There was a lot head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 was pleased with after a Tuesday night tilt against No. 4 Penn State.
“I thought we were disciplined,” he said, namely after his squad took 13 penalties in its last two games. “I thought that was good. Penalty killing was pretty solid.”
But when the final horn sounded, improved discipline alone was not enough to will No. 12 women’s hockey past the Nittany Lions. Penn State cruised to a 5-1 win at Lynah Rink on Tuesday, as the Nittany Lions’ offense — led by U.S. Olympian Tessa Janecke — continued its winning ways.
“[I] thought we had our chances in the first and second and couldn't score,” Derraugh said. “And when you [have] a player like [Janecke], you can't give them that kind of time and space.”
Janecke paced the offense with two points and put up a team-leading six shots on junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann, whose 25 saves were not enough to propel her team past the Nittany Lions (22-4-0, 15-1-0 AHA). Penn State goaltender Katie DeSa matched Bergmann’s save totals, allowing just one score for a .960 save percentage.
“It's kind of a similar story I seem to be saying here, where we're getting lots of shots, we're getting opportunities, we're creating stuff, [and] we're not scoring on them,” Derraugh said. “We got to find ways to score more goals.”
After an inauspicious start, Cornell (12-8-2, 8-5-1 ECAC) seemed to turn the tide, registering a solid offensive zone possession capped by freshman forward Nora Curtis’ shot that hit iron.
The Red failed to capitalize on this momentum, and minutes later things took a turn for the worse. A Cornell attempted clear deflected off a linesman and landed on Janecke’s stick, and the reigning AHA Player of the Year took no time rifling a shot over junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann’s shoulder.
With 9:16 left in the first, Cornell found itself in a familiar position: trailing by a goal against Penn State.
“We really did a good job the first period on [Janecke],” Derraugh said. “So you just got to be real smart with the puck when she's out there, and get above your checks and know that sometimes you almost have to not only play her own man, but expect that maybe she's going to beat somebody and be ready to help.”
After back-and-forth action, the Red would find its best opportunity of the game thus far, drawing a cross-checking penalty with 3:51 remaining. The fifth-ranked power play in the nation jumped over the boards hoping to score its first skater-advantage goal since Jan. 10.
Cornell began the power play by winning the faceoff and maintaining possession. But despite registering three shots on the advantage, Penn State goaltender Katie DeSa stood tall, and a successful Nittany Lion clear capped off the kill for the visitors. No matter the outcome, Cornell gained some momentum and headed into the intermission on its heels, outshooting Penn State, 8-7.
After winning the opening draw, Cornell’s power play launched a barrage of shots, but DeSa turned away all three shots that made it to the net. Despite the failure to convert on the skater advantage, Cornell entered the first intermission with momentum and the lead in shots.
That positive energy carried over to the second period, and just 1:27 into the frame freshman forward Shannon Pearson found the back of the net for the third time this season to tie the game.
“I saw my teammate driving far left, and I was driving the defender towards her, so I decided to cut the middle and take a shot,” Pearson said.
Penn State quickly responded with opportunities of its own, the most dangerous of which was a cross-crease chance that was swallowed up by Bergmann. Eventually, with 7:52 left in the period, the Nittany Lions pulled ahead. A point shot trickled through chaos in the low slot and popped over a screened Bergmann.
The game continued with north-to-south action, including a series of missed two-on-one passes from both teams. The Penn State defense held strong and senior forward Avi Adam was whistled for a slash with 4:49 remaining, much to her and the Lynah Faithful’s audible dismay. The penalty kill unit — which has been put to use frequently over the Red’s last few games — went to work for the first time Tuesday night.
The ensuing successful kill provided a surge of energy, particularly after the group pinned the puck in the corner for the majority of the advantage and allowed zero shots on goal. After a much better period for the Red, the shots favored it, 20-13.
Entering the third, Cornell was down on the scoreboard, but not in hope.
“[The penalty kill] was definitely a momentum builder,” Pearson said. “It was a super important part of the game.”
Unfortunately for the Red, this energy would not last. The Nittany Lions found the back of the net just 2:20 in off a clever feed by Janecke into the frame. Now leading 3-1, Penn State continued its pressure on Bergmann and recorded the game’s next eight shots.
A Penn State roughing penalty at 10:44 reignited the hopes of a comeback for the Red. The advantage proved unfruitful as Cornell was outshot on the advantage 2-1 and failed to gain any valuable offensive zone time.
With 5:51 to go in the game, an unmarked skater beat Bergmann and extended the lead to three. Needing an offensive spark, the Red pulled Bergmann with just over three and a half minutes left, but the Nittany Lions capped off its scoring with an empty netter extending the margin to 5-1 with 1:51 remaining. The score would hold, handing Cornell its second consecutive loss.
The game concludes the Red’s non-conference schedule, bringing ECAC play to the forefront of its mind.
“It’s more about playing well as we get to that point [of the ECAC tournament], and make sure that we got everything in order by [the] time we get there,” Derraugh said. “There's some things that haven't been consistent, [and] if you’re not consistent in the playoffs, you’re out.”
Cornell will travel to Princeton to face the No. 7 Tigers on Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. The next day, the Red will take on No. 6 Quinnipiac on Jan. 24 at 3 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN +.
Jane McNally and Eli Fastiff contributed reporting.
