This past weekend, the women’s ice hockey team (8-18-1, 6-14-0 ECAC) lost two away games to No. 14 Cornell (13-12-2, 10-9-1 ECAC) and No. 4 Colgate University (26-4-2, 16-3-1 ECAC). The Bears were unable to retain their momentum following two wins the previous weekend.
The first period of Friday’s game proved to be the most difficult for the Bears, as they allowed three goals early against Cornell and were outshot 11-6.
The game remained scoreless for the first half of the first period, but the Bears lost control after a goal in the 11th minute put them in a 1-0 deficit. The team was unable to regroup, allowing a goal in the 12th minute that put the Bears even further down.
The Bears went on the offensive, attacking the Big Red goal, but were unable to score, losing possession and conceding the third goal of the period in the 18th minute.
“I think that we didn't really have a strong start,” said forward Sonja Bjornson ’23.5. “We kind of came out sloppy, and they're a good team. They were able to capitalize on that.”
The Bears responded with stout defense in the second period but were once again outshot by Cornell. Bruno allowed no goals, with goalkeeper Kaley Doyle ’24 putting up eight saves in the period. Still, their offense remained unproductive and the Bears were unable to put a dent in the 3-0 deficit.
After nine minutes of play in the third period, the score remained 3-0 favoring Cornell, but a breakaway short-handed goal by forward Jade Iginla ’26 brought the Bears back within two goals of Cornell.
Riding the momentum of the Iginla goal, Cameron Sikich ’25 scored a goal of her own in the 13th minute to bring Brown within one.
But the Bears were unable to complete the comeback, with Cornell scoring a final goal while the Bears were playing on an empty net in the 19th minute of the period, ending the game with a 4-2 score.
“It came down to us not coming out quick and ready. We faltered in some of our habits, and that’s what cost us the three goals,” wrote forward Olivia Williamson ’24.5 in a message to The Herald via Brown Athletics.
“We needed to play a full game in order to contest Cornell, who is a nationally ranked team that capitalized on our slow start,” she added. “We kicked it in gear the rest of the game, but it comes down to playing the whole game.”
The following night, the Bears took on Colgate in Hamilton, New York.
The Colgate offense quickly went on the offensive, outshooting Brown 4-2 during an early power play for the Raiders.
After committing their second penalty, Bruno conceded a goal to Colgate to go down 1-0 in the first period.
But after a tough offensive run in the second period by the Bears, Williamson broke away to score and tie the game at 1-1.
“After being set up by (Iginla and Anna Gallagher ’24) to ultimately lead to my goal, my excitement of possibly beating Colgate was at an all-time high,” Williamson wrote.
The Bears were effective at containing a Raiders offense that ranks in the top five nationally in goals scored, allowing only a single goal over the course of the first two periods.
It was “a strong start,” wrote Iginla in an email to The Herald. “The hope was that if we started hot, we could put them on their heels a bit and make them play defense.”
Late in the second period, the Bears committed a penalty that gave the Raiders a five-minute power play that would extend into the third period. Colgate took advantage of the opportunity, scoring early in the period to seize a 2-1 lead.
The game closed with an empty net goal, handing the Bears a 3-1 against a highly-ranked team.
“Being tied going into the third period was a high opportunity for us,” Williamson wrote. “We played with grit and simplicity, and that’s something to be proud of.”
Bjorn highlighted Doyle, who saved 27 shots, as a standout player who helped the Bears remain competitive against a highly-ranked Colgate team.
“Doyle played unreal,” said Bjornson. “She always helps us have success by keeping teams off the scoreboard, so that was really huge (in) the Colgate game.”
The Bears look to close out the regular season on a high note in two Ivy League games at home this weekend — a Friday night matchup against Harvard and a Saturday showdown against Dartmouth. This weekend’s games will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
Dennis Carey is a Sports Editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting vinyl records, and poorly playing the guitar in his spare time.
