Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
BROADCAST (International): Stretch Internet
STATS: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Cornell game notes (PDF)

Big Red Rewind:

•  Cornell comes into the postseason on the heels of its first road sweep of the league's North Country teams since December 2014. Izzy Daniel scored in overtime to cap a 3-2 win Friday at St. Lawrence, then Lily Delianedis scored twice in front of Lindsay Browning's sparkling 44-save effort in a 3-1 victory Saturday at Clarkson. The Big Red never trailed in either game.
•  Daniel finished the weekend with the overtime goal and three assists, earning ECAC Hockey Driscoll Skating and Skills Player of the Week honors. It marked the fourth time in the last seven weeks that the Big Red has claimed the accolade. 
•  Browning was also named the ECAC Hockey MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week following her stellar weekend. It was the first time she earned the award this season. The 44 saves against the Golden Knights was her second-highest single-game total over her 70-game collegiate career.
•  The only setback in the Big Red's last five games came against its upcoming opponent. That came last Tuesday in Hamilton, when Colgate got a pair of power-play goals from Kalty Kaltounkova to fuel a 3-2 win over Cornell.
•  Special teams proved to be the difference in that game, with the hosts going 2-for-6 on the power play and Cornell posting a 1-for-7 effort. 
•  That one five-on-four goal came off the skate of Kaitlin Jockims to pull the Big Red to within one in the third period. Leah MacSweek opened te scoring for Cornell in the game's seventh minute with her first collegiate goal.

By The Numbers:

•  With multiple points in seven of her last nine games, junior forward Gillis Frechette (#11, 12-28–40, plus-24) has lengthened her team scoring lead. Named a finalist for ECAC Hockey Best Forward earlier this week, Frechette enters this weekend's series ranked 14th nationally with an average of 1.43 points per game.
•  Sophomore forward Lily Delianedis (#21, 14-13–27), who holds the team's goal-scoring lead, was named a finalist for ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year earlier this week. She was named the ECAC Hockey and national rookie of the month after posting eight points over the Big Red's seven games in January. Her average of 0.96 points per game ranks fifth nationally among skaters making their collegiate debuts this season.
•  Junior Izzy Daniel (#12, 9-25–34, plus-23) typically plays on a line with Delianedis and Frechette. She has seven points over her current four-game scoring streak.
•  Freshman Rory Guilday (#5, 7-11–18) continues to lead the team's blueliners in scoring. She typically plays alongside sophomore Ashley Messier (#8, 3-8–11, team-high 76 blocked shots), giving the Big Red a defensive pairing that features international experience from both the U.S. and Canada.
•  Graduate student Lindsay Browning (#29, 13-10-2, 2.08, .926, 6 SO) — who, in 2020, became the program's first goaltender to earn All-America honors — is the first goaltender to serve as the team's sole captain. Browning's six shutouts are third nationally and most among ECAC Hockey goaltenders.
•  Sophomore forward Kaitlin Jockims (#20, 8-5–13) leads the team with four power-play goals, and her five-game scoring streak matches Frechette for the longest on the team.

Big Red In Beijing:

•  Four Cornell alumnae helped Team Canada win the gold medal in the women's hockey tournament at the Beijing Olympics, as well as Doug Derraugh '91 — the Everett Family Head Coach of Women's Hockey — who served as an assistant coach.
•  Forward Brianne Jenner '15 was named the tournament MVP with nine goals over the seven games, which tied a tournament record.
•  It was Jenner's second Olympic gold medal, and the third for forward Rebecca Johnston '12. Forward Jill Saulnier '15 and defenseman Micah Zandee-Hart '20.
•  Forward Lenka Serdar '19 competed with Czech Republic, which advanced as far as the quarterfinals in its first-ever appearance in the Olympics.
•  Also part of Team Canada's success behind the scenes were forward Kristin O'Neill '20 and blueliner Jaime Bourbonnais '20. Both were among the team's final cuts for its official roster, but they remained part of the taxi squad that was on the ready in Beijing.

About Colgate:

•  The Raiders are on a five-game winning streak, having swept Clarkson (2-1) and St. Lawrence (9-1) on the road last weekend. That leaves Colgate with only six conceded goals over its last six games — and five of those have come in the two contests against Cornell on Feb. 6 and Feb. 15.
•  Hannah Murphy (#83, 13-2, 1.57, .925, 3 SO) has taken over the primary goaltending role for the Raiders' last seven games, though Kayle Osborne (#31, 13-5-1, 1.95, .911, SO) has been the team's primary goaltender over the course of the whole season.
•  Sophomore Kalty Kaltounkova (#98, 25-24–49; 8 PPG) has taken over the team lead in scoring with 11 goals over the last nine games — including four on the power play in just the last three games. Her average of 0.76 goals per game ranks fourth nationally. 
•  Kaltounkova typically plays on a line with the team's next two highest scorers. Junior Danielle Serdachny (#9, 15-32–47, plus-23) pivots the trio, while sophomore Dara Greig (#77, 19-19–38) skates on the opposite wing. 
•  Junior forward Kaitlyn O'Donohue (#16, 9-15–24) and senior forward Rosy Demers (#81, 6-16–22) have four goals apiece on the power play, which is ranked ninth nationally with a 19.7% success rate.

The Series With Colgate:

•  Cornell leads Colgate, 44-16-4, in an all-time series that dates back to the 1973-74 season, including a 3-2 victory on Feb. 6 in the teams' first meeting this year.
•  Rory Guilday scored the winner with 9:24 left, and Gillis Frechette factored into all of the Cornell scoring with a goal and two assists. Lindsay Browning made 34 saves.
•  The Raiders then countered with a 3-2 victory of their own on Feb. 15, spearheaded by two power-play goals from Kalty Kaltounkova.
•  Colgate won the last playoff meeting between the teams, 5-4, in the ECAC Hockey semifinals on March 3, 2018 at Clarkson's Cheel Arena. The Big Red and Raiders met in the quarterfinals the year prior, with the Big Red advancing via 2-1 and 1-0 victories at Lynah Rink.

Up Next:

•  The winner of this weekend's series will be one of four teams to advance to the ECAC Hockey Championships semifinals, scheduled for Saturday, March 5 at the home rink of the highest remaining seed.