Last season, women’s hockey lost only three games away from Lynah Rink. The Red’s first road loss was a 2-1 defeat in the second game of the season against Mercyhurst and the two other defeats came at the hands of Ohio State, in the early-season Ice Breaker Tournament and in the Frozen Four.
This weekend, No. 5 Cornell (2-0) will travel for the first time since the Frozen Four, hoping to recapture the success last year’s squad had away from Ithaca.
“Good teams find ways to play well on the road,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “We have to do that.”
Cornell’s first road games will also be its first ECAC and Ivy League matchups: Harvard (2-0) and Dartmouth (0-2). Last winter, the Red captured the Ivy League championship for a second year in a row, and games against the Ancient Eight have special significance for the team.
“We only play 10 Ivy League games, so [if] you lose one or two of those games, chances are you’re most likely not going to win the Ivy League,” Derraugh said. “Not only do they count for the Ivy League, but they’re also counting for the ECAC. … Every game is important, but obviously when a game counts in two separate leagues, that gives it a little bit more weight.”
Scouting the Crimson
The Red will open its weekend series at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. Harvard is a historic women’s hockey powerhouse — boasting six ECAC and 12 Ivy League titles — but has recently hit a rough patch after articles in The Athletic and The Boston Globe contained allegations of hazing within the program and misconduct on the part of former head coach Katey Stone, who is currently suing Harvard for gender discrimination.
Since Laura Bellamy took over behind the bench in 2023, Harvard has posted a record of just 4-38-2 in ECAC play and has been outscored by Cornell by a total of 23-5 in four games. Despite recent struggles, things are looking up for the Cambridge squad. The Crimson opened its season with a pair of wins, already matching last season’s victory total.
“I think they have a really good balance this year, they brought in some really nice young players and they’ve got some good veterans that are still there too,” Derraugh said. “They’re a solid team top to bottom.”
The new talent that Derraugh alluded to includes a pair of freshmen, Carla McSweeney and Alexandra Paulsen, who each scored last weekend. Meanwhile, Emily Davidson and Ainsley Tuffy split the opening weekend in net, posting a combined .976 save percentage. Last season both Tuffy and Davidson started against Cornell, but neither could survive an entire game before being pulled.
Scouting the Big Green
In the 2024-2025 season, the closest Cornell came to an ECAC road loss was in Hanover, New Hampshire when — despite outshooting Dartmouth 31-18 — the Red found itself trailing 2-1 with under a minute left to play. After a timeout, then-sophmore forward Karel Prefontaine found then-junior forward Avi Adam, who scored a game-tying goal with 11.6 seconds remaining in regulation.
Derraugh is well aware of the difficulties of playing in Hanover.
“They always play well at home. It’s a tough place to play, especially on day two [of the road-trip],” Derraugh said. “That second day on the road can be challenging regardless, but even more so there, because it is a fairly long drive between Harvard and Dartmouth.”
Still, like Harvard, Cornell has had Dartmouth’s number in past seasons, losing the matchup just once since 2021. Something to watch for this weekend is sophomore goaltender Jiahui Zhan. Zhan made her second collegiate appearance last weekend against Holy Cross, saving 38 of the 40 shots she faced. With a fairly large talent gap between Cornell and Dartmouth, the Big Green’s best chance at an upset might be an impressive performance from its netminder.
Cornell will face off against Harvard in Boston, Massachusetts, at 5 p.m. on Friday night, then play Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, at 3 p.m on Saturday. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Eli Fastiff is a senior editor on the 143rd editorial board and a member of the class of 2026 in the College of Arts and Sciences. You can follow him on X @Eli_Fastiff and reach him at efastiff@cornellsun.com.
