Cornell Downs Hockey Team, 3-1; Red's Coverage Contains Crimson

Harvard's hockey team skated itself into the ground last night, but once again the Crimson failed to win a big game.

Back-checking and covering extremely well, Cornell frustrated the Crimson's hopes for revenge and third seed in the ECAC's by playing a game that was equally inspired and technically better than Harvard's.

The result was a 3-1 win for the Red and the proof that Cornell's superiority is not just the product of the Cornell goal judge's eyesight.

Harvard outshot the Red. 29-27, but few of the Crimson's shots carried any power or accuracy. Cornell was obviously as psyched as Harvard, and the Red defensemen constantly tied-up Harvard's forwards as they tried to set up a short passing game in the Cornell zone.

Harvard was equally frustrated in three-on-two situations. Cornell's back-checking wings kept the Crimson from dropping the puck or passing out front the corner to the tralling forward in the slot.

Still, Harvard almost turned the game around in the third period. Trailing 2-0, the Crimson came out flying for their final effort to tie it up. Harvard managed to keep constant pressure around the Cornell net, but as the standing room crowd roared the abuse it had vented only for a brief fight in the second period, the Cornell defensemen ignored the flying garbage and kept the Crimson from drilling hard, close-in shots.

The Big Red put an end to Harvard's surge and any realistic chance the Crimson had of winning with a sudden goal at 5:39 of the final period.

Cornell's first line finally broke Harvard's relentless pressure, clearing their own zone on a perfect three-on-two rush that ended in the Ithacan's third goal. Brian McCutcheon tallied for the Red, knocking in Larry Fullam's centering pass.

Watson Rink began to sound like a quiet moment in the Princeton game, but Harvard's back was not completely broken. Billy Corkery's well-placed fifty-foot slapshot eluded Cornell's Brian Cropper, and once more Harvard trailed by only two. Unfortunately for Harvard, only five minutes remained on the clock, and the Crimson was clearly exhausted.

Cornell whiled away the final minutes by poking the puck into the Harvard zone, and as the fans mashed their beer cans, time ran out on the Crimson.

Cornell had slowly chipped away at the Crimson in the first two periods, scoring once in each. Bill Hanson registered the first goal on a scramble that saw Crimson goalie Bruce Durno turn away three rapid-fire shots before relenting.

Cornell captain Kevin Pettit tallied the second, wheeling around Harvard's box on a four-on-four situation and letting go a hard slapshot into the lower left hand corner of the Harvard net.