In one of the better women's hockey games I have witnessed to date, the
Cornell Big Red fell to the Wildcats of UNH in a close 2-1 contest. In
what turns out to be the Big Red's 26th straight loss to UNH, this one
was a heartbreaker.
During the first period the play was back and forth, though it was clear
UNH had the skating advantage in terms of both speed and ability to carry
the puck around the defenders. However, while the Big Red was on a power
play midway through the first, a shot from the point was deflected by a
defender in front of the Wildcat net and Cornell took a 1-0 lead into the
locker room.
The second and third periods saw UNH consistently outskate the Red, and
carry most of the play. However, when the Red was able to get the puck
deep in the UNH zone, they were able to get some good pressure for a
sustained period and generate some scoring oppotunities. None of these
succeeded. Alana Hayes kept the Red in the game with 48 saves on the
afternoon. Many were big. UNH was able to tie it up in the second, and
finally got the game winner late in the third when Hayes was unable to
completely handle a long shot and it trickled into the net a small scrum
ensued in the crease. Some argument ensued on the part of the Big Red
captains, as the net was dislodged during the play, but it was to no
avail, and the wildcats took home 2-1 victory. The big red will need to
improve its speed if it hopes to compete with UNH and the like for an
ECAC championship. The goaltending is stellar, and the play deep inside
the opponent zone is fine. Getting from the save to sustained offensive
pressure is a major difficulty; however, and the Red will need to find a
solution. Additionally, the shot from outside appeared to be another
difficulty, as Cornell could not get much on the slappers from the
point. Nevertheless, this was how they came by their only goal. Go figure.
For all the nice skating displayed by UNH, both goals came after
scrambles in the crease, the second after an unfortunate and
uncharacteristic slight misplay by Hayes. While UNH deserved to win the
game, Hayes almost managed to keep that from happening. The Red will be
improved over last year's finsih, though a trip to the final four may
still be at least a year off. Of course all this was accomplished
without the services of Captain Dewar, so perhaps the Red can compete
with Brown, UNH, Northeastern and Providence this year. There's one
thing for sure, the women's game is improving every year in the general
quality of play, and with the new varsity squads appearing out west, I'm
looking forward to a national women's hockey scene soon. If you haven't
been yet, you should try to get to the next game near you.
Larry Weintraub '98
Go Big Red!
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