Team Notes: Cornell Set To Host Quinnipiac, Princeton

Photo by Patrick Shanahan

The following article appeared February 4 on the Cornell Web site.

With just six games remaining in the regular season, the Cornell women's hockey team will try to close in on its first top-four finish in ECAC Hockey play and clinch a home series for the quarterfinal round of the league tournament. The Big Red can take two huge strides toward that goal this weekend when it plays host to Quinnipiac and Princeton in a pair of games at Lynah Rink. Cornell enters the week in second place in the league standings, three points ahead of Princeton and four ahead of Quinnipiac.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
The Big Red had its first rough weekend of the season last weekend, picking up a tie at St. Lawrence before losing to league-leading Clarkson on Saturday. The one point gained on the weekend marked the first time this season that the Big Red failed to glean at least two points out of a two-game set. On Friday, Karlee Overguard scored with 1:14 to play in regulation to give Cornell the 2-2 tie at St. Lawrence, with Laura Fortino scoring the other goal for the Big Red. Then on Saturday in a showdown of the two top teams in league play, the Big Red fell to Clarkson, 2-1, despite a goal from Catherine White. White leads the Big Red in scoring with 24 points on seven goals and 17 assists through 20 games, while Chelsea Karpenko and Fortino are tied for second with 19 points each. Karpenko has a team-best 10 goals, while Fortino is one of the highest-scoring rookies in the country, averaging nearly a point per game. In goal, Amanda Mazzotta has played all but one game for the Big Red, posting a 1.75 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage with six shutouts. The Big Red has been outstanding on special teams this season, converting on 21-of-96 power play chances (21.9 percent) while killing off all but three (80-of-83) opponents' power plays (96.4 percent). .

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 a career record of 47-80-14, but has taken the Big Red to double-digit win totals in each of the last three seasons for the first time since Cornell had six straight double-digit win totals from 1995-96 through 2000-01. He has also led Cornell to the ECAC Hockey playoffs in each of the last two years and is on pace to guide the Big Red back to the playoffs again this season. Derraugh is assisted by Danielle Biloudeau, in her fourth season, and Edith Zimmering, in her first year with the Big Red.

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