Women's Hockey plays at No. 7 Cornell

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT women's hockey team hits the road for a single non-conference game at No. 7 Cornell on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

Weekend Recap (RIT at Mercyhurst)
RIT split a pair of Atlantic Hockey America games at Mercyhurst, losing 2-1 on Friday and rebounding with a 4-3 win, Saturday.
 
Sophomore defensewoman Emma Pickering scored in Friday's loss and senior goalie Sarah Coe made 28 saves. Senior forward Annie Burks recorded her first collegiate point, assisting on Pickering's goal.
 
Pickering tallied two goals and sophomore Sophia Bellina made 42 saves in Saturday's win over the Lakers. RIT took a 2-0 lead on goals from sophomore forward Linda Rulle and senior forward Athena Vasdani. Mercyhurst scored three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead early in the third period. Pickering tied the game at 3-3 on her power play goal at 3:53 of the third and scored the eventual game-winning goal at 7:56 of the frame.
 
First Road Win at Mercyhurst Since…
Saturday's 4-3 win at Mercyhurst was the first road win over the Lakers since a 1-0 win on Jan. 6, 2020.
 
Power (Play) Surge
RIT's four power play goals in Saturday's win at Mercyhurst is the most since the Tigers tallied four at Robert Morris on Nov. 17, 2023.
 
Weekly Honors
Pickering was named the Atlantic Hockey America Defender of the Week for the second time this season, Monday. The sophomore forward tallied three goals including two in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Lakers.
 
Among the All-Time Netminders
Coe enters the weekend first in career saves (2,2799), third in games played (76) and minutes played (4,243) and 11th with a career .905 save percentage. Bellina is seventh all-time with a .930 save percentage, eighth in saves (876) and tenth in games played (36), minutes played (1,790) and a career 2.21 goals-against average.
 
Top 100 Scorers
Three Tigers are ranked in the top 100 in all-time scoring. Senior forward Kylie Aquaro enters Tuesday's game at Cornell tied for 39th all-time in scoring with 63 points (20g, 43a). Senior forward Athena Vasdani (16g, 22a) is tied for 72nd with 38 points and senior defensewoman Kyla Bear (6g, 31a) is tied for 76th with 37 points.
 
Career Milestones
Senior defensewoman Bailey Kehl needs three blocked shots to reach 165 for her career. Senior forward Athena Vasdani is two points (16g, 22a, 38p) shy of 40 for her career, while Aquaro is two points shy of 65 (20g, 43a) for her career and two assists short of 45. Graduate student defender Mia Tsilemos needs four blocks to reach 240, while sophomore forward Addie Alvarez reached 30 points with a pair of assists in last Saturday's win at Mercyhurst. Kyla Bear (6g, 31a) is three points away from 40 for her career.
 
Century Mark
Eight Tigers have surpassed the 100 games-played plateau. Graduate students Mia Tsilemos (129) and Nicole Ness (124), senior forward Megan McCormick (116), Kehl and Vasdani (115), Kyla Bear (114) and Aquaro (109).
 
About RIT
RIT enters the weekend averaging 2.4 goals per game while allowing 2.3 goals per contest. The Tigers are 13-for-59 (22.0 %) on the power play and 41-for-45 (89.1%) killing off penalties. RIT is 441-of-893 (49.3%) on face offs and have blocked 262 shots.
 
Nineteen Tigers have at tallied at least one point through 16 games. Aquaro leads the team with 14 points on five goals and a team-high nine assists. Sophomore forward Addie Alvarez is second with 10 points (5g, 5a) and Pickering is third with nine points, including a team-high seven goals. Pickering leads the team with five power play goals and 35 blocked shots.  
 
Coe is 5-3-1 with a 2.07 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage, while Bellina is 2-3-2 with a 2.39 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
 
AHA Rankings
RIT leads Atlantic Hockey America in penalty-killing percentage (89.1%) and is second in goals per game (2.44) and points per game (5.81). The Tigers are second in assists (54) and assists per game (3.38) and power play percentage (20.0%). The Tigers are third in goals allowed per game (2.25), and faceoff blocks per game (16.38).
 
Aquaro is sixth in the AHA in points and points per game (0.88) and tied for sixth in assists. She is tied for ninth in the league in goals. Pickering is tied for first in the league with five power play goals, tied for third in goals and goals per game (0.44) and fifth in blocked shots (32).
 
Kelley is fifth in the league with 131 faceoff wins, while senior forward Jordyn Bear is eighth with 121 wins. Kelley is fifth winning 58.7 percent of her draws and Kyla Bear is seventh with 32 blocks and Tsilemos is tied for ninth with 26 blocked shots.
 
Coe is third in Atlantic Hockey America with a 2.07 goals-against average, while Bellina is fourth with a 2.39 GAA. Coe is fifth in save percentage (.922) and Bellina is fifth (.920).
 
About Cornell
Cornell went 1-0-1 in a pair of ECAC road games last weekend. The Big Red tied No. 7 Quinnipiac 3-3 on Friday and won 4-3 at Princeton the following day.
 
Cornell scored two third-period goals in Friday's 3-3 tie at Quinnipiac. Junior forward Avi Adam tied the game on her goal at 13:48 of the third period. Junior defender Alyssa Regalado and senior defender Rory Guilday each scored a goal and senior forward Gabbie Rud had three assists. Sophomore goalie Annalies Bergmann made 26 saves in net for Cornell.
 
The Big Red trailed Princeton 3-0 early in the second period but scored four unanswered goals to beat the Tigers 4-3. Senior forward Claudia Yu tied the game at 15:09 and Adam scored the game-winner at 17:18. Regalado had two assists and Sophomore forward Karel Prefontaine tallied a goal and an assist. Bergmann made 31 saves to earn the victory.
 
Cornell enters Tuesday tenth in Division I averaging 2.9 goals per game and tied for ninth allowing 1.7 goals per contest. The Big Red are 4-of-24 (16.7%) on the power play and are eighth in Division I killing off 31-of-35 (88.5%) of their penalties.
 
Adam and Regalado lead Cornell in scoring with nine points apiece. Senior defender Ashley Messier is third with eight points and first year forward Lindzi Avar, junior forward McKenna Van Gelder and Rud are tied for fourth with seven points. Adam is tied with first year forward Lindzi Avar for first on the team with six goals, while Regalado is tied with Messier for first with eight assists apiece.
 
Bergmann has played most of the minutes in net, recording a 7-3-2 record. She enters Tuesday tenth nationally with a 1.68 goals-against average and 14th with a .934 save percentage.
 
RIT vs. Cornell
Cornell is 12-8-1 all time against RIT. This is the first meeting between the two teams since the 1994-95 season.
 
National Rankings
RIT is fifth in Division I with 13 power play goals and seventh in penalty killing percentage (89.1%). The Tigers are 11th converting 22.0% of their power play chances, 14th in points (93) and 15th in goals (39). RIT is tied for 13th with 413 team saves, tied for 18th in assists (54), 19th in scoring offense (2.44) and tied for 21st in scoring defense (2.25).
 
Pickering is tied for fourth nationally with five power play goals and Coe is 24th with a 2.07 goals-against average.