Boxscore

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The tenth-ranked Dartmouth women's hockey team got goals from five different skaters and went up by three goals in the first period to cruise past Cornell, 5-1, in ECAC Hockey action on Friday night as Dartmouth clinched home ice for the first round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament next weekend.

With the win, Dartmouth is now five points ahead of Princeton in the ECAC Hockey standings for the fourth spot after the Tigers were defeated by St. Lawrence, 9-2. Clarkson took care of business against Quinnipiac with a 7-1 win to remain one point ahead of the Big Green for the third spot.

Senior captain Nicole Ruta (Pickering, Ont.), sophomore Sarah Parsons (Dover, Mass.) and junior Maggie Kennedy (West Hartford, Conn.) each tallied two points with Parsons and Kennedy posting a goal and an assist, while Ruta collected two assists for the second time this season.

Dartmouth (15-7-6, 12-5-4 ECAC Hockey, 6-2-2 Ivy) come out ready to play right off the opening face-off, outshooting the Big Red 5-1 over the first five minutes and the pressure paid off as the Big Green earned its first power play opportunity 5:38 into the game. However, Dartmouth could not set anything up and failed to put a shot on net.

Even though Dartmouth could not get a shot on net during the power play, the Big Green was able to take a 1-0 lead 15 seconds after the conclusion of the power play on a goal from Parsons. Parsons extended her point streak to seven games with her 11th goal of the season. Junior Shannon Bowman (Leamington, Ont.) was credited with her 15th assist, while Ruta earned her sixth of the year. With the goal, Parsons earned her 75th career point in her two-plus years with the Big Green.

Midway through the first period, Dartmouth increased its lead to 2-0 as junior Julia Bronson (Arlington, Va.) netted her sixth of the season, while Kennedy and Parsons were credited with the assists. Bronson has recorded a point in four-straight games, while Kennedy tallied a point in her sixth-straight game.

About 35 seconds later, freshman teammates hooked up to give Dartmouth a commanding 3-0 lead. Roche potted her second of her first campaign, while classmate Amanda Trunzo (Andover, Minn.) posted the assist with 9:36 remaining in the first period.

The Big Green dominated Cornell in the opening stanza, outshooting the Big Red, 17-9.

With 8:11 left in the second period, the Big Green added its first power play goal of the contest as senior Carrie Thompson (Shorewood, Minn.) netted her 11th of the season and third on the man advantage. With Thompson's tally Dartmouth has now scored a goal with the extra skater in seven-straight games. Ruta added her second assist of the night, while freshman Katie Horner (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) got into the act with her fourth assist of the year.

Dartmouth once again reached double-digits in shots on goal in the second period with a 12-5 advantage after turning it on in the later half of the period.

In the third period, Kennedy added her first goal of the night and 14th of the season, just 2:48 into the final period on a delayed penalty to give Dartmouth a 5-0 lead. With her two points tonight, Kennedy has now posted two or more points in nine games this season.

Cornell (12-14-1, 9-11-1 ECAC Hockey, 3-5-1 Ivy) denied Dartmouth's shutout bid with 8:38 remaining in the game as Katie Bredice added a power play goal with the assists going to Brianne Schmidt and Hayley Hughes.

The Big Red turned the tide on the Big Green in the third period, controlling the play and outshooting Dartmouth 12-9 in the final period.

Junior netminder Carli Clemis (Taber, Alta.) pushed aside 25 saves and for the 18th time this season she recorded 20 or more stops between the pipes. Cornell goaltender Jenny Niesluchowski faced 38 shots in net and made 32 stops of her own.

Dartmouth will be in action tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. against Colgate as it will be looking to possibly jump up to the third position in the standings in its regular-season finale. Dartmouth can take the third spot with win and a Clarkson loss or with a tie and a Clarkson loss.