With 6:30 standing between women’s hockey and a trip to the program’s first Frozen Four since 2019, Cornell’s goaltender sat up in front of her crease. After making her 22nd save of the night to preserve a 1-0 lead over Minnesota Duluth, she began to hear a chant that was quickly becoming a mainstay of the Lynah Faithfull.
“Brick wall Bergmann,” echoed around the walls of the 68-year old Lynah Rink, from behind the Cornell net where members of the Cornell football team were holding a sign equating Cornell’s goaltender to a goat (an acronym for Greatest Of All Time), to the boisterous and tightly packed student section largely responsible for the record-breaking crowd.
In the 124-year history of ice hockey at Cornell, never before had this many people chanted the name of a single player on a women’s team. It’s no surprise that seven months later, the 2025 regional final win still gives the now-junior goaltender chills.
Junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann came to Cornell because she wanted to play in games and atmospheres like the one last spring against the Bulldogs.
“To have the support from the football team and all the other athletic teams… I think it honestly helped us win the game,” Bergmann recalled. “I don’t know if it would have happened without them, it gives you such an energy, such a boost of confidence knowing that you have this whole school behind you, this whole community behind you and they all love you.”
Yet, when she first touched the ice at Lynah Rink her freshman year, it was the first time she was playing for any girls or women’s team that didn’t have USA on the front of its jersey. In high school, the 6’1’’ goaltender backstopped an under-18 AAA boys team and became the first woman to play in the North American Hockey League. Until Cornell, her only women’s experience was in international under-18 competition.
According to head coach Doug Derraugh ’91, Bergmann’s switch from boys hockey to women’s college hockey wasn’t easy.
“I think people assume that it’s going to be a relatively seamless transition, but the reality is growing up in boys hockey there are some differences as far as the way they shoot the puck and the way they play the game,” Derraugh said. “Her timing was just a little off, that took a little bit of adjustment.”
Luckily for Bergmann, in her rookie season she had plenty of opportunities to make adjustments. She was in the starting lineup on opening night and quickly established herself as an everyday starter, finishing the season with 28 starts out of the team’s 34 games. This experience as a freshman helped set up her breakout 2024-2025 sophomore season.
“Coming off of a freshman year where I got to play in the majority of the games, you come in just knowing what college hockey is like.” Bergmann said. “It's such a big difference.”
Sophomore Sensation
While Cornell’s 2024-2025 season ended with three trophies and a trip to the Frozen Four, it began with a series of disappointing results. The Red went 1-2-1 in its non-conference schedule to open the season, before falling to Union for the first time ever at Lynah Rink to open up conference play. In the historic loss to Union, Bergmann made a rare misplay on the game-winning Union goal.
While some players may have been disheartened by the poor start, Bergmann used the struggles as motivation.
“It was a wakeup call,” she said. “I had conversations with coach [Derraugh] and I’m like, ‘I’m going to turn it around.’ And we did.”
After giving up 2.4 goals per game in the team’s first five contests, Bergmann and Cornell didn’t allow an opponent to score more than a goal over the Red’s next five games. The team ended the season with the nation’s third-best defense — surrendering under 1.4 goals per game — with Bergmann playing a leading role.
In fact, her sophomore year was one of the best goaltending seasons in Cornell history. Starting all but one game, Bergmann claimed ECAC Goaltender of the Year and American College Hockey Association second team All-American honors. Her 794 saves and 25 wins in a single season are each the second-most in program history, and her nation-leading ten shutouts last year rank third all time.
For fans of Cornell, it felt like Bergmann was at her best when it mattered most. In the Red’s four ECAC tournament games she allowed just four goals, including a staggering 54-save performance in a triple-overtime win over Clarkson.
Then came the matchup with Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA tournament. 3,135 fans — a record for women’s hockey at Lynah Rink — helped boost Cornell as it clung to a one-goal lead throughout a desperate third period.
“A huge thank you to [the fans], they make it really fun to play out there,” Bergmann said after the game. “I think it makes it tough for our opponents too, and we just want them to know they are a part of the win with us.”
Even after the season ended, fans around Ithaca continued to come up to Bergmann around town to offer their support.
“It’s such a community of people, just truly like no other place,” Bergmann said.
A New Role
When asked how she and the team were so successful, Bergmann is quick to credit others. From older goalies and teammates who helped guide her through her first seasons at Cornell, to the start-studded skating cast that has helped define the Red’s successful post-pandemic era, the experienced upperclassmen of past seasons helped take some of the load off Bergmann’s shoulders.
Now, as an upperclassman and the oldest goalie on the roster, it’s Bergmann’s turn to be a leader.
“I was able to rely on a lot of seniors and a lot of star power up front, and it was easy to play behind them,” she said. “I think going into this season, being a veteran and being a player that is out there hopefully backstopping our team is going to be important this year. So I am excited to bring that experience.”
Derraugh agreed.
“I think that she had some great mentors in front of her in Deanna Fraser ’24, Belle Mende ’25 and Brynn DuLac ’25 — they were all great character people and leaders, and I think that she learned a lot from being here while they were here.” Derraugh said. “Now I believe she is ready to carry that mantle and lead the goaltending team into the next phase.”
After coming a period away from the NCAA championship game last March, Bergmann is excited to kick-off her junior season. However, the memories of Cornell’s slow start still linger in her mind.
“I think the main difference this year that we're looking at is getting off on the right foot,” Bergmann said. “It’s been a tough few weeks of practice.”
It’s these types of memories, lessons, and experiences from the past two seasons which should make Bergmann an even more impressive goaltender in her junior year. And with the loss of 12 players in the offseason — including two elite defenders — Cornell will need Bergmann to be better than ever.
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.
