Box Score

ITHACA, NY -- The Big Red women's hockey team lost 4-2 to No. 1 Harvard on Saturday evening at Lynah Rink. Cornell ended its regular season with a 12-15-1 overall record and is 9-12-1 against ECAC Hockey opponents. The Crimson remains perfect in league play with a 22-0 record and is 27-1 overall. The Big Red finishes the season in eighth place in ECAC Hockey and will play at Harvard in the first round of the playoffs on Feb. 29.  

Harvard had a two player advantage after Cornell took two penalties less than 20 seconds apart in the first period. Kati Vaughn gave the Crimson a 1-0 lead when she scored on the power play at 7:28 of the first period.  

The Crimson took a two goal lead at 7:56 of the second period when Sarah Valliancourt scored on sophomore goaltender Jenny Niesluchowski.   The Big Red was hit with a five minute major penalty at 12:36 of the second period, and Harvard took full advantage of the situation. Vaughn and Valliancourt each scored their second goal of the game on the power play to grab a 4-0 lead.  

Cornell came out strong in the third period looking to make up ground on the Crimson. With two Harvard players in the penalty box, freshman Amber Moore wound up to rifle a shot straight into the net from the left point. The Big Red's first goal of the game was assisted by senior Brianne Schmidt.  

The Big Red continued to play hard in the third period and outshot Harvard 14-7. At 12:39, freshman Rebecca Johnston was fed the puck by defenseman Steph Ulrich. Johnston skated around two Harvard defensemen to flip the puck past goaltender Christina Kessler to score her 16^th goal of the season.  

Niesluchowski made 37 saves for the Big Red, while Kessler made 21 for the Crimson. After the game, the Big Red honored seniors Caeleigh Beerworth, Brittany Forgues, Brianne Schmidt and Sarah Johnston.