ITHACA, N.Y. - The No. 3 Cornell women's ice hockey team defeated the No. 6-ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 1-0 in the NCAA Regional Final in front of a program record crowd of 3,135. With the victory, Cornell will advance to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2019.
Nearly five years to the day when the 2020 ECAC Hockey regular season champs and top-ranked Big Red saw their chance for a national championship disappear because of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, the 2025 unit will play on. It will be the fifth time the Big Red has qualified for the Frozen Four, all under hed coach Doug Derraugh and each since 2010. The Big Red will face No. 2 seed Ohio State in one semifinal after it topped fellow ECAC Hockey member St. Lawrence, 6-1. The top four seeds all held, with No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 4 Minnesota making up the other side of the bracket.
Alyssa Regalado registered the Big Red goal in the game.
Gabbie Rud and
Avi Adam were credited with assists in the game.
Annelies Bergmann claimed 28 saves between the pipes in her NCAA-leading 10th shutout of the year.
Â
 The Big Red applied the pressure directly after the opening face off which led to
Lily Delianedis managing a grade-a opportunity but missing just wide right in front of the net. Both teams found themselves on the penalty-kill during the opening period, and both went unscathed to keep the score 0-0.
In the second, both team maintained their respective defensive paces while keeping the scoreboard quiet. Toward the end of the stanza, Minnesota-Duluth challenged for a major-penalty, to no avail, which cost them a timeout.
As both team searched for the go-ahead goal in the third frame, HCA Goaltender of The Year finalists Bergmann and Gascon were adamant about not letting up the first tally of the game. Following a sequence behind Gascon's net, she was caught out of position when Regalado put the puck in the net to give Cornell a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes left in regulation.
The Bulldogs increased their offensive push for the remainder of the third-period as it desperately searched for the equalizer. With 2:26 left in the contest, the Minnesota-Duluth were in prime position to do just that when Prefontaine was tagged with a tripping-penalty.
Half-way through the Bulldog power-play, Gascon skated to the bench to give them a 6-on-4 advantage. Minnesota-Duluth managed a handful of shots toward the net, including a plethora of chances during a scrum directly in front of Bergmann. Bergmann held strong for the remainder of the time to push Cornell to its first NCAA Frozen Four appearance since 2019.
Next Up
The Cornell women's ice hockey team will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota at Ridder Arena in the NCAA Frozen Four. The Big Red will be matched with Ohio State.
