10 Best Games: A Study in Drama

The following is one fan's list of the best 10 hockey games in the modern history of the Harvard-Cornell rivalry. Games were chosen on the basis of excitement, level of play and importance to team's season.

1

January 9, 1971

At Lynah Rink

Cornell 5, Harvard 4(OT)

Two days before the announcement of Derek Bok's appointment to the Harvard presidency, the Big Red and the Crimson engaged in one of the most exciting and controversial hockey games ever played. Cornell entered the game with a five-year, 11-game winning streak against Harvard, but more importantly, the Ithacans were defending national champions, coming off the only perfect season (290) in modern college hockey history.

To top it all off, the contest took place at Lynah Rink, where Cornell held a five-year, 47-game winning streak. Cornell had won seven straight overall, while Harvard had dropped two of its last three.

Three times the Big Red took one-goal leads, but each time the Crimson battled back to tie the score. Dan DeMichele gave Harvard its first lead, a 4-3 edge at 9:28 of the final period.

With about three minutes left, Captain Joe Cavanagh appeared to give the Crimson an insurance goal. "I scored a goal," Cavanagh remembers. Cornell goalie Brian Cropper "pulled it out. It was about a foot over the goal line and he just pulled it out."

The goal judge, clad in a Cornell jacket, refused to turn the red light on. The referee refused to overrule him.

But at the time, Cavanagh's non-goal didn't seem to be that important, and Harvard took its 4-3 lead into the game's final minute. With the upset just 15 seconds away, Kevin Pettit scored to send it into overtime.

"I can remember that distinctly," Cavanagh says, "It was deafening when they scored. The ice was littered with paper. Our team was just stunned."

Cavanagh's linemate Steve Owen twanged the twines after about a minute of the overtime, but the puck bounced off the net and back across the goal line. Once again the referee failed to overrule him No goal.

With 3:35 remaining in the 10-minute overtime, Pettit set up Jim Higgs for the game-winner.

"Going through the [post-game handshaking] line, Cropper was just laughing," says Cavanagh. "I count that game as a win."

Latter in the year, Cornell won 3-1 at Harvard. Nevertheless, the Crimson went on to win an ECAC Championship, and Cavanagh, who never in his career beat the Big Red, reached second place on the all-time Harvard career scoring list (178 points). Cornell, 2-0 against its arch-rival, finished fourth in the ECAC.

2

December 10, 1983

At Lynah Rink

Cornell 6, Harvard 5

The greatest comeback in series history started with an extraordinary pre-gam. During the player introductions, Cornell players skate out to center ice and kicked snow sprays in the direction of the already-introduced Crimson. Sophomore defenseman Mike Schafer cracked a still over his helmet and shook the at furiously at the startled Harvard players.

When the game finally began, it was all Harvard. Phil Falcone put the Crimson on the board just 21 seconds after the faceoff, and the visitors went on to build a 4-0 bulge off their first eight shots on goal. After the fourth score, only seven minutes into the game, Cornell Coach Lou Reycroft pullea freshman goalie Don Fawcett and replaced him with classmate Jim Edmands. Twelve seconds later, Cornell scored.

Cornell stormed back, With each Big Red goal, the decibels doubled, and the fans treated the ice surface like a landfill.

With the Big Red up 5-4, Paul Marcov lofted the puck up into Lynah's dimly-ht wooden rafters. Crimson netminder Grant Blair seemed to lose sight of the puck. It landed in the Crimson zone, where Mark Henderson scored what later proved to be the decisive goal. Harvard Coach Bill Cleary protested vehemently that Henderson was standing in the zone before the puck fell, and was thus offside. All to no avail.

The incredible comeback snapped Cornell's five game losing streak, and Cornell Coach Lou Reycroft got caught up in the spirit of the rivalry, said Reycroft, "Any time you beat those bastards" it's a big game.

3

March 8, 1969

At Boston Garden

Cornell 4, Harvard 2

ECAC Championship

The Crimson owned the third best regular-season record in the ECAC, but the Big Red-first in the ECAC-was a solid favorite. Senior Cornell goaltender Ken Dryden had lost just one game all year and would soon become the Big Red's only three-time All-American. Harvard outshot Cornell, but Dryden proved the difference, making 37 saves.

Dryden's team did have a tough time, though. Cornell snagged the early lead, but the Crimson tied it at 2-2 1:20 into the third period and crazed Cantab fans celebrated by littering the ice with paper. The game remained tied for almost three quarters of a period, until Cornell's Kevin Pettit notched the game-winner with only 3:53 left. Brian Cornell's empty-net goal with just one second left padded the score.

Cornell went on to finish second in the NCAA, with Harvard taking third.

4

March 7, 1975

At Boston Garden

Harvard 6, Cornell 4

ECAC Semifinal

This incredibly rough game ended at midnight and both teams were so tired they lost the next night. In the first period a puck struck Harvard's Jim Thomas above the left eye. The gash required seven stitches, but a parched-up Thomas rejoined the fray in the third period.

"It was a very, very brutal game," Thomas said afterwards.

The Crimson rallied from a third-period deficit with three unanswered goals. Steve Dagdigian gave Harvard the lead with his second goal of the night, at 12:48 of the final stanza. Dave Gauthier's emptynetter with just one second left padded the score.

This was the only year Harvard ever beat Cornell in the playoffs.

5

March 13, 1970

At Boston Garden

Cornell 6, Harvard 5

ECAC Semifinal

The Crimson jumped out to a 3-1 lead but couldn't hold it. With the score 5-5 and just 12:57 to play in the game, Larry Fullan scored the winning goal.

Cornell went on to win the national championship.

6

February 12, 1982

At Lynah Rink

Harvard 5, Cornell 4(OT)

Freshman Scott Fusco's two goals spurred Harvard to its only win at Lynah since 1975. Fusco tallied a shorthanded goal in the first period, but the Crimson took a 4-2 deficit to the locker room for the first intermission. After that, Harvard took over. Goalie Wade Lau shut out Cornell the rest of the way, and the Crimson managed a goal period against All-American Brian Hayward.

At 3:32 of overtime, Fusco netted his only gamewinner of the year. "At first there was dead silence in the rink," says Fusco. It was weird after there had been deafening noise the whole game. There was 20 of us screaming and yelling and it was just dead silence in the rest of the rink.

Harvard finished second in the ECAC Tournament, while Cornell failed to make the playoffs.

7

February 20, 1966

At Watson Rink

Harvard 5, Cornell 4(OT)

After the game, Crimson Coach Cooney Wetland called this thriller "one of the greatest team victories in the history of Harvard hockey," and he deserved much of the credit. Wetland suspended three of his regulars for fighting in the Beanpot final against B.U. As a result, two of the four Harvard defensemen who skated against Cornell had never before played for the varsity. Partly because of that, Cornell "came in probably a little overconfident," says Kent parrot '68.

Overconfidence didn't hurt Cornell through two periods, and the Big Red was up 4-2 after 31 seconds of the third period. The Crimson came back to force overtime, and Parrot's backhanded in a rebound to end it at 2:20 of the extra period.

Despite the loss, Cornell went on to place second in the ECAC Tournament, while Harvard failed to make the playoffs.

8

February 23, 1978

At Watson Rink

Cornell 4, Harvard 3(OT)

Harvard squandered a 3-0 lead in the last 12 minutes of the third period, then was stunned when Big Red career scoring leader Lance Nethery beat John Hynes with just 18 seconds left in OT.

9

February 11, 1983

At Bright Center

Harvard 3, Cornell 2(OT)

Shayne Kukulowicz scored the winning goal 24 seconds into overtime of a fast-paced, hard-hitting game, but the contest was marred by an incident that occurred immediately afterwards. Cornell goalie Darken Eliot was hit in the back of the neck by a beer can. He was not seriously injured.

10

December 8, 1984

At Lynah Rink

Harvard 5, Cornell 5(OT)

The deadlocked contest left both squads disappointed. Harvard thought it should have won the game, but Duanne Moeser managed to tie it with just 1:10 left in regulation. In overtime, Brad Kwong blatantly hooked a Cornell player to prevent a breakaway. Referee Harry Ammian apparently didn't see the infraction. Cornell Coach Lou Reycroft left the ice steaming.