The Red (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) came into the game in good spirits, with the recent 3-2 victory over the Catamounts (3-3-0, 0-0-0 Hockey East) and a series sweep on its mind.
Before puck drop, senior goaltender Annelies Bergmann stood at 21 career shutouts. She added another to her total as the Red stifled the Catamounts 1-0, tying the school record for shutouts in the process.
Bergmann now holds the record jointly with Amanda Mazzotta ’11.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” Bergmann said. “I look up to [Mazzotta], it’s super cool to share [the record] with her.”
Junior defender Rose Dwyer described Bergmann's presence as a calming influence.
“[Bergmann] gives me and all the other defenders so much confidence back there,” Dwyer said.
However, it was not always clear that the Red would emerge victorious.
The first period was a tale of two halves, with Cornell dominating proceedings from the puck drop and the Catamounts providing late resistance.
The Red’s offense generated some opportunities, but it could not find a way past Vermont goaltender Tara Bach.
Bach was the star of the first frame, making several key saves on attempts from senior forward Delaney Fleming, including a sprawling save on a Cornell two-on-one.
“I thought we carried a lot of the play in the first period,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “[But Bach] was feeling pretty good. Credit to her, she had a really good game.”
A young Cornell team showed its youth in the first period, playing with speed and energy but lacking some crispness in passing and taking an interference penalty that ran until the end of the period.
An early Cornell penalty appeared to put more wind in the Catamounts' sails, but Vermont was stifled after a strong kill. The penalty kill was the most polished Red asset in the frame, and its success paused Vermont's building energy heading into the second period.
“We got a lot of different players involved in the penalty kill,” Derraugh said. “We feel more confident that we could use more players in that situation. Especially early in the season, that’s always a tough part of the game to get down right away.”
Despite the kill, the Red could not capitalize on this momentum. Bach stood tall, stopping one point-blank opportunity after another, including a grade-A stop on a slot shot by sophomore forward Nora Curtis.
Penalty trouble continued to plague the Red as Curtis was nabbed for a holding call with 6:32 remaining in the second period, putting Vermont on the power play again.
Vermont peppered Bergmann on the man advantage, but it was Cornell that came away with the best opportunity when freshman forward Zahra Nauhaus broke free on a shorthanded chance; Bach flashed the leather to keep the score knotted at zero.
The extra skater opportunities allowed Vermont to find its footing, and after two periods of play, only one shot on goal separated the two sides — 19-18 in favor of Cornell. With Vermont dominating faceoffs in the frame — 12 to 6 — pressure was mounting for the Red as a chippy second set up a scoreless game heading into the third period.
Cornell would get its best opportunity yet when the physicality bubbled over and Vermont took two consecutive penalties, putting the Red on a 5-on-3 with 13:34 to play. 35 seconds later, Dwyer, after receiving a feed from senior defender Piper Grober, sniped the top corner of the net to put the Red ahead.
“Our unit was really working together,” Dwyer said. “I just saw a lane and shot [the puck], but kudos to the unit … we were really working together there.”
Dwyer’s goal proved to be the decider and ushered in a defensive conclusion to the final 12 minutes.
Vermont would not cease its attempts to even the score; however, forcing Bergmann to stop five straight grade-A chances in the final 30 seconds to secure a 27-save shutout and a spot in the history books.
The Red are set to travel to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, to play Boston College (3-1-0, 2-1-0 Hockey East) next weekend. The first game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Oct. 23. The games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Cassandra Ball contributed reporting.
Tyler Goldberg is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is a Sun Senior Writer and can be reached at tgoldberg@cornellsun.com.
Eric Joy is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. He is a Sun Staff Writer and can be reached at ewj36@cornell.edu.
