NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A pair of quick third period goals from junior Hanna Bunton propelled women’s hockey to a 4-2 win over Yale on Saturday evening at Ingalls Rink. The victory marked head coach Doug Derraugh’s 200th win, pushed Cornell’s unbeaten streak against the Bulldogs, and completed the Big Red’s first ECAC Hockey weekend sweep of the season.
On Yale’s senior night, senior goaltender Rachelle Graham got the starting nod and was tested by the Big Red early. Cornell (11-12-4, 7-9-4 ECAC Hockey) peppered Graham with a quality shot and rebound before Graham sprawled out and covered up, and then was replaced by Hanna Mandl.
With 12:33 to go in the first, Yale (10-16-1, 9-10-1) got on the board first, taking advantage of a 3-on-1 with Phoebe Staenz deflecting in a pass as she crashed the net.
Junior Hanna Bunton added another good chance for the Big Red with about seven minutes to go in the first frame, getting the puck at the top of the left circle and firing for the top left corner, but Mandl got over just in time to block it away. Bunton’s chance sparked some offensive momentum for the Big Red, with Cornell sustaining extended bouts of pressure in the Bulldogs zone.
The pressure paid off with just 42 seconds left in the period, as the puck bounced off a Yale defenseman to senior Taylor Woods, who slid a pass to junior Kaitlin Doering on the far post. Doering beat Mandl with a one-timer to knot the score at one.
The Bulldogs answered with some pressure of their own throughout the first half of the second period, but the Cornell backline, including junior Paula Voorheis, weathered the storm.
About midway through the second, senior Taylor Woods generated back-to-back chances, stealing the puck at the Yale blue line and ripping a shot high before getting another opportunity just moments later that Mandl snatched up in her glove.
The Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead 6:16 into the third period when a rebound floated out to Eden Murray, who tapped it in from the back post.
Bunton tied it up just 15 seconds later, getting the puck on the left wing and breaking in on Mandl. Bunton’s shot went up and over Mandl, falling behind her into the net. The game-winner came off Bunton’s stick just over a minute later as she snuck a long shot just inside the left post. The tally gives Bunton back the team lead in goals with 13.
Yale pulled its goalie, and junior Sydney Smith flung a shot into the empty net to ice the win and record her first goal of the season.
The Big Red returns home for the final weekend of the season, hosting Dartmouth and Harvard with a playoff spot on the line on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20. Cornell’s seniors will be honored at Saturday’s game.
