PRINCETON, NJ. — Senior goaltender Paula Voorheis made 38 saves while freshman Grace Graham and sophomore Pippy Gerace each scored a goal to give the women’s hockey team a 2-1 ECAC Hockey win over Princeton on Saturday afternoon at Hobey Baker Rink.
Graham opened the scoring for the Big Red – the seventh time this season that Cornell has scored first – just under five minutes into the game. Senior co-captain Kaitlin Doering controlled the puck behind the Tiger net and was able to make a short pass to freshman Valérie Audet, who had a clear lane to Graham in front. Graham controlled a feed from Audet and roofed the puck with her backhand past the glove of Alysia DaSilva for the 1-0 lead.
The Tigers would find an equalizer with 5:29 to go in the first period when Karlie Lund drew some attention on the left wing and connected a pass to a streaking Carly Bullock. Bullock was able to deke and finish past Voorheis to send the game into the first break tied at one.
The Cornell defense stepped up on the penalty kill when the Big Red went a man-down on an interference call 4:36 into the second period. A few seconds after Voorheis had two big pad saves, sophomore co-captain Micah Hart found herself at the top of the penalty kill and followed up her blocked shot with a diving clearance to force the Tigers to regroup. Hart would finish the game with three blocked shots.
Neither team was able to establish a decisive edge at the halfway point of the game with shots on goal (18-18), shot attempts (30-30), and penalties (2-2) all even at the 10:00 mark of the second period, though Cornell held the 19-10 edge in face-offs.
As the clock ticked under one minute to play in the second period, Pippy Gerace dug the puck out from the boards – with some help from freshman Kristin O’Neill – in front of the Princeton bench. The sophomore skated into the zone and lofted a backhanded shot through two defenders from the high slot that surprised DaSilva and gave Cornell a 2-1 lead.
Tigers were whistled for a penalty five minutes into the third period and Cornell took the power-play opportunity to put the pressure on. The Big Red moved well around the zone and got off eight shot attempts, though none were able to find the net.
On the other end, the Cornell defense continued to prevent the Tigers from creating dangerous chances by blocking shots and putting sticks in passing lanes.
Princeton eventually began to get some looks at goal but Voorheis made save after save to preserve the lead. With the Tigers upping the pressure with under five minutes to play, Voorheis stood up a bid from Lund from the bottom of the circle. Moments later the senior somehow fought through traffic on a shot from the point and flashed her glove to stop the equalizer from going in.
Princeton (5-4-1, 3-4-1 ECAC Hockey) held the edge in final shots, 39-27, while Cornell (6-2-1, 3-2-1) maintained a 29-12 edge in the circle.
Voorheis (3-2-0) finished with 38 saves, including 19 in the third period, while DaSilva (5-4-1) stopped 25.
Cornell will next head to Wisconsin for a pair of non-conference games on Friday and Saturday against the No. 1 Badgers at LaBahn Arena. It will be the first time that Wisconsin and Cornell square off.
