Team Notes: Championship Berth on Line for Big Red

The following article appeared March 3 on the Cornell Web site.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- With the first round of play in the ECAC Hockey tournament in the books, the Cornell women’s hockey team will next face Rensselaer in the league semifinals on Friday. The top-seeded Big Red will play host to the Engineers in a 7 p.m. contest at Lynah Rink, with the winner advancing to the league championship game on Sunday. If Cornell wins, it would host the championship game, while a Rensselaer win would send the Engineers to either Clarkson or Harvard, pending the outcome of the other league semifinal. Live streaming video of Friday’s game is available through the Cornell Redcast subscription service.

HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH
In his fifth season behind the Big Red bench, Doug Derraugh has turned the Cornell women’s hockey program into one of women’s college hockey’s top young programs. Derraugh has led the Big Red to its first-ever ECAC Hockey regular-season championship and its first Ivy League title since 1996. With a career coaching record of 52-80-15, Derraugh has guided the Big Red to double-digit win totals in each of the last three seasons, the first time that has happened since Cornell won six straight from 1995-96 through 2000-01. He has also led the Big Red to its third straight berth in the league playoffs for the first time since reaching the post-season from 2002 through 2004. Derraugh, a 1991 graduate of Cornell, was named the program’s head coach prior to the 2005-06 season following a 13-year professional playing career in Europe. He is assisted by Danielle Bilodeau, a 2001 Cornell graduate and former Big Red player, in her fourth season, and Edith Zimmering, in her first year with the Big Red.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell advanced to the league tournament semifinals for the first time in school history after winning a quarterfinal series against Colgate at Lynah Rink, two games to none. Cornell claimed a tight 2-1 victory in the opener on Friday afternoon before turning around and skating away with a 5-0 victory on Saturday to ease into the semifinals. The Big Red got goals from Laura Fortino and Kendice Ogilvie on Friday, with goaltender Amanda Mazzotta stopping 25 shots in taking the victory. Saturday, the big guns came out as Lauriane Rougeau and Catherine White both had a pair of goals, with Rougeau adding two assists and White chipping in another in the 5-0 win to send Cornell to the semifinals. Mazzotta stopped all 19 shots she faced in picking up her 11th shutout of the season. For the year, White leads all scorers with 34 points on nine goals and 25 assists in 28 games, while Laura Fortino has 28 points on 10 goals and 18 assists in 28 games. Rougeau and Chelsea Karpenko are both over 20 points on the year, with Rougeau tallying 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points and Karpenko picking up a team-best 15 goals and 10 assists for 25 points. Mazzotta has played all but one game in between the pipes for the Big Red, posting a sparkling 1.38 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage and 11 shutouts. The Big Red has been exceptional on special teams this season, ranking among the nation’s leaders in both power-play and penalty killing percentage. The Big Red ranks first in the league and third in the country in power play, converting on 22.2 percent of its chances (28-of-126). The Big Red is also first in the nation in penalty-killing percentage, allowing just four goals in 108 opportunities (96.3 percent).

Complete article can be accessed via the Cornell Web site by clicking here.