Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. – Powered by a pair of goals in the second period and a hat-trick from junior Rebecca Johnston, top-seeded Cornell University defeated eighth-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 6-1 in game two of ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals action. With the victory, the Big Red win the series, 2 games to 0, and improve to 28-2-1 overall. The Engineers conclude their 2010-11 campaign with a 10-18-7 mark, going 8-12-2 in ECAC Hockey.
Cornell, which is the second-ranked team in the nation, will now host one of two semifinals next weekend to determine this year's ECAC Hockey Champion. The Big Red will take on either Clarkson, which will play a deciding game versus Dartmouth on Sunday or Quinnipiac, if the Bobcats can defeat Princeton.
For the second straight game, the homestanding Big Red grabbed an early advantage as junior Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, ON/Canada National Team), who played the hero with the game-tying goal on Friday, notched Cornell's first at 2:13 of the opening stanza. Off a nice feed from just behind the goal by rookie Brianne Jenner (Oakville, ON/Canada National Team), Johnston fired a shot in from the top of the goal mouth, which slid under RPI netminder Sonja van der Bliek (Toronto, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros).
Despite a 9-2 disadvantage in shots for the period, the Engineers did have a number of shots blocked by the Big Red defense in the first frame. On a power play attempt with 3:40 left in the period, sophomore Andie Le Donne (Toronto, ON/Durham Lightning) reared back for a shot from the left point. Jenner was there to dive in front and hold off the RPI attack.
Cornell carried it's 1-0 lead into the second period, but made it a two-goal advantage just 55 seconds into the stanza as junior Chelsea Karpenko (Winnipeg, MB/Notre Dame) roofed a backhanded shot from the slot past van der Bliek. Classmate Catherine White (Brampton, ON/Mississauga Chiefs) picked up the lone assist, sending the pass to Karpenko off a face-off win.
The Engineers answered at the 3:51 mark as junior Alisa Harrison (Vienna, VA/Washington Pride) tallied her eighth of the season. Rookie Jordan Smelker (Anchorage, AK/Team Alaska 19U) picked up the primary after she found the loose puck in the neutral zone and tipped it down to Harrison. She carried it in through the circle for the goal on the doorstep past Lauren Slebodnick (Manchester, NH/Cushing Academy).
Johnston helped the Big Red regain the two-goal cushion minutes later after she collected a pass from Karlee Overguard (Sundre, AB/Warner Warriors) and skated through the right circle for a five-hole shot on van der Bliek at 7:39.
In the final period, White made it a 4-1 lead for Cornell after she collected a pass from defenseman Lauriane Rougeau (Beaconsfield, PQ/Dawson College) at the top of the right circle, skated in and sent a blistering shot over the glove side of van der Bliek at 5:06.
Johnston pushed the advantage to 5-1 at 13:54, firing her third of the game and 25th of the season past van der Bliek in front, off a pass from rookie Alyssa Gagliardi (Raleigh, NC/Shattuck-St. Mary's).
It was Karpenko who wrapped up the game's scoring with 16:01 elapsed after her shot from the top of the left circle flew through traffic and in for the 6-1 margin.
The Engineers tried to battle back in the frame as senior Sydney O'Keefe (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake) found herself alone versus Slebodnick, but the Big Red goalie was up to the task as she saved the shot with her pads.
Cornell's Slebodnick picked up the victory, stopping nine shots. For RPI, van der Bliek made 33 stops.
