No. 3 Boston University pulled away for a 5-1 victory against No. 2 Cornell on Sunday afternoon, splitting the weekend series after the Big Red’s victory on Saturday night.
Isabel Menard had four points for the Terriers, teammate Marie-Philip Poulin had three, and Laura Fortino‘s power play goal for the Big Red was not nearly enough in a game where Lauren Slebodnick had to make 31 saves on a relentless BU attack in the friendly confines of Walter Brown Arena.
The Terriers’ victory was their first against Cornell in the last five meetings dating back to a Frozen Four battle in 2011.
For the second consecutive day, neither side was able to break through in the first period. Slebodnick had 11 saves to lead the Big Red, while her opponent on the other end of the ice, Kerrin Sperry, had eight stops to her name. Each side was 0-1 on power play opportunities in the period.
But in the second period, the offenses once again got going.
Fortino had the game’s first goal, taking a rebound of her own shot and roofing it over the left shoulder of Sperry on the power play.
The sequence began as Jessica Campbell took a high sticking penalty, setting up the Big Red for the two-minute five-on-four. Brianne Jenner won the faceoff, fed Jillian Saulnier in the middle of the ice, and the sophomore took a shot that bounced out to Fortino. Fortino took a quick attempt and then re-shot her own rebound for the score.
But a mere two minutes later, Menard got the better of the Big Red defense, putting home a shot to tie the game at 1-1. And with 19 seconds remaining in the period, the Terriers took a 2-1 lead thanks to a three-on-one breakaway. Marie-Philip Poulin put the puck past Slebodnick on a nice cross-ice pass from Menard.
An early penalty against the Big Red in the third period created the Terriers’ third goal, which would prove to be the backbreaker. A failed clearing attempt by Cornell went into the glove of Poulin, and she dropped the puck to her stick and slotted it to Menard on her left. Menard went to the right side of the zone for Jennelle Kohanchuk, and the senior had space to make it a 3-1 game.
Cornell had plenty of chances in the third period but could not capitalize. The team earned four power play opportunities, including a full minute of five-on-three, but it could not get the puck past Sperry, who allowed four goals the night before and finished with 22 saves on Sunday.
Isabel Menard got an unassisted goal with 1:59 left on the clock when she blocked a Big Red shot and took it 150 feet to beat Slebodnick. A bad turnover in the defensive zone 25 seconds later led to an unassisted goal by Poulin to seal the contest for the home team.
The Big Red took a total of 23 shots Sunday afternoon compared to the 34 it put on goal Saturday night.
