ITHACA, N.Y. -- Six games against teams that made the NCAA tournament last season, including a pair of games against fellow Frozen Four participant Boston University, highlight the Cornell women's hockey schedule for 2011-12, head coach Doug Derraugh announced on Tuesday. Cornell will play at least 16 games at Lynah Rink last season, a year after going 20-1 at home.

Cornell will play a pair of games against Boston University on Thanksgiving weekend, facing the Terriers in a Friday-Saturday set on Nov. 25-26. The Terriers defeated the Big Red, 4-1, in last season's national semifinals in Erie, Pa. The contests against Boston University are part of a four-game stretch of games against teams that made the NCAA tournament last season, as Cornell follows the home series against the Terriers with a two-game trip to Mercyhurst on Dec. 2 and 3 in Erie, Pa.

Cornell will also play a pair of games against ECAC Hockey foe Dartmouth. The two teams each won on home ice last season during league play, but Cornell took a 3-0 victory over the Big Green in the league title game at Lynah Rink before scoring a 7-1 victory at Lynah in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This season, Dartmouth makes its appearance at Lynah Rink on Nov. 11, while Cornell returns the favor at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H., on Jan. 21.

Other non-league games for the Big Red include a pair of games against Wayne State on Oct. 21-22 to open the regular season, along with a contest at home against Syracuse on Nov. 1. The Big Red will play a total of three Tuesday games this season, with the annual home-and-home series against travel partner Colgate being split up and played as mid-week games. The Big Red will play at Colgate on Nov. 25 before the Raiders return the trip on Jan. 10.

After an exhibition game to open the season, the Big Red will face Wayne State in a pair of games on Oct. 21-22 at Lynah Rink, opening up a stretch of seven of the first eight games at home. Cornell will open ECAC Hockey play at Colgate on Oct. 25, before returning home to tackle Yale (Oct. 28), Brown (Oct. 29) and Syracuse (Nov. 1). After a weekend off on Nov. 4-5, the Big Red will return to action against Dartmouth and Harvard. League play in the fall semester closes out with a trip to Princeton and Quinnipiac on Nov. 18-19.

Following the holiday break, the Big Red will play a scrimmage against St. Lawrence on Jan. 2 in Akwesasne, N.Y., before resuming the regular season at Union and Rensselaer. A three-game home stand against Colgate (Jan. 10), Quinnipiac (Jan. 13) and Princeton (Jan. 14) follow, before Cornell takes to the road for a four-game road trip to Harvard and Dartmouth (Jan. 20-21) and St. Lawrence and Clarkson (Jan. 27-28).

February finds the Big Red playing two of the three regular-season weekends at home, battling Rensselaer and Union on Feb. 3-4 and Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Feb. 17-18 to wrap up the regular season. In between, the Big Red will play at Brown and Yale on Feb. 10-11.