SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - #9/#9 Cornell used three power-play goals to get past Union at Messa Rink Friday night, defeating the Garnet Chargers by a score of 4-2.
 
The Big Red would go 3-for-5 on the power play on the evening while killing all five of their penalties taken in a game decided by the special teams. One of the two penalties successfully killed off by Union were done so with 1:41 still left on their final penalty as the clock hit its final zeroes.
 
Union opened the scoring, as first-year Maddie Leaney potted her fifth goal of the season to give the Garnet Chargers the first lead. Leaney cleaned up the rebound on junior Ashley Adams's shot 14:33 into the game after Adams entered the puck into the Cornell zone and brought it back behind the Big Red net, before senior Emily King's forecheck gave Adams an opportunity from in close, and Leaney finished the job. 
 
Cornell responded quickly however, scoring a pair of goals in the final 5:27 of the first to take the lead into the first intermission. Katie Chan scored the first of Cornell's three personnel advantage goals to tie the game back up 1:16 after Union took the lead, and Avi Adam scored her first of two goals on the evening to give the Big Red the lead seven seconds before the opening period ended.
 
The first nine minutes of the second were quiet before a pair of Union penalties gave Cornell the opportunity to add some insurance.
 
After a cross-check and a slash gave the Big Red an extended 5-on-3, Lily Delianedis scored 27 seconds in to extend Cornell's lead to two. Adam's second of the night would come 1:15 later on the 5-on-4 to push the lead to three.
 
Union didn't go away, scoring again in the final minutes of the period to bring the game back to two. Sophomore Stephanie Bourque held the puck at the left point before she put a spin move on a Cornell defender to get open ice as she moved towards the slot, and used the three bodies between her and Big Red goaltender Deanna Fraser as a screen for her second goal of the season, now doubling her tally from her freshman campaign.
 
Union had four advantages in the final 26:23 of the game, but couldn't cash in. The Garnet Chargers fired nine shots on the power play, including five on the two they had in the third period. Cornell outshot Union in the contest, 31-25, while also winning the battle of the faceoff dot, 34-29.
 
Three of Cornell's four goals came from in close. Chan's goal came as senior Meredith Killian blocked a shot from Izzy Daniel that died just feet in front of junior Sophie Matsoukas, while the first goal from Adam came on a two-on-one and was finished going right to left. Delianedis's goal came with Union out of sorts two bodies down and finished with the backhand on the doorstep.
 
Matsoukas did all she could holding her ground, stopping 27 total shots in the contest, including six on the penalty kill.
 
Union, now 4-6-1, will look to put the loss behind them as they welcome #3/#3 Colgate to Messa Rink Saturday at 3, wrapping up a testing weekend to open the home part of their 2023-24 ECAC Hockey slate.