Road To The Frozen Four: A Season To Remember

 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.

The Big Red women's ice hockey team brought in its largest crowd to Lynah Rink since the 2019-20 season, and they were energized throughout the action. The Big Red fed off of that energy and wasted no time in the ECAC Hockey Championship game, breaking out to a 2-0 lead 1:37 into the game.

Van Gelder potted the first goal at the 1:13-mark when the Big Red overwhelemed Murphy in front of the net as the puck trickled in. Avar followed up 25 seconds later with an unexpected shot from close to the blue-line to add cushion to the lead.

After a scoreless first stanza, Malachino got Colgate on the board mid-way through the second period. With 30 seconds left in the period, Jockims was tagged with a slashing-infraction to put Cornell on the penalty-kill for the first time of the evening. The Big Red survived the 30-second woman-down circumstance to go into the intermission and regroup for the final 1:30 of the kill.

Cornell created momentum for the third period by shutting down the strong Colgate power-play. Moments later, the Raiders committed a high-stick penalty to give Cornell its first power-play of the day and an opportunity to add insurance to its advantage. Prefontaine made it count when she scored her fourth goal of the playoffs to give the Big Red a 3-1 lead.

The Raiders pulled their goaltender in search for a pair of goals with three minutes left in the game. Following a handful of chances Cornell would make the Raiders pay for the empty-net, scoring two goals coming from Jockims and Chan to put the game on ice and usher Cornell to its first ECAC Hockey Championship victory since 2013-14.

In the first-period, Bergmann (8) and Matsoukis (13) were tested at a fairly equal rate, with both standing tall against all of the attempts. Cornell managed a pair of penalty kills and the Garnet Chargers earned one in the opening frame to keep the game scoreless after one. 

Dwyer found the back of the net on a power-play in the second period to get the scoring started. Union responded in a timely manner when Maddie Leaney snuck the puck past the top shoulder of Bergmann four minutes later. Maren Friday put the Garnet Chargers in front with under one minute remaining in the second.

The Big Red pulled Bergmann with roughly three minutes remaining as it searched for the equalizer. Adam shot wide and Prefontaine grabbed the rebound on the opposite side and put the puck behind Matsoukis to tie the game. Bergmann returned to the net to make it even strength, but the Big Red kept the heat on. Van Gelder handled the puck and found Rud in the slot who slid the puck behind Matsoukis again with 28 seconds left in the game to give Cornell its second lead of the game.

The Big Red shut down the 28 second Union empty-net situation to complete the comeback and advance to its second consecutive ECAC Hockey Championship weekend.

Both teams set a physical tone in the opening period, skating and checking hard to establish a bonafide playoff hockey game. The Golden Knights overstepped their boundaries at the 7:41 mark, when Anne Cherkowski was tagged with a five-minute major for boarding.

The Big Red produced a handful of grade-A opportunities during the first rush including a shot that rung off the pipe. Clarkson's penalty-kill proved stout as they held Cornell off the board for the entirety of the major.

Shortly after the Clarkson penalty-kill, the two squads were booked for matching minors when the Fleming and Laidlaw exchanged pleasantries after a stoppage. During the 4-on-4, Gosling was called for a body check, giving Cornell the 4-on-3 advantage. The Big Red would use that to open up the scoring as Delianedis potted a one-timer to give Cornell a 1-0 lead.

Just under five minutes into the second period, Hicks found the game-tying goal after a flurry of attempts by Clarkson to take the count to 1-1. Bergmann made a handful of key saves in the second stanza, including a breakaway chance that would have put the Golden Knights in front.

After each notching a goal in the opening two periods, Cornell and Clarkson went scoreless in the third to send the game to a fourth period. Heavy skates prevailed for 40 minutes as neither team found the back of the net for two overtime periods.

Three minutes into the third ovetime, the Golden Knights made a costly mistake and were tagged for a tripping-infraction. Just 30 seconds into the power-play, Delianedis potted her second of the day to send Cornell to the ECAC Hockey Championship for the first time since 2019-20.

The Big Red did not waste time as Avar scored 50 seconds into the contest to put the Cornell ahead 1-0. Avar netted her second tally of the game moments later during a power-play to extend the advantage to 2-0.

Cornell put up three unanswered goals in the third, coming from Chan, Fleming, and Delianedis who potted the 50th Big Red goal of her career. Bergmann went unscathed in the second, sending Cornell into the third period with a 5-0 lead.

Chan netted her second goal of the day to extend Cornell's advantage to six. Harvard's Angelica Megdanis found a tally late in the third to spoil Bergmann's shutout. Cornell's five goal lead proved insurmountable as the Big Red would skate away from Bright-Landry Hockey Center with its 17th Ivy League title in program history.

In the first period, Chan and Jockims found Messier who got things going when she fired the puck toward the net to put the Big Red up 1-0 10 minutes into the game. Rud got a friendly bounce from the puck as she skated down the ice unabated, ultimately beating the Brown net-minder to extend Cornell's lead to 2-0.

Decoste lit the lamp for Brown on the Bears' second power-play of the game to cut the deficit in half. Moments later, Lyons scored on a feed from Broz to knot the game up at two apiece. Fleming scored when Delianedis got a stick on the puck in the slot just enough for it to breeze past the Brown defender and find Fleming's stick who finished it off to give Cornell breathing room.

The Big Red put the game on ice in the final period, and it was started when Van Gelder scored 30 seconds into the stanza. Lindzi Avar found pay-dirt on an gritty sequence behind the net which put Cornell ahead 5-2. Jockims put in the empty-netter off of the face-off to seal the Bears' fate as Cornell skated to its first ECAC Hockey Regular Season Championship since the 2019-20 campaign.

Cornell has clinched home-ice for the entirety of the ECAC Hockey tournament. Cornell will open up its post-season endeavors in the quarterfinals against the lowest-seed remaining from the ECAC Hockey Opening Round.

The Big Red began the game at a fast and furious pace, applying heavy defensive pressure and putting pucks on the net. At the 17-minute mark, Guilday netted the puck on a rebound to give Cornell a 1-0 advantage. The Big Red out-shot Colgate 21-5 in the first period.

Guilday cut deep into the zone and potted her second tally of the day to extend the lead to 2-0. The Big Red penalty-kill proved vital in the second stanza. Colgate found themselves on three woman-advantages during the period. A strong d-core effort backed by timely saves from Bergmann allowed Cornell to keep the Raiders off the scoreboard.

Special teams were crucial in the third period. Cornell earned itself a woman-advantage early in the period, to no avail. 13 minutes into the third period the Big Red would survive its fifth penalty of the game.

Shortly after the penalty-kill, the puck bounced Colgate's way to put the Raiders within one of Cornell. Moments later, Colgate found itself on its sixth power-play with 1:57 left to play in the contest. The Raiders pulled its goaltender, giving themselves a two-woman advantage. Cornell was stout, holding Colgate from finding the equalizer as it skated away with its firsts victory against Colgate at Class of 1965 Arena since 2020.