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ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell women's hockey program has released its 2012-13 schedule, a challenging set of contests that the team hopes will prepare it for a run at a fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance.
 
The 2012-13 schedule features seven contests against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season and one other game against an opponent who finished last year's rankings in the top 10.
 
The highlight of the early season is a weekend trip to Boston for two games against Boston University. The Terriers were in Ithaca three times last year, including for the NCAA Quarterfinal contest that went into triple overtime and sent Cornell to its third consecutive Frozen Four. The Big Red is undefeated in its last three meetings with Boston University, including two wins last season over Thanksgiving weekend and the NCAA Quarterfinals game. Boston University, however, knocked Cornell out of the NCAA Tournament in 2011. The Terriers finished last season's national rankings at No. 5.
 
Cornell will spend more time in Boston later in the year, traveling to the city on Jan. 11 and 12 to Hockey East teams Northeastern and Boston College. Northeastern, which ended 2011-12 ranked No. 9 in the country, just missed a spot in last season's NCAA Tournament. The Eagles, though, advanced to the Frozen Four along with Cornell, losing to Wisconsin in the semifinals. Boston College was the No. 4-ranked team in the country last year.
 
Another strong out-of-conference game features the return of Mercyhurst – a team that has become a recent rival – on Jan. 29. The Lakers came to Lynah Rink last season in a contest that aired on local television, with Cornell defeating Mercyhurst 5-1. The teams split a series on Mercyhurst's home ice last season as well. The Lakers, ranked No. 8 at the end of the year, nearly upset No. 1-seed Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Cornell has also scheduled an out-of-conference game at home against Syracuse on Jan. 15.
 
The schedule doesn't get any easier for ECAC Hockey games, as the Big Red will square off with St. Lawrence three times, Harvard twice and Dartmouth twice. The Saints, who defeated the Big Red in the ECAC Tournament championship game at Lynah Rink in March, will play a home-and-away conference series with Cornell on Dec. 1 and Jan. 19. The teams will also meet on Oct. 23 – Cornell's third game of the year – for a non-conference tilt. St. Lawrence made the NCAA Tournament last season and was ranked the No. 7 team in the country at the end of the year.
 
Harvard and Dartmouth, perennial league powerhouses, will also grace Cornell's schedule twice each. Cornell makes the trip to Massachusetts and New Hampshire over Thanksgiving weekend, and the teams come to Ithaca on Feb. 15 and 16. Both were ranked in the top 10 during the 2011-12 season.
 
Other league home-and-away games include Ivy League and ECAC battles against Princeton, Yale and Brown along with ECAC Hockey contests against Union, RPI, Quinnipiac and local rival Colgate.
 
The ECAC Hockey Tournament will begin on March 1, with the semifinals and finals taking place the following weekend in the home rink of the highest remaining seed. Cornell has hosted the last two rounds for three years running.
 
The NCAA Tournament's opening round will take place on the March 15-16 weekend, and the 2013 Frozen Four will be held in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 22-24.