Team Notes: Big Red to Face Boston U. in National Semifinals

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The 2010-11 women's hockey season comes to a close this weekend as the last four teams remaining in the NCAA tournament converge on Erie, Pa., for the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four. And for the second straight season, the Cornell women's hockey team is among those still playing in the season's final weekend, as the Big Red will face off against Boston University in the second of two national semifinals at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 18, at Tullio Arena in Erie, Pa. The first semifinal pits top-seeded Wisconsin against fourth-seeded Boston College in a 5 p.m. contest. Live streaming video of both national semifinal games will be provided free of charge at NCAA.com, with direct links to the video available at CornellBigRed.com.

ABOUT THE BIG RED
The Big Red, seeded second in this year's NCAA tournament, punched its ticket to Erie after dispatching ECAC Hockey foe Dartmouth, 7-1, in the NCAA Quarterfinals on March 12 at Lynah Rink in Ithaca. Facing the Big Green for the second time in eight days, Cornell's offense erupted for seven goals, tying the NCAA tournament record for goals in a game, and eased into the national semifinals. Juniors Chelsea Karpenko and Catherine White led the way with three points apiece, as 10 of the 17 Big Red skaters recorded at least one point in the game. Amanda Mazzotta made 20 saves in picking up the victory for the Big Red, which finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play. On the year, freshman Brianne Jenner leads a balanced offensive attack, notching 50 points in 32 games on the year (23-27–50), while junior Rebecca Johnston (26-23–49) leads the team in goals. Sophomore defenseman Laura Fortino paces the squad with 32 assists. In all, the Big Red has seven different players who are averaging at least a point per game on the year, with five players picking up 40 points or more. In goal, Mazzotta has been strong in her return after missing three months due to injury, earning the victory in each of Cornell's last three games. On the season, Mazzotta has a 0.99 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage to go along with a 16-1 record and five shutouts. Her backups, freshman Lauren Slebodnick and senior Katie Wilson, have also been solid this season. Slebodnick saw most of the time in Mazzotta's absence, recording a 1.15 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage with a 12-1-1 record and five shutouts, while Wilson went 3-0 with two shutouts to go along with a 0.67 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. Cornell's special teams are also among the nation's best, as Cornell ranks second in the country in penalty-killing percentage (93.1 percent, 108-of-116) and third in power-play efficiency (26.0 percent, 39-of-150).

ABOUT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
The third-seeded Terriers claimed their spot in the national semifinals after defeating Mercyhurst, 4-2, on Saturday at Walter Brown Arena in Boston, Mass. Boston University got a pair of goals from Jenn Wakefield and a goal and an assist from Jill Cardella, with Marie-Philip Poulin adding the fourth goal for the Terriers. Netminder Kerrin Sperry made 30 saves in the victory for Boston University, which advances to its first Frozen Four in program history. On the season, Wakefield leads the Terrier offense with 53 points on 32 goals and 21 assists, while Poulin is the only other player averaging better than a point per game this season, scoring 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points in 26 contests. Catherine Ward has a team-best 27 assists to go along with three goals for 30 points in 34 contests. In goal, Sperry has played 26 games, recording a 1.60 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage to go along with a 20-3-3 record and six shutouts. The Terriers lead the nation in penalty-killing percentage (93.3 percent, 152-of-163), while ranking ninth in power-play efficiency (18.7 percent, 29-of-155).

THE SERIES WITH BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Cornell and Boston University have met just once previously in women's hockey, though that contest during the 1982-83 season featured Cornell's varsity program facing a club team from Boston University. That game, played in Boston, Mass., ended in a 2-2 tie and is included in Cornell's all-time record. The two programs have not met since Boston University's team obtained varsity status prior to the 2005-06 season.

A RIVALRY ON THE OTHER SIDE
While Cornell and Boston University will be meeting for the first time as women's varsity hockey teams in this season's national semifinals, the two schools both have a storied college hockey rivalry on the men's side. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the two schools were the power programs in the East, and they met twice in the NCAA title game along with meeting seven times over a nine-year span in the ECAC tournament. In the two national championship games, both teams claimed one victory, with Cornell winning the 1967 title in Syracuse, N.Y., by a 4-1 score, and the Terriers winning the crown in 1972 in Boston, Mass., 4-0. The rivalry was weakened when Boston University left to join the newly created Hockey East Association in 1984-85, but recent efforts to rekindle the series have been wildly successful. The two teams have met twice in the last three seasons at Madison Square Garden in New York City, selling out all 18,200 seats in the storied venue both times.

CORNELL AT THE FROZEN FOUR
Cornell is making its second straight trip and second overall to the NCAA Frozen Four. Last season in Minneapolis, Minn., the upstart Big Red, the only unseeded team in the final weekend after knocking off fourth-seeded Harvard in the quarterfinals, defeated top-seeded Mercyhurst, 3-2, in overtime to advance to the national championship game. There, Cornell and Minnesota-Duluth faced off in an epic contest that stretched nearly three full overtimes before the Bulldogs scored the game-winner with just over 30 seconds before the end of the third extra session, as Cornell fell, 3-2.

POSTSEASON HOCKEY
Cornell enters the national semifinal on Friday with an 8-14 all-time record in the ECAC Hockey tournamnent and an 11-15 mark all-time in post-season games. With the Big Red's perfect 4-0 mark in the league tournament this season coupled with a win over Dartmouth in the NCAA quarterfinals, Cornell improved to 9-0 all-time in playoff games played at Lynah Rink. The Big Red is 0-14 all-time in postseason tournament games played on the road, while going 2-0 in neutral-site games.

CORNELL AGAINST THE FROZEN FOUR FIELD
Cornell has played 19 games against the three other teams in this year's NCAA Frozen Four, and holds a 15-2-2 record against those foes, though the Big Red has not played any of Boston University, Wisconsin or Boston College since meeting the Eagles on Dec. 1, 2002, in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Cornell has played 17 games against Boston College, leading that series, 15-2-1, though the Eagles hold a two-game winning streak in the series. Cornell played a Boston University club team to a 2-2 tie in 1982-83 in Boston, Mass., and has never faced Wisconsin in women's hockey.

FLASHBACK TO A CLASSIC
Should Cornell and Wisconsin both advance in the semifinal round on Friday, it would set up a rematch of a classic men's matchup from the 2005-06 season. That year, Cornell and Wisconsin met in a regional championship game in Green Bay, Wis., a game that would up the longest 1-0 game in NCAA history. The Badgers won the game in the sixth overtime on a Jack Skille goal at the 111:13 mark of the contest, in what was at the time the longest Cornell hockey game in history. That game was surpassed by the Big Red women's triple-overtime loss to Minnesota-Duluth in the 2010 national championship game in Minneapolis, a game that lasted 119:26.

A FIRST FOR THE OLD BARN
Almost 54 years to the day that Lynah Rink opened, the venerable home of the men's and women's hockey teams played host to its first-ever NCAA touranment game with the contest between Dartmouth and Cornell on March 12. The men's program has never played a home NCAA tournament game, and the women's team is making just its second appearance in the NCAA tournament, having played at Harvard last season. Lynah Rink opened with an exhibition game between the National Hockey League's New York Rangers and the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League on March 21, 1957. 

MUST-SEE CU
The ECAC Hockey Championship against Dartmouth on March 5 drew 2,711 fans to Lynah Rink, the most to ever see a women's hockey game at Cornell. That attendance figure, and the ensuing 1,565 fans who saw the Big Red defeat Dartmouth in the national quarterfinals, bumped Cornell's average home attendance to 860 per game, the fourth-highest average in the country and the most among ECAC Hockey schools. Cornell's attendance at the national quarterfinal game was the second-highest of the four sites and was more than the third- and fourth-best attended sites combined.

GOING DEEP
Cornell has seven players who are averaging at least a point per game this season, something no other team in this year's NCAA Frozen Four can boast. Boston College (Kelly Stack, Mary Restuccia) and Boston University (Jenn Wakefield, Marie-Philip Poulin) have two players each, while Wisconsin has four (Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight, Brianna Decker and Brooke Ammerman).

WELCOME BACK
Post-season hockey has seen the return of junior goaltender Amanda Mazzotta to the Cornell crease after the London, Ontario, native missed nearly three months due to injury. Last weekend's games marked the return of junior goaltender Amanda Mazzotta, who missed the last three months due to injury. In the three games since her return, Mazzotta has posted a 1.33 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. 

PLAYOFF PICK TO CLICK
Six Cornell players have amassed more than 10 points in the playoffs in their careers, with junior Catherine White leading the way with 17 points (9-8–17) in 14 games and a +11 rating. Junior Chelsea Karpenko and sophomores Lauriane Rougeau and Laura Fortino are right behind her with 16 points each, with Karpenko doing so in 14 games and the sophomore defensive duo in 12 contests. In all, seven different players (White, Karpenko, Rougeau, Fortino, Brianne Jenner, Hayley Hughes and Rebecca Johnston) are averaging at least a point per game in the playoffs over their careers. 

INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Cornell's win over Dartmouth in the national quarterfinals gave the Big Red its 31st victory of the year, setting a new school record for wins in a season among both men's and women's programs. The previous mark of 30 was set by the men's team in 2002-03 as the Big Red advanced to the Frozen Four for the first time since 1980. This season's women's team has already smashed the program mark for a women's team, set last season with the 21 wins on the way to the national title game.

INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS
Cornell's win on Jan. 29 against Rensselaer was the 22nd of the season for the Big Red, setting a new program record for the most victories in a season. The new mark snaps the old record of 21, set during last season's run to the national championship game. Cornell has stretched that mark to 31 wins so far this season.

A FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC
Cornell has twice shown an ability to rally late and score goals with the extra attacker, first rebounding from a two-goal deficit at Clarkson on Feb. 4 on Catherine White's extra-attacker goal to secure a 3-3 tie and remain unbeaten in ECAC Hockey play. Then, on Feb. 25 against Rensselaer,Rebecca Johnston scored the game-tying goal with 6.6 seconds left to force overtime, where Karlee Overguard ended the game just 1:28 into the extra session. The Feb. 25 contest against Rensselaer marked the first time this season that the Big Red rallied from a deficit at the second intermission to secure a victory. 

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
After the NCAA quarterfinal on March 12, the Big Red has played 41 games at Lynah Rink over the past two seasons, and Cornell has been victorious in 33 of those contests, going 33-6-2 at home over that span. This season, Cornell finished with a 20-1 mark at home, with the lone blemish being a 4-3 overtime loss to Mercyhurst on Nov. 2. A further illustration of how dominating the Big Red has been at home this season is the fact that only two teams – Yale on Feb. 12 and Rensselaer on Feb. 25 – even held a lead against the Big Red at Lynah Rink. The two teams combined to hold a lead for a total of 39:11 of the 1262:34 minutes played at Lynah Rink. 

TO THE WINNERS GO THE SPOILS
Cornell snatched up five of the six spots on the ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team after claiming the program's second straight championship with a 3-0 victory against Dartmouth on March 5. Chelsea Karpenko was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow forwards Hayley Hughesand Rebecca Johnston. The blue line was composed of Laura Fortino andAmanda Young, while Dartmouth goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft was the lone non-Cornellian on the team.

ON A ROLL
Rebecca Johnston opened up the 2010-11 season with a 16-game point scoring streak, but lately, it's been classmate Catherine White who's posted an impressive streak of her own. White has matched Johnston's 16-point streak heading into the national semifinals, and has 25 points on 12 goals and 13 assists over that span. For comparison's sake, Johnston's 16-game consecutive scoring streak saw her tally 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points. White's 16-game streak is the longest of any player heading into the Frozen Four, with Wisconsin's Meghan Duggan and Brianna Decker both carrying a nine-game point-scoring streak into the national semifinals.

SO CLOSE
Cornell made it through 20 of the 22 ECAC Hockey games this season without allowing a power-play goal, going a perfect 64-for-64 heading into the final weekend of the regular season with a trip to Dartmouth and Harvard. Unfortunately, the streak came to an end on that road trip, as both teams scored at least once with the man advantage on the weekend, including three power-play goals scored by Dartmouth. Despite allowing four power-play goals on 16 chances that weekend, the Big Red is still second in the nation in penalty-killing percentage, boasting a 93.1 percent success rate.

18 TO LIFE
Cornell's season-long winning streak reached 18 games before being snapped on Feb. 4 at Clarkson with a 3-3 tie. That streak was just three wins away from tying the NCAA record for most consecutive victories. The record of 21 games is held by Harvard, set from Jan. 4 to March 15, 2008. The tie also snapped Cornell's road winning streak at 12 games, just three games shy of tying that NCAA mark as well. The NCAA record for road winning streak is held by Mercyhurst from Nov. 2, 2002, through Oct. 18, 2003.

PATTY KAZMAIER WATCH
Cornell junior Rebecca Johnston and sophomore Laura Fortino were named to the list of 10 finalists for the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award on March 3. Johnston makes her second appearance on the list after being named as a sophomore in 2009, while Fortino makes her debut in the top 10 players in the country. Fortino is also the only defenseman named to the list. The 10 were selected from a list of 26 nominees on Feb. 21, a list that also included sophomore defenseman Lauriane Rougeau and freshman Brianne Jenner.  Ultimately, though, neither Johnston and Fortino were selected among the final three for the award, which will go to either Kelli Stack of Boston College, Meghan Duggan of Wisconsin or Meghan Agosta of Mercyhurst on March 19.

NATURAL BORN KILLERS
Cornell is second in the nation in penalty-killing percentage, having successfully ended 93.1 percent of the opposition's power play chances. The Big Red led the nation in penalty-killing percentage last season, and over the last two seasons, the Big Red has killed off 229 of the 247 opponents' power play chances for a 92.7 percent success rate.

FRONT RUNNERS
One of the more amazing statistics with the Cornell women's hockey team this season has been the amount of time that Cornell has led in games this season. The Big Red has played with the lead for 68.6 percent of the minutes played. By contrast, Cornell has only trailed for a grand total of 126:05, or 6.2 percent of the total minutes. Cornell has only trailed in seven of the 34 games this season.

ROAD WARRIORS
After playing 11 of the first 14 games of the season at home, the Big Red spent most of January away from Lynah Rink. The road suits the Big Red just fine, however, as Cornell is 11-1-1 on the road this year, including a 2-0 mark in non-league games. The Big Red picked up a 4-1 win at Syracuse on Nov. 30 and a 3-0 victory at Mercyhurst on Jan. 18.

ONE IMPRESSIVE STREAK
Dating back to last season, Cornell has won 42 of its last 46 games, going 42-3-1 over that span and with two of the three losses over that stretch coming as overtime defeats. Cornell closed out the 2009-10 season with an 11-game winning streak before falling in the national title game to Minnesota-Duluth in triple overtime, then began the 2010-11 season with wins in its first four games before losing in overtime to Mercyhurst, 4-3, at Lynah Rink on Nov. 2. 

NO SHOTS=NO GOALS
Cornell has taken nearly twice as many shots on goal as its opposition this season, taking 1219 shots through 34 games compared to 639 shots for its opponents. Cornell has held its opposition to 10 shots or fewer five times (Oct. 23 vs. Robert Morris, Jan. 28 vs. Union, Jan. 29 vs. Rensselaer, Feb. 11 vs. Brown, and Feb. 26 vs. Rensselaer), while holding the opposition to 20 shots or fewer in 21 games. By contrast, the Big Red has a season low of 23 shots, set against Dartmouth on Nov. 6 in a 6-1 Cornell victory.

THE STREAK ENDS...
Freshman goaltender Lauren Slebodnick went the first 197:32 of her career without allowing a goal, spanning the first five appearances. Her streak came to a close with a goal at the 8:49 mark of the second period on Jan. 14 at Rensselaer. Slebodnick's streak is the seventh-longest such streak in ECAC Hockey history.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
Cornell's defense has allowed just 35 goals this season, and has allowed more than one goal just nine times in 34 games. Minnesota-Duluth has allowed the second-fewest goals in the nation, conceeding 55 goals for an average of 1.62 per game, well above Cornell's 1.03 goals allowed per contest. 

COUNTING TO 100
A trio of juniors have reached the 100 point mark in their careers this season, led by Catherine White. Classmates Rebecca Johnston andChelsea Karpenko have joined her in triple digits, with senior Karlee Overguard 11 points shy of the 100-point mark. White became the 13th player in Cornell history to reach 100 career points when she reached the milestone on Nov. 26 against Niagara, while Johnston became the 14th on Jan. 7 at Yale, scoring a hat trick to reach the mark. Most recently, Karpenko tallied three goals in the NCAA quarterfinal contest against Dartmouth, giving her 50 goals and 50 assists in her career to become the 15th player in program history with 100 career points. White and Johnston currently rank ninth and 10th all-time, respectively, among Cornell's career scoring lists, while leading the charts among Cornell's Division I era. Next up on the all-time list is Kim Ratushny, who finished her career with 133 points.

HELPING HANDS
Cornell got contributions from a number of players on Jan. 7 and 8 at Yale and Brown, as the Big Red remained unbeaten in league play. At Yale, six of the 12 skaters recorded at least one point, with four players having a multi-point game. Against Brown, six of the 11 skaters scored at least one point, led by junior Karlee Overguard's two-assist night. For the weekend, nine of the 12 skaters to dress for at least one game picked up at least one point.

SHORT-HANDED? NO PROBLEM
Cornell was without five players for the weekend series at Yale and Brown on Jan. 7 and 8 due to their participation with the Canadian U22 National Team at the MLP Cup, but the Big Red didn't miss a beat. Cornell still blanked Yale, 5-0, and Brown, 3-0, to stretch its winning streak to 11 games. Complicating matters, starting goaltender Amanda Mazzotta was out of action due to injury, and senior captain Amber Overguard missed the Jan. 8 contest against Brown after suffering an injury the previous night at Yale.

WELCOME HOME
Sophomore Xandra Hompe had a welcome homecoming of sorts on Jan. 7 at Yale. Hompe, a native of New Canaan, Conn., located about an hour west of New Haven, Conn., took the opportunity of playing near her hometown to score her first career points, picking up two assists in the 5-0 win at Yale. Hompe then capped her weekend by scoring her first career goal the following night in a 3-0 win at Brown.

READY THE UNDERSTUDY
With starting goaltender Amanda Mazzotta sidelined due to injury on Jan. 7 and 8 at Yale and Brown, freshman Lauren Slebodnick stepped into the crease for her first career starts and picked up where Mazzotta left off, posting 23 saves in a shutout at Yale and another 15 stops the following night at Brown in a 3-0 win.

A CAREER YEAR
Senior Hayley Hughes is enjoying her final season with the Big Red, as the Toronto, Ontario, native has posted a career best for points this season. Hughes has 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points, easily surpassing the 12 points she scored as a freshman for her previous career best.

PASSING MILESTONES
Cornell's 3-1 victory on Dec. 3 against St. Lawrence marked the 900th game all-time in the history of the Cornell women's hockey program. The Big Red has a 424-446-51 all-time record for a .488 winning percentage. Additionally, Cornell's win on Nov. 19 against Princeton was the 400th victory in the history of the Cornell women's hockey program. Cornell now has 424 victories, which ties Princeton for the eighth-highest total among NCAA Division I programs. 

OVER THE CENTURY MARK
Cornell's win on Nov. 26 against Niagara marked the 100th victory for the Big Red since the NCAA officially recognized women's hockey as a championship sport prior to the 2000-01 season. Cornell is now 121-183-26 since women's hockey gained official NCAA status, good for a .406 winning percentage.

NUMBER ONE
With Cornell's sweep over Niagara on Nov. 27-28 and Wisconsin splitting its series with Minnesota-Duluth that same weekend, the Big Red moved up to first in the nation in both the USA Today/USA Hockey and USCHO.com polls. This marked the first time in program history that the Big Red has been ranked as the top team in the nation in either of the two polls. Cornell slipped down to second in both polls after Wisconsin defeated Mercyhurst on Jan. 2 in St. Cloud, Minn., and has remained at that spot ever since.

GOING STREAKING
Junior goaltender Amanda Mazzotta saw the second-longest shutout streak of her career snapped on Nov. 30 at Syracuse. Mazzotta's streak, which spanned parts of six games, lasted 218:51 before Syracuse's Kelly Dimmen got the Orange on the scoreboard. As impressive as that mark is, it's still more than a full game shy of Mazzotta's personal best mark of 286:54, set in Feb. 2010, a mark that stands as the fourth-longest streak in NCAA history. The mark is also the second-longest in ECAC Hockey history, bested this season by Princeton's Rachel Weber, whose streak ended at 289:43.

ON THE BREAK
Cornell's players had a rare week off on Nov. 12-13 due to a quirk in the league schedule. Rather than play a non-conference series that weekend, the Big Red elected to take the weekend off to evaluate the team's progress in the early part of the season. Cornell has not had a similar break in the schedule since taking off the weekend of Nov. 23-24, 2007.

WHILE YOU WERE GONE...
Two Cornell players weren't entirely off during the team's break on Nov. 12-13, as Rebecca Johnston and Brianne Jenner took part in the 4 Nations Cup in St. John's, Newfoundland. Competing with the Canadian National Team, the pair came home with the tournament's gold medal, defeating the United States in the championship game, 3-2, in overtime. Johnston was especially strong in that championship game, scoring a pair of goals including the overtime game-winner. Johnston finished with seven points on four goals and three assists, ranking her tied for third among all scorers in the tournament. The pair missed Cornell's weekend series against Harvard and Dartmouth on Nov. 5-6 as well, but the Big Red still posted a pair of victories in their absence.

WHAT A WEEKEND
With Rebecca Johnston and Brianne Jenner on international duty with the Canadian National Team at the 4 Nations Cup on Nov. 5-6, senior Hayley Hughes stepped up with the best weekend of her career. Hughes potted a pair of goals and assisted on the third in Cornell's 3-0 victory against Harvard on Friday night, then tallied three assists in the 6-1 win against Dartmouth the following day. Hughes' six-point weekend equaled one-quarter of her career point total entering the 2010-11 season and earned her ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career. 

FIRING BLANKS
Amanda Mazzotta became Cornell's all-time career leader in shutouts when she blanked Harvard, 3-0, on Nov. 5. With five shutouts this season, Mazzotta now has 17 shutouts in her Cornell career, surpassing the mark of 12 set by Kathryn LoPresti from 1985 through 1989. 

ONE BANNER YEAR
Cornell officially put the cap on the historic 2009-10 season on Nov. 6 against Dartmouth when the Big Red added three banners to the Lynah Rink rafters. Last year's four seniors – Laura Danforth, Melanie Jue, Kelly McGinty and Liz Zorn – were on hand for the unveiling of banners commemorating the program's ECAC Hockey championship, the Ivy League championship and national runner-up finish.

FOUR SQUARE
Cornell's wins on Oct. 29-30 at Quinnipiac and Princeton gave the Big Red victories in each of its first four games in a season for the first time since the 1978-79 season. That year, Cornell began the season with five straight wins on its way to a 13-5-1 overall record.

100 AND COUNTING
Senior Karlee Overguard established the record for most games played by a Cornell women's hockey player with her appearance in the national quarterfinals against Dartmouth on March 12. Overguard has played in 125 games over her career, surpassing the mark of 124, set by 2010 graduateLaura Danforth. Fellow senior Hayley Hughes played in her 110th career game on March 12 against Dartmouth, while junior Kendice Ogilviereached the 100-game mark on March 12 against the Big Green.

LEAGUE OPENERS
Cornell won its ECAC Hockey opener for the second straight season with a 5-1 win at Quinnipiac on Oct. 29, and opened up 2-0 in league play for the second time in a row when it downed Princeton the following day by the same score. Last season, Cornell won its first five league games before falling to St. Lawrence. Prior to last season, the last time that Cornell won twice to begin the league campaign came during the 1998-98 season. 

HAT TRICK PLUS ONE
Freshman Jessica Campbell scored four goals for the Big Red in a 9-1 victory against Robert Morris on Oct. 23, just her second career game. Campbell scored once in both the first and second periods and finished off her four-goal performance with a pair of markers 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. Of the 15 skaters to dress for that contest, 14 of them recorded at least one point, with only freshman defenseman Alyssa Gagliardi not finding her way onto the scoresheet. Gagliardi didn't finish the weekend empty-handed, however, as she picked up an assist in the season opener on Oct. 22.

GOOD GIRLS
Cornell is the second-least penalized team in the nation, averaging just 6.9 minutes in the penalty box per contest. Cornell has been called for just 117 penalties in 34 games this season, all minor penalties. Only Quinnipiac has been whistled for fewer penalties per game, averaging 6.4 minutes in the box per contest. 

ON THE BOARD
When junior Jenna Paulson recorded an assist on Oct. 23 against Robert Morris, it marked the first career point for the Toronto native. Paulson had played in 56 games through her first two seasons with the Big Red before collecting her first career point.

FROM THE START
The five skaters in Cornell's six-player freshman class each made their collegiate debut against Robert Morris on Oct. 22-23, with all five of them recording their first career points. Jessica Campbell picked up four goals on the weekend, while Brianne Jenner tallied a goal and an assist and Hayley Cudmore picked up a pair of assists. The other two newcomers, Olivia Cookand Alyssa Gagliardi, both recorded one assist on the weekend. 

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, and eight of those players were 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 andLauriane 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 andLauriane Rougeau and forwards Rebecca Johnston and Catherine Whiteamong the top six, with Quinnipiac goaltender Victoria Vigilanti and Harvard forward Kate Buesser rounding out the league's preseason selections.

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. 

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.

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. FreshmenJessica Campbell and Hayleigh Cudmore were both members of that squad, with Campbell being named the most valuable player of the tournament for her play.

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, at the time, the longest streak in ECAC Hockey 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. 

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 spent her fall season with the Cornell women's soccer team, where she finished tied for third on the team in scoring and tied for the team lead in assists with four. 

UP NEXT
The winner of Friday's national semifinal will take on the winner of the first semifinal between Wisconsin and Boston College in the 2011 national championship game on Sunday in a 2 p.m. contest at Tullio Arena in Erie, Pa.