POTSDAM, N.Y. – The women’s hockey team got three goals from three freshman and a 31-save performance from senior goaltender Paula Voorheis on Saturday to top #4 St. Lawrence, 3-1, in the ECAC Hockey semifinal round at Cheel Arena. Kristin O’Neill, Amy Curlew and Paige Lewis all found the net for the Big Red to push Cornell into the program’s seventh title game, tomorrow at 2 p.m. against #3 Clarkson.
The Big Red carried the pace of play from the opening puck drop, attempting eight shots to St. Lawrence’s two in the first six minutes of the game – with the line of Hanna Bunton, Kaitlin Doering and Diana Buckley combining for six of the eight – and landing three of them on frame.
As the intensity heightened and play evened out, the teams traded penalties, resulting in a couple man-advantage opportunities for both squads. As the ice opened up, Cornell went on a 5-on-4 and capitalized with 2:55 to play in the first period. O’Neill collected the puck from senior Brianna Veerman in the left circle of the offensive zone and floated a wrister past Grace Harrison and into the far right part of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Saints continued to charge into the Cornell defensive zone but Voorheis continued to hold the Saints attack at bay. The senior fought off off eight shots from the Saints’ favored left side of the ice and 12 total in the period, paddling away a wraparound attempt from Marchment and stoning Miller four times in the period with stellar shoulder and blocker saves.
St. Lawrence pulled the game even just 3:29 into the second period when Marchment laced a pass to Webster for a tap-in at the left post but the goal did nothing to slow down the Big Red.
Cornell earned a power-play seconds after the ensuing puck drop and just 1:29 after losing the lead, pulled it back. Sophomore Diana Buckley worked the puck up the left boards to classmate Micah Hart at the point, and the co-captain’s wrist shot sailed through the slot, deflected off of Curlew screening in front and went past Harrison to regain the lead.
It would be Curlew that helped generate Cornell’s next goal, too, breaking into the zone with Lewis and firing the feed on goal. Curlew’s original shot was saved but the rebound sat in the crease for Lewis to backhand through Harrison’s legs.
Voorheis did her part to send Cornell into the final intermission up 3-1, flashing the right pad on a 2-on-1 break with 2:45 to play and then making two big back-to-back saves on the penalty kill with less than a minute to play in the period.
Play was back and forth for the first 12 minutes of the third period and then Cornell found itself in some penalty trouble. With Harrison to the bench to take advantage of the power-play, the Big Red killed off 20 seconds of 6-on-3 and then another 90 seconds of 6-on-4. O’Neill came up with three huge blocks on the kill and then the Big Red and Voorheis withstood three minutes of 6-on-5 to advance to the title game.
Voorheis (10-6-3) finished with 31 saves on 32 St. Lawrence shots while Harrison (23-5-4) stopped 12 of 15 Big Red shots. The Saints move to 26-5-4 while Cornell goes to 20-7-5.
Tomorrow’s title match against the Golden Knights – who beat Princeton, 4-0, in the first semifinal of the day – will be the third time that the teams face-off for the ECAC Hockey championship game.
