NEW HAVEN, C.T. — Less than 24 hours after picking up a second straight win for the first time since Nov. 1, contentious calls, ill-timed penalties and an opponent with momentum combined to deal No. 10 women’s hockey a 3-1 loss to No. 13 Yale.
“You’re going to get calls against you when you are on the road,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “[We] just have to be smarter.”
A night after committing five penalties in a 3-1 win over Brown, the Red’s (12-7-2, 8-5-1 ECAC) penalty parade resumed, and Cornell quickly found itself in a 2-0 hole.
Junior forward Delaney Fleming was whistled for tripping six minutes in, and midway through her shift in the penalty box, senior defender Grace Dwyer joined her after committing a pair of penalties. Cornell’s penalty kill managed to deny Yale (16-7-0, 11-5-0 ECAC) during the five-on-three advantage, but could only hold off the Bulldogs for the first 2:24 of Dwyer’s penalty time.
“It’s a tough line,” said Dwyer, who racked up eight penalty minutes during the weekend. “We try to be aggressive and physical as a team, [we] just have to stay disciplined.”
Less than a minute after Yale’s first power-play goal, the Bulldogs earned another opportunity when sophomore forward Lindzi Avar was called for roughing. This time, it only took 35 seconds for Yale’s third-in-the-nation power play to solve junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann.
The four penalties, which all came within a six-minute span, were controversial on the Cornell bench.
“I wouldn’t say that I agreed with some of those calls early on,” Derraugh said. “But we have got to be more disciplined.”
Suddenly trailing by a pair of goals, the Red responded. Cornell’s previously dormant forecheck began to hem the Bulldogs in their defensive zone, and with 3:15 remaining in the period, the Red earned its first power play of the afternoon.
While Cornell couldn’t convert with the extra skater, Dwyer’s slapshot beat Yale netminder Samson Frey to halve the Bulldog lead. Junior defender Beatrice Perron-Roy picked up the assist thanks to a slick drop pass — her 10th point of the season.
Cornell entered the locker room trailing, but optimistic. Despite committing four penalties, the Red outshot the Bulldogs 16-13 and had limited Yale’s five-on-five chances.
“The goal late in the first period, I thought it was a big one for us,” Derraugh said. “I thought that helped us carry some momentum into the next period.”
Cornell opened the second period well, sending a shot off the crossbar two minutes into the frame, but failed to capitalize. After that close call, the ice began to tilt in Yale’s direction.
The Bulldogs continued their assault on Bergmann throughout the frame — the second was the only period in which Cornell was outshot — and Yale found a third goal with under five minutes remaining before the second intermission.
The final stanza was filled with opportunities for Cornell, but the stingy Yale defense continued to stymie the Red offense.
Cornell’s power play got three chances to try to bring the deficit to one — and each skater-advantage looked more lethal than the last — but a sixth Red penalty with under six minutes left in the contest curtailed its final special teams opportunity.
The frustrating loss ended with pushing and shoving between the two teams, and a season-high seventh penalty on Cornell.
The Red won’t have much time to rest after the weekend split, a rematch with No. 4 Penn State — who defeated Cornell 1-0 on Dec. 30 in an evenly matched battle that came down to a late major penalty call — is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lynah Rink.
Despite the loss to Yale, Dwyer is excited for round two with Penn State.
“From here on out, it’s kind of like playoff hockey,” Dwyer said. “It’s the best time of the year.”
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.
