NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale played Cornell very tight in the team’s first meeting in Lynah Rink back in October, but Friday night’s contest was much more lopsided.
The No. 4 Cornell women’s hockey team put up three goals in the first period and two goals in the second on its way to a convincing 5-0 victory against Yale at Ingalls Rink on Friday night.
Cornell (15-4, 11-2 ECAC Hockey) maintained a share of second place in conference play and looked comfortable doing it, outshooting the Bulldogs (3-16-1, 2-10-1) by a 41-13 margin as Lauren Slebodnick and Stefannie Moak combined for Cornell’s fourth shutout this year.
“We played well today and we got some good bounces to go in the net,” junior assistant captain Alyssa Gagliardi said.
Brianne Jenner had two goals, Jillian Saulnier had four assists, and Monika Leck and Cassandra Poudrier had two points apiece for the Big Red offense. Slebodnick (12-4) made 11 saves in the first two periods before Moak came in to complete the shutout in the third.
Cornell has now defeated Yale in the teams’ last seven meetings.
While the Big Red let Yale hang around in October, things went Cornell’s way much earlier on Friday.
Cornell’s first goal came in strange fashion as Leck skated toward Yale goalie Jaimie Leonoff on the left side. Right as she got near the crease, Leck attempted a shot that deflected off a stick and came at Leonoff slower than she expected. The puck squired through the short side and stayed out of the net, but as Leonoff reached behind her to cover the puck,Lauriane Rougeau crashed the crease and knocked it in. Leck earned her 20th career point with the assist.
The Big Red’s second goal came thanks to terrific hand-eye coordination by Gagliardi. Poudrier took a hard slapshot from the left point, and Gagliardi hit the puck with her stick in midair. Gagliardi’s contact changed the trajectory and speed of the puck, and Leonoff was caught off balance as the puck floated into the net over her glove.
“I got kind of lucky,” Gagliardi said. “I just tried to get a stick on it – it was waist-high – and it was lucky it just went over the goalie’s shoulder.”
Cornell made it 3-0 when Gagliardi started play in the middle of the ice with a steal. She got the puck to Saulnier, who found Emily Fulton with a perfect centering pass. Fulton made a move to her backhand, but Leonoff made the save. The puck went behind the net, and Fulton found Poudrier from there. Poudrier, standing near the left faceoff circle, delayed a moment before finding space short side and not missing.
The second period saw more of the same in terms of puck possession, as the Big Red controlled most of the play. Jenner had two goals in the period, both on terrific skating maneuvers that brought her to the perfect shooting spots.
Her first goal started in the right corner of the offensive zone. Rougeau had the puck but lost control, and Jenner was there to scoop up the loose puck. Skating from the end line near the corner with no one in front of her, Jenner blitzed past Leonoff and roofed the puck backhand into the open net before the goalie could move to catch up.
She got her second goal in the final minute of the period after a pass from Leck off the boards wound up on her stick. Jenner deked around a Yale defenseman, who fell down, and had a one-on-one with Leonoff. Jenner whipped a shot glove side, and though Leonoff got a piece, the shot had enough steam on it to continue into the net.
The Big Red penalty kill was stellar again, preventing the Bulldogs from scoring on their two power play opportunities. Cornell has now killed off 14 consecutive penalties.
“Our goalies both played well, so that was big,” Gagliardi said. “We always try to be aggressive in our D-zone and all over the ice and keep them to the outside and not give them too many good opportunities.”
Cornell travels two hours farther east tomorrow for a 4 p.m. game at Brown in Meehan Auditorium, Erin Barley-Maloney‘s 100th career game. With a win, Derraugh would tie Bill Duthie as the winningest coach in Big Red women’s hockey history.
Away from Ingalls Rink, Clarkson defeated Harvard to give the Crimson its first conference loss of the season and move both Clarkson and Cornell within one game of Harvard.
