POTSDAM, N.Y. - The no. 11-ranked Cornell women's ice hockey team defeated the no. 12-ranked Clarkson Golden Knights 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Cheel Arena. The Big Red completed the regular season with an 18-10-2 record, clinching the fourth seed for the ECAC Hockey playoffs.
Karel Prefontaine and
Delaney Fleming scored goals for the Big Red.
Alyssa Regalado,
Avi Adam,
Piper Grober, and
Abby Thibodeau were credited with assists.
Annelies Bergmann made 32 saves between the pipes, earning her 18th win of the season.
The Big Red and the Golden Knights played at an even pace to start the game. Both teams finished the first period with 10 shots toward the opposing team's net-minder. The category that Cornell led after the first stanza was power-play opportunities, as the Big Red were able to produce seven shots-on-goal during it's four minutes of power-play time. Arianne Leblanc showed up big in that regard, keeping Cornell off of the board and holding the score at 0-0 after the opening frame.
Prefontaine put home a one-timer to open up the games scoring with a power-play goal at the 16:51-mark of the second frame. Late in the stanza, Lara Beecher snuck the puck past Bergmann during a delayed penalty call to knot the game up at 1-1 in the closing seconds of the second period.
Fleming went short-side on Leblanc five minutes into the third period to put the Big Red in front 2-1. With three minutes to go, Leblanc skated to the bench to give Clarkson the extra-attacker advantage. After a couple of chances toward net for the Golden Knights, the puck popped out to a Big Red skater who had space, and was ultimately interfered with by Megan McKay of Clarkson who was tabbed for two minutes with 2:06 left in regulation.
The Big Red were in an advantageous position, with Clarkson desperate for another goal and needing to pull it's goaltender to match skaters. Although the Golden Knights were able to kill the penalty, time ran out as the Big Red were able to skate away from Cheel Arena with a 2-1 victory and the ECAC Hockey playoffs fourth seed.
Top Performer: Delaney Fleming (COR) - Scored the game-winner, produced five shots-on-goal
Winning Goaltender: Annelies Bergmann (COR) - Made 32 saves between the pipes for the Big Red
Next Up
The no. 11-ranked Cornell women's ice hockey team will return to the ice on Friday, Februrary 28 for the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal round. The Big Red will host the highest seed remaining of the Opening Round games at Lynah Rink. The quarterfinal round games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
