Team Notes: No. 3 Cornell Set to Face RPI, Union at Home
ITHACA, N.Y. – After a weekend split in the North Country,
the No. 3 Big Red looks to rebound with its first home games in
three weeks. Coming to Lynah Rink are Rensselaer and Union, teams
Cornell defeated back in January by a combined 12-1 margin.
GAME
INFORMATION
GAME #23: No. 3 Cornell vs. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
GAME TIME: Friday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m.
GAME SITE: Lynah Rink (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads 10-4
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 3-0 on Jan. 7, 2012
2011-12 RECORDS: Cornell (19-3, 14-2 ECAC Hockey); Rensselaer
(8-16-4, 5-9-2 ECAC Hockey)
LIVE STATS: Cornell Live
Stats
LIVE VIDEO: RedCast
GAME #24: No. 3 Cornell vs. Union
GAME TIME: Saturday, Feb. 4, 4 p.m.
GAME SITE: Lynah Rink (Ithaca, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads 15-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 8-0 on Jan. 28, 2011
2011-12 RECORDS: Cornell (19-3, 14-2 ECAC Hockey); Union (4-20-4,
2-12-2 ECAC Hockey)*
LIVE STATS: Cornell Live
Stats
LIVE VIDEO: RedCast
*Records before games on Jan. 20
ABOUT THE BIG RED
Coming off back-to-back appearances in the Frozen Four, Cornell is
looking to make its way back again this year. Starting the new year
with eight consecutive wins, the Big Red finally lost last weekend
at Clarkson but remains atop the ECAC Hockey standings with
28 points. Cornell has a five-point lead on second-place Harvard
and a one-point lead in the Ivy League standings as well. The Big
Red's regular season enters its final month now, and third
consecutive ECAC and Ivy League titles are in play.
HEAD COACH DOUG DERRAUGH
Now in his seventh season directing the Cornell women's hockey
program, Doug
Derraugh has quickly brought the Big Red women to
their place among the nation's elite. Taking a program that won
just four games in the season prior to his arrival, Derraugh guided
the Big Red to the national title game in his fifth season and
back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2010 and 2011,
completely turning around the culture of the women's hockey program
at Cornell. Derraugh, a 1991 graduate of Cornell, was the last Big
Red men's hockey player to score 30 goals in a season. He earned
the 100th win in his career at Union on Jan. 6.
ABOUT UNION
The Dutchwomen, based in Schenectady, N.Y., currently sit in 11th
place in the ECAC Hockey standings. Union has won just one game in
its last 18 contests and is averaging just 1.71 goals per game,
fourth-worst in the country. Union lost both games of a
home-and-home with Rensselaer last weekend by a combined score of
6-1. Freshman Bryanne Panchuk is the team's best scorer with 11
points on five goals and six assists. Top goalie Kate Gallagher has
a .941 save percentage and a 1.96 goals against average.
Claudia Barcomb, a 1999 graduate of Harvard, is now in her fourth
year coaching Union.
THE SERIES WITH UNION
With its 9-1 victory back on Jan. 6, the Big Red extended its
series record against the Dutchwomen to 16-1. Union's only win
against Cornell came back in 2003 when the teams were playing for
just the second time. Cornell has a 15-game winning streak against
Union currently.
A WIN AGAINST UNION WOULD…
…extend Cornell's streak against Union to 16
wins…give Cornell 10 wins in its last 11 games…give
the Big Red its third 20-win season in history…improve
the team's home record to 10-1…put the Big Red at 30 points
in league play for the third consecutive year and third time
ever.
ABOUT RENSSELAER
The Engineers, based in Troy, currently sit in ninth place in the
league but tied on points (12) with eighth-place Brown. RPI will be
desperately looking to pick up points as the season draws to a
close in order to secure a spot in the eight-team conference
tournament. The Engineers have won three of their last four
contests including a sweep against Union last weekend. Jordan
Smelker is the team's top scorer with 25 points on 10 goals and 15
assists. Freshman duo Kelly O'Brien and Brianna Piper have split
time fairly evenly in goal.
John Burke is the Engineers' head coach. He is now in his eighth
year with the team and is a 1991 graduate of Bowling Green.
THE SERIES WITH RENSSELAER
Cornell notched a 3-0 shutout of RPI on Jan. 6 to take a 10-4 lead
all time in the series. In that game, Lauren
Slebodnick made 15 saves to earn the shutout
while Kendice
Ogilvie, Laura
Fortino and Brianne
Jenner scored goals.
A WIN AGAINST RENSSELAER WOULD…
…extend Cornell's streak against the Engineers to nine
wins.
HOME COOKING
The Big Red has embarked on three separate road game stretches
this season and has come away with victories in each of its three
home games following those trips. Cornell has won those three home
games by a combined score of 15-1.
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
For an excellent January where she scored 15 points and notched
three game-winning goals, forward Rebecca
Johnston has been named the ECAC Hockey Player of
the Month. Johnston now has 17 goals and 20 assists this season,
leading Cornell in goals and points (37).
Johnston becomes the second Cornell player honored with a monthly
award this year as Jillian
Saulnier twice earned Rookie of the Month mention in
October and November. Johnston has not won an ECAC Hockey weekly
award this season, though she was named Player of the Week twice
last year and three times during the 2008-09 campaign. In 2007-08,
she was named Rookie of the Week three times.
TOURNAMENT BERTH
Cornell clinched a spot in the ECAC Hockey Tournament with its two
wins against Harvard and Dartmouth on Jan. 20 and 21. This past
weekend, the Big Red ensured itself no worse than a No. 6 seed in
the tournament.
NO SHUTOUTS
The Big Red is one of just four teams in the country that has not
been shut out this season. Cornell has scored a goal in every game
this year, something only the Big Red, Clarkson, North Dakota an
Northeastern can say.
WINNING WAYS
With a win against Dartmouth on Jan. 21, Amanda
Mazzotta earned her 48th career victory, putting her
atop the team's all-time list. Mazzotta passed the previous record
of 47 career wins, previously held by Sarah Mott, who played from
1978-81.
MAKING A POINT
Six current members of the Cornell roster are averaging more than
a point per game over their career. Freshman Jillian
Saulnier, with the smallest sample size, has a
points-per-game average of 1.70. Brianne
Jenner (1.60), Rebecca
Johnston (1.56), Catherine
White (1.33), Laura
Fortino (1.14) and Chelsea
Karpenko (1.05) are also on that list.
AWARD WINNERS
Since the beginning of this season, Cornell's players have been
awarded with ECAC Hockey weekly honors nine times, more than any
other team in the league.
Most recently, goalie Amanda
Mazzotta was named ECAC Hockey's Goaltender of the
week for the second time this season on Jan. 24.
Freshman Jillian
Saulnier won Rookie of the Week twice, while
freshmen Emily
Fulton and Monika
Leck each won that honor once. Senior Kendice
Ogilvie and sophomore Brianne
Jenner have earned Player of the Week honors, while
Slebodnick also took home Goaltender of the Week once.
OUTRANKING THE COMPETITION
In its last 17 games against ranked opponents from the start of
the 2009-10 season until now, the Big Red holds a 12-5 record. This
weekend's victories against No. 9 Harvard and No. 10 Dartmouth
helped add to that impressive record. Cornell won two games against
then-No. 5 Boston University in November and took one of two from
then-No. 6 Mercyhurst in December. The Big Red also topped then-No.
10 Harvard in November.
NATIONAL PRIDE
Cornell saw six players participate in the Meco Cup in Germany in
the first week of the year, playing for Canada's under-22 national
team. All five Cornell skaters scored at least one point in the
five-game tournament. Jillian
Saulnier led the way with two goals and four
assists, while Catherine
White and Jessica
Campbell notched three points each.Chelsea
Karpenko had a goal and an assist, Hayleigh
Cudmore earned an assist, and goalie Amanda
Mazzotta got two wins and a shutout. Canada won the
bronze.
NATIONAL POLLS
Cornell dropped down to No. 3 in this week's USCHO.com national
poll after spending last week at No. 2. Minnesota jumped back over
the Big Red to reclaim its No. 2 spot.
LOFTY NUMBERS
Forwards Rebecca
Johnston currently sits at eighth in the nation in
points per game (1.85), with Brianne
Jenner not far behind in 11th (1.75).
Freshman Jillian
Saulnier is best in points per game among rookies
(1.70). Jenner is tied for fourth in the nation at assists per game
(1.25), while Laura
Fortino is No. 1 points per game for defensemen
(1.15). Goalkeeper Lauren
Slebodnick's 1.73 goals against average puts her at sixth
in the country and her 9-1 record has her second in winning
percentage.
As a team, Cornell has the country's second-best offense (4.86
goals per game) and best scoring margin (3.09 goals) to go along
with the second-best power play (26.4 percent).
LAST TIME OUT
Cornell took a trip to the North Country for ECAC Hockey games
against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead
against the Saints, the Big Red held on for a 6-4 victory. At
Clarkson, the Knights used a three-goal second period and claimed a
5-3 win.
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against St. Lawrence and Clarkson:
• Chelsea
Karpenko got her 120th career point.
• Hayleigh
Cudmore notched assist number 20 in her career.
• Alyssa
Gagliardi reached the 30-point plateau.
• Amanda
Young now has her 40th assist.
Approaching career numbers:
• Erin
Barley-Maloney is two away from her 40th career
point.
• Olivia
Cook's next game will be her 50th.
• Laura
Fortino is just two points shy of 100.
• Amanda
Mazzotta needs two more wins to get to 50.
UP NEXT
No. 5 Mercyhurst comes to Lynah Rink on Tuesday night for a
televised game after the teams split a weekend series in early
December. The Big Red then heads back out on the road for its final
regular-season trip away from Lynah Rink. Cornell will face Ivy
League rivals Brown at Yale on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11,
respectively.
