Team Notes: No. 3 Cornell Travels to Syracuse for Midweek Match with Orange

Photo by Ned Dykes

ITHACA, N.Y. – After a hectic three-game week, the No. 3 Cornell women's hockey team gets another right away. This time, the team takes to the road. First up: a contest against intrastate foe Syracuse on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Game 18: No. 3 Cornell at Syracuse
GAME TIME: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 7 p.m.
GAME SITE: Tennity Ice Pavilion (Syracuse, N.Y.)
SERIES RECORD: Cornell leads 2-1
LAST MEETING: Cornell won 9-2 on Nov. 1, 2011
2011 RECORDS: Cornell (15-2, 11-1 ECAC Hockey), Syracuse (8-13-2, 0-2-2 College Hockey America)
LIVE STATS: Syracuse Athletics
LIVE CORNELL AUDIO: Redcast
LIVE SYRACUSE VIDEO:  Syracuse Athletics (subscription required)

ABOUT THE BIG RED
Winter break lasted more than a month for the Big Red, but the team has emerged in 2012 with five consecutive wins, three shutouts and just two goals allowed. After a weekend sweep at Union and Rensselaer to start the month, Cornell knocked off Colgate midweek and then took care of Quinnipiac and Princeton this weekend. Lauren Slebodnick is on fire in net, improving her record to 8-0 with three shutouts, Amanda Mazzotta earned a shutout in her first appearance of the calendar year, and the Big Red offense continues to lead the country in goals per game (5.24).

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 SYRACUSE
The Orange, based in Syracuse, come into Tuesday night's contest with a 8-13-2 and winless in conference play. The team is 0-2-1 since January began, dropping a contest to Syracuse and No. 5 Mercyhurst but also tying with the Lakers 1-1 on Saturday. Leading the way on offense for the Orange is Holly Carrie-Mattimoe with nine goals and five assists. Margot Scharfe also has 14 points on seven goals and seven assists. Goaltenders Kallie Billadeau (3.09 GAA) and Jenesica Drinkwater (3.15) have been splitting time in net.
The Orange is coached by Paul Flanagan, a 1980 St. Lawrence graduate, in his fourth year with the team.

THE SERIES WITH SYRACUSE
Tuesday night's game will be only the third meeting between the two programs, as the Syracuse team has been in existence for just three years. In the three contests, Cornell holds a slight 2-1 edge. In November, the Orange came to Lynah Rink and left with a 9-2 defeat. In that game, seven different players scored for the Big Red and freshman Jillian Saulnier had a five-point evening.

A WIN AGAINST SYRACUSE WOULD…
…put the Big Red's winning streak against the Orange to three…give the Big Red a 3-1 advantage all-time against the Orange…move Cornell's non-conference record to 5-1…sweep the season series from the Orange.

PROFESSIONAL KILLERS
The Big Red is currently on a streak of having killed 22 consecutive penalties, a stretch that goes back to the first period against Union on Jan. 6. In that time, the Big  Red has moved its penalty killing from 82.8 percent and 22nd in the country to 88.1 percent and sixth in the country.

SUCCESSFUL HOMECOMING
Last Tuesday's win against Colgate was the Big Red's first game in Lynah Rink since the weekend after Thanksgiving when it swept then-No. 5 Boston University by a combined 10-2 margin. With the 3-0 victory against the Raiders followed by two more victories this weekend at home, Cornell improved to 9-1 in Ithaca this season.

MEAN STREAK
Sophomore forward Brianne Jenner has played in 15 games this season and has earned a point in a stellar 14 of them. She leads the team with 23 assists and 31 total points and is currently on a 10-game point-scoring streak. She also is averaging more than one assist per game (1.04) over her career.

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 1.87. Brianne Jenner (1.69), Rebecca Johnston (1.55), Catherine White (1.37), Laura Fortino (1.16) and Chelsea Karpenko (1.05) are also on that list. FreshmanEmily Fulton is right on the line with 17 points in 17 games.

OUTRANKING THE COMPETITION
In its last 15 games against ranked opponents from the start of the 2009-10 season until now, the Big Red holds a 10-5 record. The team 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
The Big  Red are holding steady at No. 3 in this week's USCHO.com national poll but picked up two more first-place votes and now have four. The Big Red is just one point behind second-place Minnesota and 13 points back of No. 1 Wisconsin.

LOFTY NUMBERS
Forward Brianne Jenner currently sits at fifth in the nation in points per game (2.07), with Rebecca Johnston and Jillian Saulnier not far behind in ninth (1.87). Saulnier, who had topped that category nationally for the first three weeks of Cornell's season, is fourth in the country in goals per game (1.00) and is best in points per game among freshmen. Jenner is second in the nation at assists per game (1.53), while Laura Fortino is No. 1 points per game for defensemen (1.27). Goalkeeper Lauren Slebodnick's 1.10 goals against average puts her atop the country, she is third in save percentage (.942) and her 8-0 record has her leading in winning percentage.

As a team, Cornell has the country's best offense (5.24 goals per game) and scoring margin (3.65 goals) to go along with the second-best power play (29.0 percent). Since last week's game against Colgate, the team has jumped from eighth in country to third in scoring defense (1.59 goals per game).

LAST TIME OUT
Cornell played one of its best games of the season, putting forth maximum effort for 60 minutes and coming away with a crucial Ivy League win against Princeton. Amanda Mazzotta earned a shutout and Rebecca Johnston scored the team's only goal. That game came after a come-from-behind 4-1 win against league-leading Quinnipiac on Friday night.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Quinnipiac and Princeton:
• Rebecca Johnston played in her 100th career game.
• Jessica Campbell earned her 20th assist.
• Brianne Jenner notched assist number 50 and point 80 of her Cornell tenure.
• Lauriane Rougeau tallied the 60th assist of her career.
• Lauren Slebodnick was the winning goaltender for the 20th time.

Approaching career numbers:
• Rebecca Johnston is two points shy of fifth all-time in school history.
• Hayleigh Cudmore needs just one assist to get to 20.
• Alyssa Gagliardi needs two points for her 30th.
• Brianne Jenner is one assist shy of 50 and one point away from 80 in her career.
• Kendice Ogilvie is one point away from 40 in her career.
• Amanda Young needs one assist for 40.

UP NEXT
Cornell continues its road stretch with important ECAC Hockey and Ivy League games at No. 9 Harvard and No. 10 Dartmouth on Friday and Saturday. The puck drops against Harvard at 7 p.m., and the Big Red's game against Dartmouth begins at 4 p.m.