Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. - Despite a 34-save performance from rookie netminder Kelly O'Brien, the Rensselaer women's hockey team could not overcome Cornell's offense, falling to the #3 Big Red, 3-0 on Friday at Lynah Rink.  The Engineers slip to 8-17-4 overall with a 5-10-2 mark in ECAC Hockey play.

The evening started slowly for the Big Red, who had three opportunities on the power play in the first period but came up short on all of them. Cornell (20-3-0; 15-2-0 ECAC Hockey) had 58 seconds of four-on-three hockey at one point and outshot the Engineers 12-5 in the period but came up empty.

The second period, though, saw Cornell convert on three shots to take command of the contest.

The first blow came at the 8:31 mark of the period off a slap shot from the blue line by Lauriane Rougeau. Receiving a pass from the right point from Jillian Saulnier, Rougeau fired toward the net. The puck went off the shin pads of Jenner and trickled through the legs of O'Brien to put the Big Red on the board.

Just 78 seconds later, the Big Red doubled its lead. Senior captain Catherine White got in front of an Engineers shot near the blue line and then picked up the rebound of her block. White started a two-on-one breakout, and Chelsea Karpenko finished from the right side of the net after receiving a last-second pass from White.

The last goal came with 3:32 remaining in the period on another long shot from the point. This one went off the stick of Alyssa Gagliardi from the right side, traveling all the way past O'Brien for the third goal.

Slebodnick, who entered last weekend's games at St. Lawrence and Clarkson with the nation's best goals against average, returned to form in earning her fourth shutout. She made an excellent series of saves in the first period on a shot and its rebound, and her night concluded with 12 saves total.

The Big Red get right back to action on Saturday afternoon, facing off against Union in Lynah Rink at 4 p.m. Rensselaer is at Colgate, also on Saturday, for a 4pm game at Starr Rink.