W. Hockey Team Hosts First Half of Home-and-Home Series Vs. 'Gate

The women's hockey team will be looking to move up in the ECAC standings this weekend, as it battles its travel partner Colgate in a home-and-home series tonight at 7 p.m. at Lynah Rink and Saturday afternoon at Colgate. The Red (4-16-1, 2-9-1 ECAC) earned its second league win last weekend against Vermont, and have a four-point lead over the Catamounts for the final ECAC playoff spot. The Raiders (11-17-0, 3-9-0 ECAC) also took two points from Vermont last weekend, and hold a one-point lead over the Red for the seventh playoff spot.

"[Colgate's] just like us. They're battling for a playoff spot too, and Yale beat Princeton over the weekend so that throws a bit of a wrench into the playoff picture," commented head coach Melody Davidson. "We need two wins in these next two games to pull us out of eighth into seventh, and then if Yale beats Vermont, we'll end up in seventh, and if not, we'd end up in sixth. There's a lot at stake still, nobody wants to face Harvard in the first round for sure," she continued.

Last weekend on the road, the icers came away with a split, losing to No. 4 Dartmouth on Saturday before rebounding to beat Vermont on Sunday. The Red scored the first goal against Dartmouth on Saturday, but the Green responded by scoring the next nine goals. Junior Sarah Carter notched her first collegiate goal for Cornell in the closing seconds of the game, as Dartmouth recorded a 9-2 victory.

On Sunday, Vermont got on the board first, but the Red responded right back, as junior Anita Khar tallied a power-player marker to make it 1-1 after the first period. The line of senior Lindsay Murao, and freshmen Jen Munhofen and Andrea Skinner scored had an explosive second period, scoring all three of the teams goals. Each player netted a goal and at least one assist in the period to give the Red a 4-1 lead. Vermont scored a power-play goal in the final period, but the Red held on for the win.

Munhofen had a very productive weekend, netting a goal and an assist in each game. She now leads the team in scoring with five goals and seven assists.

"Jen's got a good knack around the net. Her linemates have been right in there as well. I think they've had some good chemistry, Andrea Skinner, Lindsay Murao, and herself," said Davidson. "She plays with a lot of energy and a lot of passion, and I think she's going to be a solid player for the program for the next three years."

Last week the team learned that freshman Vicki Hodgkinson, who tore her ACL in October, will not return this season.

"It's incredibly disappointing for her I'm sure, but she's been an outstanding member of our team. She hasn't missed practices, she hasn't missed games, she's been rehabbing, she does special team videoing for us during games. [Vicki's] been invaluable and has handled the injury and her situation with incredible maturity," Davidson said.

Although Colgate has had more wins than the Red this season, a handful of them have come against Division III teams. The Raiders are a young team, with only two seniors on the squad. Sophomore Cheryl Setchell leads the team in scoring with 17 points, while freshman Allison Paiano has scored a team-high 10 goals. In goal, sophomore Rebecca Lahar has started all but three games this season and has posted three shutouts.

After playing most of its games on the road this season, the Red will be home for three of its final four games.

"It's going to be phenomenal to be home. We've been on the road a lot, and the girls have done an outstanding job of dealing with all the traveling and keeping their studies up. To be able to end the regular season with three of the last four games at home is a nice reward for the players and also for our fans," said Davidson.