For the second straight Friday, junior goaltender Annelies Bergmann looked up to the scoreboard to see a very welcome number: zero.
“It’s honestly a huge relief [and] I think it just shows how hard our defense works,” Bergman said when asked about her clean sheet. “I always get a little nervous at the end of the game when we take a penalty, but it was just really good that we stuck to [a] defense-first [mentality].”
Shutouts are not novel for the Detroit, Michigan native. Bergmann led the nation in them last year with 10, including one in the NCAA regional final.
Friday night’s 3-0 shutout win for Bergmann was not quite as difficult as the ones she’s had in the past — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the visitors at Lynah Rink, managed only 14 shots on net, and boast the fifth-worst goals per game average in the NCAA.
Still, no matter how they may come, shutouts are always welcome. Especially one to help No. 12 women’s hockey get back on track.
“I mean, we haven’t lost anything yet,” said senior forward Avi Adam. “Yeah, we've had losses this season, but there’s still a long way to go. Hopefully we can go on a little bit of a tear here [and] during the playoffs, and, like I said, nothing is written off.”
After a narrow loss to conference rival Harvard last Saturday, Cornell (15-10-2, 11-7-1 ECAC) was hoping to return to the quality of play that saw it put on a dominant performance against Dartmouth. A matchup against a struggling RPI (6-25-0, 3-16-0 ECAC) presented the Red with the perfect opportunity to ignite a much-needed spark as the postseason rapidly approaches.
“We made some adjustments after December, and taught them some new things,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “I think each week now they're getting better at those things, and so I think there has been some improvement in that regard.”
It was nothing short of a dominant first period for Cornell — the Red outshot the Engineers, 10-3, and mustered 20 shot attempts to RPI’s five.
There was a flurry of offensive chances for Cornell, including breakaways just missed and odd-skater rushes blockered away. Engineer netminder Reese Keating was sharp in period one, called upon for nine saves, including a handful of Grade A’s.
Freshman forward Shannon Pearson’s goal with 5:05 to go punctuated an opening period in which the Red controlled. A hard drive to the net by freshman forward London McDavid took the goaltender one way, so when McDavid sauced a backhand pass to Pearson waiting on the doorstep the opposite way, Pearson easily tapped it into the gaping net to score the first — and only — goal of the period. The score was the first from Cornell’s newly created all-freshman third line, which debuted last weekend after an injury to sophomore forward Lindzi Avar, a welcome sign from a trio whose offensive contributions may be necessary in the playoffs.
“I thought that that line was really good tonight,” Derraugh said. “If we can get them contributing a goal, a little more often, that would be great. Certainly, we need to find more scoring, and if we could get another line that’s adding to that, then that’s a great sign going into the playoffs.”
RPI looked to respond and subsequently earned a couple of strong chances on Bergmann early in the second period, but the Engineers’ energy was short-lived. Momentum swung back in the direction of the Red when RPI’s Kendal Davidson was whistled for cross-checking 6:28 into the middle frame.
Cornell’s skater advantage yielded four shot attempts — including a couple of near-misses by junior forward Karel Prefontaine — but none would find a way past Keating, keeping the game close.
That is, until three seconds after Davidson left the box.
Time had technically expired on Cornell’s power play, but a shot from the point generated a big rebound from Keating, which Adam promptly shoveled over the netminder to double the lead. The goal was well-earned from Adam, who had taken the most shots out of anyone on the ice — both sides — up to that point, and also served as the senior’s second goal in her past three games.
“I kind of pride myself in my shot. It's one of my stronger points in my game,” Adam said. “So I think [I’m] leaning on that and having more confidence with that — instead of always looking to pass it, which might not be the best play. … I think trying to build that confidence, definitely before last weekend, was something I was focusing on in practice.
From there, it was as if the floodgates opened. Just 48 seconds after Adam’s tally, a hard wrister by senior defender Grace Dwyer snuck through traffic in front and beat the goaltender blocker side, making it a 3-0 Cornell lead just shy of the halfway mark of the period.
That would do it for the scoring in period two, although it was not for lack of effort on both sides — in the second period alone, Prefontaine attempted nine shots, most of which just barely missed the cage. Each team earned another power play in the waning minutes, but both would come up empty-handed.
The third period saw action simmer down, as neither team lit the lamp in the final 20 minutes. Cornell saw its edge in shots continue to climb — the final margin being an 18 shot Red advantage — while the Engineers were largely stymied by the brooding Cornell defense.
“I liked how aggressive we were through the middle of the ice,” Derraugh said. “It was with purpose. And I liked that we were not giving up too many odd man situations and we were still able to be aggressive at the lines.”
RPI earned a late skater advantage when junior forward Delaney Fleming was nabbed for hooking with 2:47 to play. Bergmann saw her first scare as RPI sought to end the shutout bid, but the Engineers wound up taking a penalty of their own just 53 seconds later. With Cornell content to take the 3-0 victory, the Red handled the brief stretch of four-on-four play before controlling the puck until the clock hit zero.
“The game was just a lot of fun,” Bergmann said. “I think that there was an extra bit of fire in us, because we wanted to win for our seniors.”
After the game, the Red celebrated its six graduating seniors with an on-ice ceremony and video tribute. The senior celebrations will continue tomorrow, when Cornell Athletics celebrates National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Cornell will face Union Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Lynah Rink, with free admission offered to those 12 and under. Action will be streaked live on ESPN+.
Eli Fastiff contributed reporting.
Jane McNally is a senior editor on the 143rd editorial board and was the sports editor on the 142nd editorial board. She is a member of the Class of 2026 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. You can follow her on X @JaneMcNally_ and reach her at jmcnally@cornellsun.com.
