Women's Hockey - at Cornell (ECAC Semifinal)

For the second straight season the Engineers found themselves in the ECAC semifinals, playing for another chance to fight for the league crown. Unlike last season, which saw RPI hold Harvard to just two goals on 50 shots, the Engineers would be unable to keep Cornell off the board, letting a 4-goal second period pave the way for Cornell to ride a 5-4 victory in the ECAC Championship.

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Cornell

Wright/Harrison/Horton
Padmore/Dunlop/Weidner
Naslund/Vandegrift/O'Keefe
Guillimette/Jakubowski/Stapleton

Gersten/Castignetti
Le Donne/Vadner
Gaylord/Daniels

van der Bliek

RPI did not get off to a good start in this one, surrendering the game's first goal only 3:26 into the first period, however Kendra Dunlop had an answer at 12:19 of the frame as she took a pass from Whitney Naslund and fired a wrist shot past Cornell goalie Amanda Mazzotta to tie the game at one.

The second period...was a disaster from top to bottom for the Engineers. They were outshot 18-1 in the period, outworked, and most importantly outscored 4-0 by the Big Red (all even strength goals) within the first 13:10 of the period at nearly even 4-minute intervals. Down 5-1 heading into the locker room and being outshot 24-6, it looked like RPI's chances of making the championship were long gone.

But the Engineers weren't ready to go down without a fight, and in a thrilling third period that saw them outshoot their hosts 8-5, they scored three goals to bring the score to within one and nearly make a complete comeback from a killer 4-goal defecit. Whitney Naslund opened the late scoring with a goal at 10:52 of the period. With a Cornell player in the box about five minutes later, Coach Burke pulled van der Bliek in favor of the extra attacker and Laura Gersten made the score 5-3 with the 6-on-4 skater advantage. 2:47 after the goal, Burke would pull van der Bliek again, and Whitney Naslund cut across the crease and found an opening to make the score 5-4.

The final 90 seconds saw RPI unable to knot the score, and Cornell advanced to the championship game against Clarkson. Cornell went on to win that game 4-3. Cornell, Harvard, and Clarkson will all represent the ECAC in the NCAA Tournament beginning next weekend.

We'll have an overall season recap along with results from the NCAA Tournament games next weekend.

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#4 RPI at #1 (8)Cornell
ECAC Hockey Semifinal – Lynah Rink (Ithaca, NY)
3/5/10 - 7:00pm
Cornell 5, RPI 4

BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/wcorren1.m05
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20100305&vis=rpi&home=cor&gender=w

RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2010/3/5/WICE_0305101911.aspx
CU: http://cornellbigred.com/news/2010/3/5/WICE_0305100642.aspx

RECORD: 16-15-6 (2-2 playoffs, 2-1 quarterfinals, 0-1 semifinal)

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Semifinal Results:

#1 Cornell vs. #4 RPI - Cornell wins 5-4
#2 Clarkson vs. #3 Harvard - Clarkson wins 3-2

Championship Result:

#1 Cornell vs. #2 Clarkson - Cornell wins 4-3 (OT)

NCAA Tournament Seedings:

(1) Mercyhurst vs. (8) Boston University
(2) Minnesota-Duluth vs. (7) New Hampshire
(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Clarkson
(4) Harvard vs. (5) Cornell

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WOMEN’S HOCKEY

The Engineers went 0-1 last week, falling to eighth-ranked Cornell, 5-4, in the ECAC Hockey Semifinals, on Friday night in Ithaca. Senior Whitney Naslund (Bloomington, MN) led a late comeback after trailing 5-1, midway through the third period, scoring two goals, while adding an assist earlier in the contest. Rensselaer concludes its 2009-10 season with a 16-15-6 overall record, including an 11-7-4 mark in ECAC Hockey.