Front Row: Connor English, Myan Adams, Jake Thompson, AJ Fiore, Kyle Ewanouski, Thomas Keith, Rob Pannell, Jason Noble, Steve Mock, Ross Gillum, Max Van Bourgondien, Mike Bronzino, Matt Taylor, Cody Levine, Shane Henry.
Second Row: Associate head athletic trainer Jim Case, assistant director for athletics performance Tom Howley, senior manager Mike Teeter, graduate student athletic rrainer Ashley Mueller, student manager Kelly McGinty, Dan Lintner, Connor Entenmann, Joe Paoletta, Chris Cook, Henry West, Matt Schattner, John Hogan, Brennan Donville, Mike Huttner, Sean Doyle, Jack Molloy, Will Joyce, Tom Freshour, assistant coach Matt Kerwick, volunteer assistant coach Fred Rothman, director of lacrosse operations Mark Wittink, assistant coach Paul Richards, head coach Ben DeLuca.
Third Row: Doug Tesoriero, Andrew West, Cody Bremner, Mike O’Neil, Connor Buczek, Erik Turner, Connor Hunt, Sten Jernudd, John Edmonds, Russell Scott, Jordan Stevens, Matt Donovan, Tony Britton.
The 2012-13 Big Red
With expectations high for another successful women’s hockey season in Ithaca, the Big Red did not disappoint. Despite spending much of the early part of the season trailing Harvard or Clarkson in the ECAC Hockey standings, Cornell ended the season with its fourth consecutive ECAC Hockey and Ivy League championships and its third ECAC Hockey tournament trophy in the past four seasons. The Big Red advanced to the NCAA tournament again, remaining among the elite programs in the nation and continuing to excel just six years after finishing the season with only four wins.
The year began with Cornell ranked No. 2 in the nation and coming off its third consecutive berth in the NCAA Frozen Four. The Big Red opened the season on the road, splitting a weekend series with No. 3 Boston University. Returning home, the Big Red treated the Lynah Faithful to six consecutive victories, defeating its opponents by a combined 27-6.
Cornell extended its winning streak to eight entering late November. Following a tough loss to No. 3 Boston College by a 4-3 score in overtime in January, the Big Red went on another eight-game tear, moving up the ECAC Hockey ranks and threatening to overtake Harvard and Clarkson. With junior Brianne Jenner leading the way on offense, seniors Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau playing excellent defense, and junior goalie Lauren Slebodnick holding opponents to two goals or less, the Big Red was on a roll.
A late-season loss at Quinnipiac put Harvard back in command and halted Cornell’s winning streak. Still, the Big Red had the advantage of facing Harvard in Lynah Rink. In front of a local television audience and a large Lynah crowd, the Big Red celebrated a 3-1 win against the Crimson on two third-period goals from junior Jessica Campbell. Cornell claimed both wins on the last weekend of the regular season at RPI and Union. Combined with Harvard losing at Clarkson on the last day of the season, Cornell was presented with the ECAC Hockey regular- season championship trophy for the fourth consecutive year.
Next, it was playoff time. As the regular-season champions, Cornell earned the No. 1 seed and faced No. 8 Colgate in the ECAC Hockey Tournament’s first round. Despite two lopsided Cornell victories during the regular season, the Raiders played much tougher than their seed. The Big Red needed overtime to claim the first game, 5-4, and Jenner scored a goal with one second left in the third period the next day to give the Big Red a 3-2 win and a 2-0 series sweep of Colgate. Jenner scored or assisted on all eight Cornell goals in the series.
Hosting the ECAC Hockey semifinal and championship games the following week, Cornell advanced to the title game with a 4-2 win over St. Lawrence in the semifinal. Facing Harvard again, Cornell toughed out a 2-1 victory with Campbell’s third-period goal deciding a tight contest.
The Big Red earned the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament thanks to the win, and it was awarded the No. 2 seed and a home date with Mercyhurst. Despite defeating the Lakers 4-0 earlier in the year at Lynah, Mercyhurst came away with a 4-3 overtime win to advance to the Frozen Four and end the Big Red’s season. Still, Jenner and Rougeau earned All-America honors, and Jenner was crowned the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey Player of the Year. Coach Doug Derraugh‘91earned his second ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year honor, and Rougeau was named the league’s Best Defensive Defenseman.
