ITHACA, N.Y. – The energy at Lynah Rink on Friday night was electric as the No. 7 women’s hockey team took down No. 3 Colgate, 2-1. The victory marked the fourth top-10 win for Cornell this season.
“I thought obviously it was an exciting game,” said head coach Doug Derraugh. “Big finish at the end. It seems like every game that we have with Colgate is one goal one way or the other. I thought that they carried a lot of the play in the first period. I thought that we looked a bit nervous – our play was a bit erratic, maybe a bit chaotic.”
“I thought we settled in a little bit better in the second and third and played better from then on, but obviously it was a game that could have gone either way. Colgate puts a lot of pressure on you. They got a lot of big bodies. They create a lot of opportunities and fortunately for us we got great goaltending from Marlene (Boissonnault).”
Maddie Mills, Jaime Bourbonnais and Boissonnault all highlighted the Big Red’s winning efforts with Mills and Bourbonnais each netting a goal Boissonnault notching a career-high save total of 34 to shut down the Raiders.
Mills set the tone for the evening with a score 11 minutes and 32 seconds into the game. Bourbonnais sent over a perfect cross to Mills from the far side of the rink where the freshman then ensued in a one-on-one battle with the opposing goaltender that she did not lose. Mills crossed over and splashed in the puck backhanded to put the team up, 1-0.
Bourbonnais’ game winner came early in the third period off of feeds from Grace Graham and Diana Buckley. After getting the puck from Graham, who was positioned against the boards, Bourbonnais sent in an absolute laser from back by the blue line to seal the game.
Colgate’s lone goal of the match came just a minute and 15 seconds after Mills’ game-opening strike. Olivia Zafuto showed some impressive footwork and puck control and she dodged several Cornell skaters to equalize, but the Big Red’s impressive defensive work made all the difference, stifling the Raiders’ sixth-ranked offense to well below its 3.81 goal per game average.
Boissonnault was once again rock solid in the net, making several sprawling saves to deny Colgate the chance to get back in the game. The two-time ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week made a clutch glove save in the final waning seconds as a Raider skater had a great look at the goal, but the junior stretched out her left hand to stop the puck and preserve the victory.
“From the get-go we just work our hardest,” said Boissonnault. “We came here to win. We came here to give 100 percent throughout. We worked as a team from the first second of the game to the last second. It was a team effort throughout from sacrifices to smart plays.”
Cornell and Colgate are set to go at it again tomorrow as the Big Red travels to the Raiders’ home ice. The puck is set to drop at 3 p.m.
