ERIE, Pa. - The Cornell women's ice hockey team tied the opening game of a back-to-back with Mercyhurst, 3-3, on Friday night at Mercyhurst Ice Center. Cornell moved to 3-0-1 on the year while the the Lakers shifted to 3-5-1.

Cornell opened up the scoring at the 9:53 mark when junior captain Ashley Messier took a shot from the blue-line that was deflected off of sophomore forward Georgia Schiff's stick for her second Big Red tally of the season. A few moments later Messier would get tacked for a penalty. Freshman goalie Annelies Bergmann made two stops at the net paired with a strong battle for the puck by the skaters, killing off the opening penalty of the night. Mercyhurst surged in the final minute of the period, netting two goals, coming from Sidney Pederson and Sofia Nuutinen, in a span of 10 seconds, giving themselves a 2-1 lead going into the second stanza of action.

The Lakers opened the second period with a critical penalty-kill to keep ahold of their one-goal advantage. Cornell outshot Mercyhurst 7-0 in the first five minutes of the period. The Cornellians found themselves down a skater, when Alyssa Regalado was called for a tripping infraction. The Big Red responded with their 10th penalty-kill of the season, to hold the deficit at one. Cornell upped the pressure in the final few minutes of the period, getting 12 shots in five minutes, but Mercyhurst goaltender Ena Nystram stood tall allowing nothing to find the back of the net.

Just 30 seconds following the third-period puck drop Team USA gold medalist Rory Guilday found ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week Izzy Daniel slashing across the slot for the game-tying-goal. At the 9:19-mark, the Lakers and Big Red would play 4 on 4 hockey due to an offsetting penalty that sent Gabbie Rud and Chantal Ste-Croix to the box. Mercyhurst took advantage of the 4 on 4, when Sara Boucher scored on a breakaway opportunity that put the Lakers ahead 3-2. Daniel was called for roughing at the 12:27-mark, but for the third time of the night Cornell would stop the attempt. During a 6 on 4 empty net advantage, Daniel slapped in her second goal of the period tying the game up with just under two-minutes left, ultimately sending it to overtime.

Shortly into the extra period, Daniel and Delianedis darted down the ice creating a grade A shot that Nystram would collect with her glove-hand. With two seconds left in the overtime period, Daniel was taken down from behind in the slot, earning a penalty shot. She would get by Nystram on the attempt but the puck would soar too high, clanking off the top post for an unsuccessful shot.

Bergmann ended the night with 17 saves, which is her highest total so far on the season. Nystram, the star of the game, registered 36 saves on the night, including a critical penalty shot with just two seconds remaining in the overtime period.

Next Up
The Cornell women's ice hockey team will finish the back-to-back series against Mercyhurst tomorrow evening. Puck drop is slated for 2:00 p.m. at Mercyhurst Ice Center. Game action will be broadcast on FloSports.