Team Notes: Cornell Begins League Play at Quinnipiac, Princeton

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell women’s hockey team will take to the road for the first time in 2010-11 as it begins ECAC Hockey action with a weekend trip to face Quinnipiac and Princeton. The Big Red will face the Bobcats at 7 p.m. on Friday at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn., before taking on Princeton in a Saturday afternoon affair, starting at 4 p.m. at Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, N.J. 

HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH
Now in his sixth season as head coach of the Cornell women’s hockey team, Doug Derraugh has turned the program into a contender for the national championship. With a 60-81-15 overall record, Derraugh guided the Big Red to a 21-9-6 record last season and a berth in the national championship game. He led Cornell to its first-ever ECAC Hockey regular season and tournament championships and first appearance in the NCAA tournament, defeating traditional powers Harvard and Mercyhurst on the way to the national title game. He has led the Big Red to double-digit win totals in each of the past three seasons and set a program record for wins in a season with 21 last year. Derraugh took over the program prior to the 2005-06 season after a 13-year professional playing career in Europe and has transformed the Big Red into one of the top young programs in the country. He is assisted by fifth-year assistant coach Danielle Bilodeau, a former Cornell player and 2001 graduate, Edith Zimering, in her second season with the Big Red, and volunteer assistant coach Meredith Roth, in her first year with Cornell. 

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Cornell opened the 2010-11 season with a pair of victories against Robert Morris on Oct. 22-23 at Lynah Rink. Cornell claimed the opener, 3-2, against the Colonials, before putting away RMU with a 9-1 victory in Saturday’s series finale. Cornell’s offense featured a balanced attack that saw all 15 skaters who dressed for both games record at least one point. Freshman Jessica Campbell picked up four goals in Saturday’s game and shares the team scoring lead with junior Rebecca Johnston, who has one goal and three assists for four points. Juniors Catherine White, Amanda Young and Kendice Ogilvie each recorded three points on the weekend, while senior Hayley Hughes tallied a pair of goals. Junior Amanda Mazzotta played both contests in between the pipes, recording a 1.50 goals-against average and a .864 save percentage, stopping 19 of the 22 shots she faced on the weekend. The Big Red finished the weekend 4-for-10 on the power play (40.0 percent) while allowing one power play goal in six opportunities for the Colonials (83.3 percent success rate).

ABOUT QUINNIPIAC
The Bobcats enter the weekend with the nation’s fifth-ranked defense, allowing 1.43 goals per game through the seven contests they have played this season. Quinnipiac also boasts the fifth-best penalty-killing unit in the country and the fourth-best power-play. The Bobcats opened the season with five straight wins, posting three shutouts over that span, but lost at Maine on Oct. 16, 4-2, and tied Boston College, 3-3, on Oct. 22 heading into the contest with the Big Red on Friday. Freshman Kelly Babstock has made a huge impact in the early part of the season, recording 17 points in seven games on five goals and 12 assists. Fellow freshman Erica Uden Johansson has a team-best six goals to go along with four assists for 10 points. Junior Kate Wheeler has also scored five goals, adding in a pair of assists for seven points. In goal, preseason all-league pick Victoria Vigilanti has played every minute, recording a .932 save percentage and a 1.42 goals-against average with three shutouts. Quinnipiac has converted on 12-of-40 power play chances (30.0 percent) while killing off 28-of-31 opponent’s extra-man opportunities (90.3 percent). 

THE SERIES WITH QUINNIPIAC
Cornell and Quinnipiac have had numerous close meetings over the past seven seasons, with the Big Red holding a slim 4-3-5 advantage in the all-time series dating back to the 2003-04 season. Cornell has never lost at Quinnipiac, going 3-0-3 all-time in Hamden, Conn. The two teams have tied each of the last four meetings, including a 3-3 draw last season at Quinnipiac and a scoreless tie at Lynah Rink. The last time a Cornell/Quinnipiac game ended in anything but a tie came on Nov. 30, 2007, when Cornell scored a 4-3 win in Ithaca. In each of the 12 meetings all-time with the Big Red and the Bobcats, only once has a game been decided by more than one goal, that being a 4-1 Quinnipiac win on Jan. 31, 2004, in Ithaca. 

ABOUT PRINCETON
The Tigers opened their season last weekend with a pair of games on the road, falling at Northeastern, 2-1, before dropping a Saturday contest at Providence, 4-0. Junior Paula Romanchuk scored the lone goal for the Tigers on the weekend, with senior Sasha Sherry and freshman Rose Alleva both picking up one assist. In goal, sophomore Cassie Sequin posted a .934 save percentage and a 2.57 goals-against average, stopping 76 of the 71 shots she faced in the two games. The Tigers’ lone goal of the weekend came on the power play, going 1-for-9 on the weekend (11.1 percent) while killing off 10-of-13 opponent’s power plays (76.9 percent). 

THE SERIES WITH PRINCETON
The Tigers lead the all-time series against the Big Red, 41-29-4, though Cornell claimed both meetings last season. The Big red won the opener at Princeton on Nov. 20, 2009, 1-0, before claiming a 6-0 victory at Lynah Rink on Feb. 6. The Big Red has gone 4-1-1 in its last six games against Princeton, snapping what was a 14-game Princeton winning streak. The series dates all the way back to the 1974-75 season. Cornell won six of the first seven meetings and went 10-2-1 in the first 13. Cornell is 11-20-3 all-time against Princeton in games played at Hobey Baker Rink, while holding a 15-18-1 mark in games at Lynah Rink. 

AND THE WINNER IS...
Freshman Jessica Campbell scored four goals for the Big Red in a 9-1 victory against Robert Morris on Oct. 23, enough to earn her the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week award in her first weekend. Campbell scored once in both the first and second periods and finished off her four-goal performance with a pair in the third period. Campbell’s four-goal outburst was the first for a Big Red player since Colette Bredin scored five against Colby on Feb. 28, 1998, in a 9-3 Cornell victory. 

EVERYONE IN THE ACT
Cornell’s 9-1 victory against Robert Morris on Oct. 23 came as a total team effort. Indeed, of the 15 skaters to dress for that contest, 14 of them recorded at least one point, with only freshman defenseman Alyssa Gagliardi not picking up a point. Gagliardi didn’t finish the weekend empty-handed, however, as she picked up an assist in the season opener on Oct. 22.

LAMP LIGHTER
Senior Hayley Hughes recorded a pair of goals on the weekend against Robert Morris, ranking her second on the team in goals behind only freshman Jessica Campbell. Hughes had entered the season with just 12 total goals to her credit, with six of those coming a year ago.  

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN
After last season saw then-freshmen defensemen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau rank second and third on the team overall and nationally among defensemen, it’s a surprising sight to see junior Amanda Young leading the way in scoring among Cornell’s blue-liners so far in 2010-11. Young picked up three points on the weekend against Robert Morris, tallying a goal and two assists. Young’s goal came in the opener against the Colonials and was the first game-winner of her career. 

GOOD GIRLS
Depending on which way you look at it, Cornell’s women’s hockey team ranks first (or last) in the nation in penalty minutes per game. The Big Red was whistled for just six penalties in the two games during its season opening series against Robert Morris for a total of 12 minutes. Rensselaer and St. Lawrence are both directly ahead of the Big Red with 8.3 minutes in the box per game. 

FROM THE START
The five skaters in Cornell’s six-player freshman class each made their collegiate debut last weekend, with all five of them recording their first career points. Jessica Campbell picked up four goals on the weekend and leads the team in scoring, while Brianne Jenner tallied a goal and an assist and Hayley Cudmore picked up a pair of assists. The other two newcomers, Olivia Cook and Alyssa Gagliardi, both recorded one assist on the weekend. In all, Cornell’s freshman class has contributed 10 points on five goals and five assists. The junior class has tallied four goals and 12 assists to lead all classes. 

GETTING THE CALL
When Cornell faces Harvard and Dartmouth on Nov. 5-6 at Lynah Rink, it will do so without junior Rebecca Johnston and freshman Brianne Jenner. Both players have been called up to the Canadian National Team for the 4 Nations Cup, taking place from Nov. 9-13 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Canada will take on teams from the United States, Finland and Sweden at the tournament that brings together the top four finishers from last winter’s Vancouver Olympics. Cornell’s duo are among the 11 players attending U.S. colleges to be named to Canada’s roster. Boston University has three players on Canada’s roster, while Cornell’s fellow 2010 Frozen Four participants Minnesota-Duluth and Mercyhurst both have a pair of players who will be playing for Team Canada. Ohio State and New Hampshire have one player each on the team.

OH CANADA!
Of the 20 members of the Cornell roster in 2010-11, nine were selected to participate in the Canadian U22 National Team Selection Camp in early August, with eight of those players being named to the select team that faced the United States in a three-game series later that month. The eight included goaltender Amanda Mazzotta, defensemen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau, and forwards Jessica Campbell, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Chelsea Karpenko and Catherine White. Also invited to the camp but not named to the select team was defenseman Hayleigh Cudmore. The nine players invited to the camp far surpassed any other collegiate program, with Boston University placing four players in the initial camp and Mercyhurst placing three. 

EARLY PICKS
When the ECAC Hockey preseason coaches poll was released, it was no surprise to see the Big Red standing as the favorite among league coaches to repeat as champions. Cornell received all 11 possible first-place votes with Clarkson gaining the final vote, with coaches unable to vote for their own teams. 

THE FIRST SIX
Along with the preseason coaches poll, the ECAC Hockey bench bosses selected the preseason all-league team, with four Big Red players named among the six spots. The Big Red placed defensemen Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau and forwards Rebecca Johnston and Catherine White among the top six, with Quinnipiac goaltender Victoria Vigilanti and Harvard forward Kate Buesser rounding out the league’s preseason selections. 

GO FOR THE GOLD
Rebecca Johnston returns to the Big Red for her junior season after sitting out the 2009-10 campaign while centralized with the Canadian senior national team. Johnston was named to the Canadian team that captured the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, playing in five of Canada’s six games and scoring one goal with five assists and a +9 rating. 

EVERYBODY’S ALL-AMERICAN
Cornell returns four players who have previously earned AHCA All-America honors during their career, including the program’s first First-Team selection in sophomore defenseman Laura Fortino, who was selected to the nation’s top six in her freshman season. Joining in that group are 2010 second-team selections Catherine White and Lauriane Rougeau and 2009 second-team pick Rebecca Johnston.  

WORLD CHAMPIONS
Cornell’s roster includes a pair of players who were a part of the Canadian team that won the IIHF U18 World Championship last spring. Freshmen Jessica Campbell and Hayleigh Cudmore were both members of that squad, with Campbell being named the most valuable player of the tournament for her play. 

DRAWING A BLANK
Last season, opponents found it exceptionally hard to score on Cornell goaltender Amanda Mazzotta. The junior netminder set a Cornell record – men’s and women’s – by posting 11 shutouts last year, surpassing the total of 10 set by men’s goaltender David McKee during the 2004-05 season. The previous best by a women’s goaltender was six, set by Kathryn LoPresti in the 1988-89 season. 

GOING STREAKING
Last season, Cornell goaltender Amanda Mazzotta recorded the fourth-longest shutout streak in NCAA history, recording four straight shutouts from Feb. 5 through Feb. 13. Her total time stretched for 286:54, the longest streak in ECAC Hockey history and fourth-longest all-time in NCAA history. Wisconsin alumna Jessie Vetter owns two of the three longest streaks in NCAA history, including the record of 448:39. 

TREATY OF NEUTRALITY
Cornell’s two games at the NCAA Frozen Four last season marked the 42nd and 43rd games the Big Red has played on neutral ice. Cornell holds a 23-17-3 record all-time when playing at a neutral venue. Prior to last season’s national championship weekend, the Big Red’s last neutral site game came on Jan. 21, 2001, when it lost to St. Lawrence, 4-1, at Lake Placid, N.Y. The Big Red is not scheduled to play any neutral site contests this season, but could potentially play as many as four, should Cornell advance in postseason play. 

PENALTY KILLING? NO PROBLEM
Cornell was exceptional at staying out of the penalty box last season, ranking 33rd among the 35 teams in Division I in penalty minutes per game. Even when the Big Red found itself shorthanded, however, Cornell still played outstanding defense. The Big Red ranked first in the nation in penalty-killing percentage, allowing just 10 goals in 131 opponents’ power plays (92.4 percent). Cornell’s 2009-10 percentage ranked eighth all-time in NCAA history. 

TWO-WAY PLAYER
Sophomore forward Xandra Hompe gives new meaning to that term, as the New Cannan, Conn., native is a dual-sport athlete. Hompe spends her fall season with the Cornell women’s soccer team, where she is tied for third on the team in scoring and shares the team lead in assists with four.  

LYNAH LOCKDOWN
Cornell went 4-0 in postseason games at Lynah Rink last season. Prior to thiat, the Big Red had never won a postseason game, and had never played a postseason game at home.

UP NEXT
Cornell returns home for an early-season showdown against Mercyhurst, setting up a rematch of last season’s NCAA semifinal won by the Big Red, 3-2, in overtime in Minneapolis. The Big Red and the Lakers will face off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at Lynah Rink.