Women 2019-20

Cornell

Last Season

24-6-6, 17-3-2 (first). Lost to Minnesota in the national semifinals.

“We’re really excited about the way we performed last year. We feel we have a strong group coming back and added a good class in our freshman. Our senior class is ready to lead the way,” said Coach Doug Derraugh. “You need to keep improving throughout the year in order to have a chance to compete with the best of the best at the end of the year. I think if we can stay focused on being the best team we can possibly be in the end, I think that’s going to be very important. Quite honestly, there’s a bit of luck, as well.”

Names to know

Maddie Mills followed up her Ivy League Rookie of the Year season with another solid performance, leading the Big Red with 39 points. She isn’t as flashy as some other leading scorers, but brings poise and vision to Cornell’s offense.

Senior Micah Zandee-Hart is as unflappable a blue liner as exists in women’s college hockey right now. As the goalie situation gets settled, she’ll be an important part of keeping the defense calm and being the leader the Big Red need. Cornell was third in the country on defense last year, allowing just 1.69 goals per game.

What to Watch For

The Big Red lost very few of the pieces that made them a Frozen Four team last season. Marlène Boissonnault was a big presence for them in net, but junior Lindsay Browning stepped up in a big way in the postseason when they needed her to. She has limited overall experience, but showed she can handle the pressure and be the goalie they need.

Cornell ends the season with five games against teams that did not qualify for the ECAC tournament. They’ll need to stay sharp and work on ramping up for the postseason outside of their game schedule if they’re going to be at the caliber they’ll need to advance through the postseason.

They scored six short-handed goals last season. This is a smart team that sees the ice well and has the vision to know when to jump on those opportunities. They’re dangerous because they’re good on the puck, but they might be even better without it.

Crystal Ball

I have Cornell third, but I also think the top three spots are up for grabs and any of those teams could push past the others.

profudge
Robert Morris vs Big Red Women tonight at 6 PM at Lynah. First 100 fans get a t-shirt. Be there! LGR

mountainred
And then win 3-0 in game two. Considering Robert Morris gave Clarkson and Minnesota fits (0-3-1, but with a pair of OT losses), this is a nice start to the season.

Weder
Browning’s GAA balloons to 0.25 after a 3-1 win over Princeton. A lot of the freshmen don’t seem to be getting much ice time yet. Be interesting to see if that changes when the opposition gets a bit weaker.

David Harding
Not on the women's team, but playing for the Korean National Women’s Ice Hockey Team: Cornell Sun Call her a recruit?