ITHACA, N.Y. – The Dartmouth women's hockey team returned to the ice Saturday for a matchup with the No. 10 Big Red. Despite giving up two goals early, the Big Green kept the game close for a while but were unable to hold on as Cornell came away with the 4-0 victory.
With the loss, Dartmouth falls to 0-10 and 0-8 against ECAC Hockey opponents.
Despite an early power play opportunity for the Big Green, Cornell got on the score sheet first, scoring at 8:25 of the first period. Just over two minutes later, they added a second goal to double their lead, taking a 2-0 score into the first intermission.
The Big Green had two more power play opportunities in the second period, creating chances with the advantage and at full strength. They also killed off two penalties of their own, one that trickled over from the first period and one for a full two minutes.
While Cornell outshot the Big Green 10-7 in the second period, neither team was able to find the back of the net as the score remained 2-0 headed into the third.
Dartmouth continued to fight and play strong in a physical battle with Cornell, despite being down 2-0. Just over halfway through the frame, the 40-minute scoreless stretch came to an end as the Big Red added two goals just over a minute apart to double their lead again, ultimately earning the 4-0 victory.
Even though the Big Green could not come away with the win, Head Coach
Maura Crowell said Saturday's matchup was much more on par with how Dartmouth wants to play.
"That was more like it for our team. Despite the first 10 minutes where [Cornell] got two nice goals there, I loved our response to that," Crowell said. "I thought we played one of our grittiest games… Having 40 minutes from the first to the third of scoreless hockey where I thought we had some really good looks, was very encouraging for our group. I think we took another step today where we played a tougher style, more structured style against a very fast, very quick team."
The Big Green will not return to the ice for game action until after Thanksgiving, but Crowell said her team will continue to work.
"We're just getting back to work and continue to elevate our game and find the areas that we can find tune," Crowell said. "We had a lot of looks on the power play today, we want that to continue to be cranking. Our PK was 100%, so that was really encouraging and we want to continue to hone in on those details."
Dartmouth women's hockey will play their next games on November 29 and 30 at Thompson Arena, welcoming Minnesota State – Mankato to Hanover.
You can purchase tickets to see the Big Green live
here.