No. 4 women’s hockey came into the season with high expectations. The preseason favorite to win the ECAC had an early goal on its mind: start strong. After a slow start last season that saw three losses in its first five contests, the Red (5-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) has come out of the gates swinging in 2025-2026 and has yet to trail in a game. Here are The Sun’s five takeaways from the first sixth of the regular season.
Any Person, Any Study Goalscorer
The Red have employed a scoring by committee mindset — 12 different skaters have scored for the Red so far this season. The current leading scorer is freshman forward Nora Curtis, who has kickstarted her collegiate career with four goals in five games and holds a team-leading .400 percent shooting percentage. In Cornell’s 5-2 win over Harvard to open ECAC competition, every goal came from a different player, a feat that has recurred in all but one game.
Cornell is leaning on its depth, that being said, the Red have still found scoring from its usual suspects — sophomore forward Lindzi Avar, senior forward Avi Adam and junior forward Karel Prefontaine.
Defense Wins Championships
The cliche hockey phrase has proven true for the Red — thus far, Cornell has allowed 119 shots on goal and blocked 48 more. Much of the early success this season has come from not just preventing dangerous opportunities, but limiting opportunities in general. 14 players have two or more blocked shots — junior defenders Piper Grober and Abby Thibodeau have averaged over a blocked shot per game.
"It’s not the funnest thing in the world to get down and block a shot,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “It's not something that maybe gets written about, necessarily from an individual standpoint in the paper.”
It's not just the defensive aspect, but also getting the defenders involved in the offense. Four of the leading 10 shot producers on the Red are defenders. The point shot has been a key part of the offense, adding not just goals from the point, but also tip-in and rebound opportunities.
Defenders have also been driving offense off the rush and down low. Senior defender Sarah MacEachern scored an impressive goal against Harvard and defenders often have found soft spots on the ice for an open pass. This fluidity creates a dangerous offense that also has been supported by strong backchecking and defensive play when mistakes or interceptions occur.
Penalty Kill is Perfect
On Tuesday, the Red found itself battling a late five-on-three in the last minutes of a 5-0 win over Syracuse. As the shutout indicated, the Red killed off the penalties. While these penalties were not encouraged or wanted, they did give the team a bit of extra practice in a game that was firmly in hand.
“It’s nice to, I guess in some ways, get some work on [the penalty kill],” Derraugh said.
The Red penalty kill has not just been good — it has been perfect. Cornell has not allowed a goal in any of the twelve power plays it has awarded its opponents. While improvements can always be made, it seems every player has bought into the kill.
“I think we're still trying to figure out our pairings a little bit who we want on the penalty kill,” Derraugh said. “[The penalties] gave us a chance tonight to see some different people out there.”
When in peril on the kill, junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann has also handled any chances that have come her way — which is why the next takeaway is.
Bergmann is Still Dominant
Bergmann was expected to be one of the best goaltenders in college hockey; she has lived up to those expectations. The reigning ECAC Goaltender of the Year already has three shutouts this season. Bergmann’s start to the season has been night and day compared to the 2024-2025 campaign when she allowed 12 goals in the first five games.
Five games into this season, she has only allowed four goals. While she has not had to steal games yet this season, Bergmann has been impressive, her undefeated record indicative of her individual performance as well as team success.
In Cornell’s season-opening 3-0 win against Boston College, she denied a breakaway opportunity and later shut down a rebound chance with an acrobatic save. Bergmann has stepped up when needed and is looking poised to potentially add to her personal trophy case.
“Annelies has been there for us,” Derraugh said.
While playing fewer games than many of NCAA goalies due to the Ivy League’s late start, Bergmann ranks second in the nation in goals allowed with four. She also has posted an impressive .80 goals per game average and the second-best save percentage— .966 percent — in Division I. This season, Bergmann has made 20-plus saves in four out of five games. While the defense has limited opportunities, Bergmann has still been tested and passed with flying colors.
Consistent Starts and Finishes
Though the Red’s record remains perfect, the team has suffered from slow starts or lackluster finishes. In its biggest test this season versus Harvard, the Red did not play an ideal opening frame.
“We didn't have the greatest first period in that game. I thought we came with energy, but I thought we were scattered in our play,” Derraugh said.
Despite its recurring slow starts, the Red have scored in the first period every game this season.
Cornell has also struggled finishing games, twice ending games on the penalty kill. In the 4-2 win over Boston College, the Red allowed two goals in six minutes of the third frame.
“I think we got the 4-0 lead and played sort of carefully,” Derraugh said after the game. “We just let them come in the zone and they just kept coming in waves.”
The Dartmouth game is perhaps the best example of what the Red can accomplish.
“I thought Dartmouth was our most complete game this year,” Derraugh said. ”I thought from start to finish, we executed really well, we played hard.”
Cornell will host Yale Friday night at 5 p.m., before facing Brown Saturday at 3 p.m. Both games will be played at Lynah Rink and streamed live on ESPN+.
