BOSTON, Mass. - The No. 3 Boston University women's ice hockey team suffered a 5-2 setback to No. 2 Cornell on Saturday night in front of a record crowd at Agganis Arena.
BU (4-1-0) skated against Cornell (1-0-0) in front of 1,891 fans, which breaks the previous attendance record of 1,129 set this past February during the Beanpot title game.
The Terriers staked themselves leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but Cornell scored a pair of shorthanded goals 1:02 apart to take the lead for good. BU got both its goals from its co-captains, as junior Marie-Philip Poulin and senior Jill Cardella each lit the lamp. Junior Kerrin Sperry made 29 saves in her first defeat of the year.
After a scoreless first period, the Terriers struck first at the 3:29 mark of the second stanza. Cardella corralled the puck behind the net and threw it in front to Poulin, who slid it through Lauren Slebodnick's (25 saves) five-hole for her first goal of the season. Cardella collected her sixth assist of the year.
Cornell tied it 1:05 later when Anna Zorn poked home a rebound in front of Sperry. The game was not tied for long, however, as Cardella put BU back in front less than two minutes later. The play started with a shot from junior Kaleigh Fratkin. Her shot was knocked down in front to where freshman Sarah Lefort was stationed. She knocked the puck across the crease to Cardella on the right post, who pushed it past Slebodnick.
The Big Red took the lead for good thanks to two shorthanded goals halfway through the second period. The first came off the stick of Taylor Woods when she roofed a shot over Sperry's glove at the 9:45 mark. Then, at the 10:47 mark, Emily Fulton gave Cornell a 3-2 lead with an assist to Brianne Jenner.
In the third period, Cornell made it 4-2 thanks to a nice deflection from Monika Leck. Jessica Campbell added an empty-netter with 53 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Terriers will have another chance at the Big Red on Sunday afternoon, as BU hosts Cornell at Walter Brown Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m.