No. 5 Cornell Strikes Late Once Again in 4-3 Heartbreaker; Game 2Saturday in Ithaca
By John Painter
(Hamilton, NY – Feb. 7, 2014) Colgate’s third straight close encounter in women’s hockey with rival Cornell ended just like the other two – in the ditch.
The fifth-ranked Big Red scored with 19 seconds remaining in overtime for a 4-3 victory, stealing another gut-wrenching decision away from the Raiders hereFriday at Starr Rink. Game 2 of the weekend home-and-home set is Saturdayafternoon at 4 o’clock in Ithaca.
In last year’s ECAC Hockey playoffs, top-seeded and second-ranked Cornell eliminated Colgate at Lynah Rink by the scores of 5-4 and 3-2 – scoring a combined three goals in the final minute of regulation and another in overtime. The closeout-game goal happened with :01 on the clock.
The scene of Friday’s crime was different but the result felt all too familiar.
“We’re a team that knows we can be in the close games, but can we win them?” head coach Greg Fargo asked. “That’s the challenge now. We’ve gotten ourselves to a spot where we’re competing with good teams, but now we’ve got to turn the corner and turn those into Ws.”
Cornell won this game when Jillian Saulnier jammed the puck under the pad of Colgate goalie Ashlynne Rando at the far post. Colgate was in the middle of a change when Cassandra Poudrier found Emily Fulton with a two-line pass and Fulton charged into the Colgate zone. She shoveled the puck over to Saulnier after waiting for her to get into position, and Saulnier didn’t miss.
Best Against the Top Opponents
Colgate’s overtime result against ECAC Hockey’s third-place team was no surprise to Fargo.
“They’re another good team in our league that we get excited for,” he said. “We’ve seen our team play our best when we’re playing great opponents.
“Our league from top to bottom is very competitive, and Cornell is another one of those teams that’s right at the top. We can complete with anybody and we proved it again tonight, even though the score didn’t end up in our favor.”
Cornell took a 1-0 lead when Caroline DeBruin took advantage of a penalty shot after Colgate was called for tripping on a Big Red breakaway. DeBruin made a couple of stick handles in front of Rando and tucked the puck between the pads for her third goal of the year with 12:55 left in the first.
The Raiders got even just past the midway point of the period on a snipe from Drubel rushing up ice. Nicole Gass and Megan Wickens played catch in the defensive area and then Wickens spotted Drubel. The junior broke through the neutral zone and had a couple of teammates with her. Instead of finding help, Drubel ripped one from the left circle that beat Slebodnick top shelf on the glove side.
The Big Red regained the lead with 11:08 remaining in the second with Emily Fulton scoring her 15th of the season by driving the net and beating Rando. Alyssa Gagliardi stole a clearing attempt by Colgate in the neutral area and pushed into the offensive zone, dropping a pass to Fulton.
Volpe Working Hard
But just before the middle stanza ended, Volpe tipped home a shot from Wickens to make it 2-2. The senior captain floated a wrister from the point that found its way over a diving Big Red player, and Volpe was open at the far post.
The puck hit off her tape and into the back of the net to tie the game with 48 seconds left in the second period. It was a just result for Colgate, which had controlled a lot of the second period thanks to five power plays and a 13-11 shot advantage.
“She’s been working hard, and Taylor has been one of our most consistent workers all season,” Fargo said of his junior. “You see her name in the score sheet a lot, but the things she doesn’t get credit for is just how hard she plays on the puck. She’s creating turnovers, blocking shots and doing all the things you like your leaders to do.”
The Raiders took their 3-2 lead on Volpe’s second tally of the night – this time another shot from the left circle that looked similar to Drubel’s goal. Melissa Kueber won a board battle in front of the Colgate bench and slipped a pass up to Volpe. She skated into the zone and fired a slapper past the blocker of Slebodnick to give the Raiders their first lead 1:35 into the third period.
“Taylor earns her opportunities through hard work,” Fargo said. “She gets herself to good scoring areas and she’s got a deadly shot. When she gets an opportunity, she makes it count.”
Just Enough Once Again
Poudrier got the Big Red even with 3:18 left in the third on a shot from the blueline that went through traffic and got past Rando. Saulnier passed the puck along the blueline to Poudrier for one of the two assists.
That set the stage for the 5-minute overtime and for Poudrier to begin the game’s final rush. The puck found Saulnier with just enough space for her game-winner.
Shots were 35-29 in favor of Cornell, and Colgate finished 0-for-8 on the power play to Cornell’s 0-for-2. Rando made 31 saves for Colgate in her 64-plus minutes; Cornell’s Lauren Slebodnick earned her 14th win behind 26 saves.
The Raiders had a chance at their first three-game winning streak in more than two years but dropped to 7-20-2 overall and 4-13-0 in ECAC Hockey action. Cornell is now 17-3-4 and 12-2-3.
“The big thing we realize is Cornell’s a good team, but so are we when we want to play,” Fargo said. “Even though we’ve handed them a couple of wins here in the last three meetings, it just lights a fire even more to be quite honest.
“We’ve played them close. We’ve let some games slip through our hands this year – against Cornell especially – and we’ve got to find a way to win those games. That’s the difference moving forward.”