Cornell Takes Over Nation's Longest Unbeaten Streak From St. Lawrence
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell (19-2-0, 14-1-0) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| St. Lawrence (14-8-4, 8-5-2) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 09:17 | Saulnier, Jillian (Cornell) |
| 1st - 13:07 | Johnston, Rebecca (Cornell) |
| 2nd - 03:13 | PP - Rougeau, Lauriane (Cornell) |
| 2nd - 04:06 | SH - Jenner, Brianne (Cornell) |
| 2nd - 09:08 | Rylee Smith (St. Lawrence) |
| 2nd - 10:10 | PP - Bailey Habscheid (St. Lawrence) |
| 2nd - 16:31 | Gagliardi, Alyssa (Cornell) |
| 3rd - 01:58 | Jamie Goldsmith (St. Lawrence) |
| 3rd - 17:30 | Mel Desrochers (St. Lawrence) |
| 3rd - 19:49 | EN - Johnston, Rebecca (Cornell) |
| Cornell | St. Lawrence |
|---|---|
|
G:
Rebecca Johnston - 2
A: 2 Players (#26, #77 - 2) Sh: 2 Players (#16, #77 - 4) Sv: Lauren Slebodnick - 21 |
G:
4 Players (#12, #15, #18, #21 - 1)
A: Karell Emard - 2 Sh: Brooke Fernandez - 6 Sv: Carmen Macdonald - 23 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Cornell | St. Lawrence |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1 for 5 | 1 for 6 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 7 (14) | 5 (10) |
| Shots on Goal | 29 | 36 |
| Face Offs Won | 28 | 36 |
CANTON, N.Y. – St. Lawrence entered Friday night's game at
Appleton Arena with the nation's longest unbeaten streak. Cornell
left with it.
The No. 2 Big Red held on for a 6-4 win against a resilient Saints
team, extending its winning streak to nine games to claim the
longest streak in the country. St. Lawrence had nine games without
a loss before falling on home ice to Cornell.
What looked like it was going to be a blowout in Cornell's favor
got very interesting late as the Saints came back from a four goals
down to within one. A St. Lawrence goal with the goalie pulled made
the Cornell lead just 5-4 with 2:30 to go. From that point on, the
Big Red's defense held firm and did not allow a shot on goal in the
final 1:11.
Rebecca Johnston scored an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left,
giving Cornell its final margin of victory.
Cornell (19-2, 14-1 ECAC Hockey) has now won three consecutive
games against St. Lawrence (14-8-4, 8-4-2) and leads the conference
by six points ahead of Quinnipiac. The Big Red's win was its 18th
straight in the month of January and its 11th straight win in
league play.
What wound up being a close game against the Saints, who are
receiving votes in this week's national polls, started off largely
in Cornell's favor.
After taking 64 minutes and one second to score at Dartmouth last
Saturday, the Big Red's offense got going much earlier on Friday
night. Jillian Saulnier got the team's first goal, though she
barely had to do any work on the play that was set up by terrific
passing.
Senior defenseman Amanda Young had the puck at the left point and
faked a shot. Instead, she passed it down low behind the end line
to Chelsea Karpenko, and Karpenko slotted the puck through the
crease to Saulnier. Waiting on the right side of the net, Saulnier
tapped the puck past Carmen McDonald for the 1-0 lead.
Nearly four minutes later, Rebecca Johnston struck for the Big Red
on a terrific individual effort. On a long pass ahead, Johnston was
in a footrace against the left boards with St. Lawrence defenseman
Brooke Fernandez. Johnston beat Fernandez, squeezed past her along
the boards across the blue line, and cut in toward McDonald.
Looking like she was going to go short side, Johnston instead
skated back at the last moment went across the crease and scored on
her backhand to make it a 2-0 game.
Late in the period, a collision in front of the net removed
starting goaltender Amanda Mazzotta from the game. Charging toward
the net was Saints starting left wing Karell Emard, who tripped on
Mazzotta as she went down to cover the puck. Mazzotta – who
had two consecutive shutouts and is the reigning ECAC Hockey
Goaltender of the Week – left the game and was replaced by
Lauren Slebodnick.
The second period was a wild one for both teams as five goals were
scored. Cornell took a 4-0 lead on the period's first two scores,
netting those on the power play and short-handed.
The power play goal was put in by Lauriane Rougeau, who snuck down
from the blue line and rifled a wrist shot past McDonald to make it
a 3-0 lead.
Brianne Jenner made it 4-0 on a terrific breakaway effort
short-handed. Hayleigh Cudmore began the play by chipping the puck
out of the zone along the right boards. Jenner outskated the St.
Lawrence defenders, picked up the puck close to the end line on the
right side, cut inside and beat McDonald five-hole.
Cornell gave up the game's next two goals – one on the
Saints' power play – but then brought the lead back up to
three as the period wound to a close. Alyssa Gagliardi earned her
third goal of the season and 30th point of her career on a
seeing-eyes slap shot from the blue line that made it past players
in front of the net.
That would be the team's final goal until Johnston's empty netter
as the Saints used the final 24 minutes to catch up. In the end,
great defense in front of Slebodnick by Chelsea Karpenko and
Johnston kept the Saints from getting the game-tying goal.
Slebodnick, in replacement of Mazzotta, made 21 saves in the game
and earned the win. Mazzotta, before she left, had 11 saves in
17:36. She has now played 155:22 consecutively without allowing a
goal.
The Big Red returns to action on Saturday afternoon at Clarkson at
4 p.m., hoping to extend its winning streak to 10.
