MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The no. 3-ranked Cornell women's ice hockey team fell to the no. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 Frozen Four semifinal game at Ridder Arena. Cornell concluded its season with a 25-5-4 record on the season.
Lily Delianedis and
Kaitlin Jockims registered the Big Red goals in the contest.
Georgia Schiff,
Rose Dwyer, and
Kaitlin Jockims were credited with assists in the game.
Annelies Bergmann made 38 saves on the night.
"Really proud of our team and the season that we had. I appreciate how resilient this group has been all season.", Doug Derraugh, the Everett Family Head Coach of Women's Ice Hockey stated.
Cornell took the ice in its fifth Frozen Four in program history, with a tall task ahead against the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. Known for their high-volume offense, Cornell would need to rely on its strict defense and special teams to pull off the upset.
The offensive-skill of the Buckeyes was apparent throughout the opening period of the game. Ohio State managed pucks on net early and often while the Big Red pushed to settle into the contest. Ohio State forward Makenna Webster opened up the scoring when an odd-woman rush broke out. Moments later, after possessing the puck in their zone for an extensive time, Brooke Disher extended the score to 2-0 in favor of the Buckeyes.
With just under four minutes remaining in the period,
Kaitlin Jockims was called for an elbowing penalty. Cornell's seventh-ranked penalty-kill stood tall, staving off the Buckeyes for two minutes to keep the deficient at two. Cornell closed the gap as it pertained to shots-on-goal, but the Buckeyes led 15-9 after the first frame.
The story of the Big Red's season has been staying poised in tough circumstances and responding to adversity. Cornell did just that in the second period, playing with a more physical and fierce demeanor. The Big Red found itself on another penalty-kill, but once again stood tall and kept the deficit at two.
Moments later, the Big Red found itself on its first power-play of the contest. With 30 seconds remaining on the advantage, Ohio State was called for a cross-check, giving the Big Red a two-woman advantage. The Buckeyes successfully killed both opportunities, but shortly after the kill Delianedis spun around off the face off and found the back of the net to bring the score to 2-1. Shortly after, Jockims followed u with a game-tying goal to bring the score to 2-2.
"Something we took pride in all year long is battling through games to comeback", Derraugh mentioned.
To begin the third period, the Buckeyes find another tally in similar fashion to its second, taking advantage of lengthy zone-time to regain the lead and move the score to 3-2. Moments later, the Buckeye lead was extended when Dunne popped in the puck on a rebound.
The Big Red scratched and clawed for a couple of goals as the clock ticked down. Eventually, Bergmann skated to the bench to give Cornell a woman-advantage. The Big Red managed a couple of close shots in front of the net, but could not find the back of the net on any as its quest for the program's first National Championship came to an end.
"A few uncharacteristic errors that we hadn't made all playoffs made it a really tough battle today" Derraugh said. "I'm proud of our team's season, just wish we would have seen a better game from us here today but I really liked our fight." Derraugh added.
