No. 5 Cornell women’s ice hockey wrapped up its weekend in Vermont with a strong 5-1 win over the Catamounts on Saturday at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Big Red moved to 10-3-1 on the year, earning a split in the two-game set, while Vermont fell to 6-10-2.
Cornell controlled play throughout, getting goals from Abby Thibodeau, Piper Grober, Georgia Schiff—who scored twice—and Mckenna Van Gelder. Eight different skaters recorded assists as the Big Red generated steady pressure in all three periods. Vermont’s lone goal came from Julia Mesplede, her third of the series.
Thibodeau opened the scoring midway through the first period with a blast from the blue line. Cornell nearly doubled its lead on a power play shortly after, but Vermont’s penalty kill held firm. The Big Red stretched the advantage to 2-0 in the second when Grober cleaned up a rebound. Both sides had multiple chances on special teams that period, but neither converted.
Cornell pulled away in the third. Schiff extended the lead early in the frame, then added a power-play strike midway through to make it 4-0. Mesplede broke up the shutout bid later in the period, but Van Gelder answered with under two minutes left to seal the victory.
Annelies Bergmann finished with 20 saves in Cornell’s win, while Vermont’s Ellie Simmons stopped 25 shots.
Cornell returns to Lynah Rink next weekend for a key ECAC Hockey matchup against No. 9 Quinnipiac and No. 13 Princeton.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].