Cornell Alumni Score Big at Winter Olympics

Team USA Downs Team Canada in Women’s Hockey Final, 5 Cornellians Earn Silver

Team USA topped four-time defending champion Team Canada Feb. 22 to earn its first gold in Olympics women’s hockey since 1998.

The gold-medal match featured a thrilling back-and-forth which extended long past a 2-2 split in regulation time. Both squads were unable to score in the 20-minute overtime period and ended the penalty shootout in another 2-2 tie to force a sudden-death shootout. Team USA’s Jocelyn Lamoureux then found the back of the net on the U.S.’s sixth attempt to clinch the 3-2 victory.

With the Canadian silver medal showing, the five Cornellians on Team Canada are the first Red alumni to make the podium at Pyeongchang.

Rebecca Johnston ’12 added a third medal to her previous two gold medals in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 to tie with Kevin Freeman ’63 as the second-most decorated Olympians in Cornell history. Both rank behind Pablo Morales Jr, J.D. ’94, who has five medals to his name.

Laura Fortino ’13, Lauriane Rougeau ’13 and Brianne Jenner ’15 each added a second medal to their previous gold from Sochi 2014, while Jillian Saulnier ’15 earned her first Olympic medal.

Scrivens ’10 Wins Bronze Medal with Team Canada

Days after the five Cornellians of Canada’s women’s hockey team earned silver medals in Pyeongchang, goaltender Ben Scrivens ’10 won bronze as Canada men’s hockey beat the Czech Republic, 6-4, in the Bronze medal game.

Scrivens’ Olympic competition ended in his team’s 1-0 win over Finland Feb. 21, when he left the game with an upper body injury. Kevin Poulin took over in net for the team’s semifinal loss to Germany and the win over the Czech Republic.

In a Feb. 16 preliminary round contest, Scrivens made 18 saves on 20 shots, but Canada fell to the Czech Republic, 3-2, in a shootout. He made 28 saves and allowed just one goal in a 5-1 win over Switzerland Feb. 15.

Scrivens’ 2,873 career saves are second-most in Cornell program history. His NHL career included stints in Toronto, Los Angeles, Edmonton and Montreal.