Women’s hockey opened its 2025-2026 season with a commanding 3-0 win over Boston College on Friday afternoon at Lynah Rink. The Red scored midway through the first period and found the back of the net twice more in the second frame, while senior goaltender Annelies Bergmann picked up a shutout after leading the nation in that category a season ago. Here are The Sun’s three takeaways from Cornell’s win.
Takeaway 1: You Never Know Who is Going to Score
Last season, Cornell came to expect and rely on contributions from all three of its top forward lines. In fact, head coach Doug Derraugh '91 repeatedly noted how he didn’t think of his team as having any one “top-line.”
This year, that may be changing. Junior Karel Prefontaine, sophomore Lindzi Avar and senior Avi Adam were the three starting forwards on Friday — a trio which boasted a combined 70 points last season. Meanwhile, Cornell’s four other returning forwards combined for just 49 points in 2024-2025.
Yet the forward group that had the most chances in the opening period was not the top line. Instead, junior Delaney Fleming and senior Mckenna Van Gelder were joined by a rotating cast of freshmen who began to contribute immediately, despite their lack of experience. While freshman London McDavid was originally penciled in as the third forward on the line, it was freshman Shannon Pearson who joined Fleming and Van Gelder to score the first goal of the season.
Junior forward Beatrice Perron-Roy scored Cornell’s second goal, and a defender — junior Piper Grober — scored Cornell’s third. While the team would love to see Prefontaine, Avar, or Adam find the scoresheet, goals coming from across the roster was what pushed Cornell to the Frozen Four last season. A repeat of the phenomenon is key for the Red.
Takeaway 2: The Class of 2029 is Off to a Good Start
Transitioning from high school to college hockey is hard. The game is faster, the players are bigger, and the stakes are higher. Usually, this means that freshmen need a few games (or longer) to adjust before they can become major contributors. Someone forgot to mention that to Cornell’s five rookie skaters.
Just eight minutes into her Cornell debut, Pearson became the first freshman to score in a season opener since Claudia Yu ’25 scored in her first game in 2021.
With just 21 players rostered for Cornell, all five freshman skaters will be asked to contribute quickly. On Friday night, that’s exactly what they did. There were certainly some learning opportunities, but on the whole the freshman limited their mistakes and found ways to help out their more experienced teammates.
“Obviously the pace and the intensity at this level is different than anything they’ve ever faced,” Derraugh said. “They compete hard, they give a really strong effort, so you can’t ask for more than that.”
Takeaway 3: Tired Legs Could Be a Problem
Understandably, Cornell came out of the gate looking a little overwhelmed by Boston College. While the Eagles had played five games entering Friday afternoon, Cornell was playing in its first. Still, the Red recovered after the first 10 minutes to give itself a lead at the first intermission. The second period was all Cornell, with the Red hoisting 20 shots on goal compared to Boston College’s three.
The third period was Cornell’s worst. Not only did the Red fail to score in the frame, but it managed to tally just a single shot more than the Eagles despite holding the lone skater advantage of the period. With Cornell’s smaller roster, tired legs at the end of games could be a recurring issue. While it didn’t matter too much in a 3-0 win, it will be interesting to see how Cornell holds up in the third period in a closer contest.
“There is a concern there especially early on in the season,” Derraugh said when asked if he was worried about the team tiring late in games. “I think as the season progresses they’ll get their feet under them and be okay, but I think early on that’s a bit of a transition.”
Cornell will face off against Boston College again on Saturday, with puck-drop slated for 3 p.m. and action streaming 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.
