This Game is More Than a Rivalry

It's more than chickens and fish. It's hockey.

Recently the Harvard-Cornell hockey rivalry, which resumes tomorrow afternoon at Bright Center, has become better known for its in-the-stands antics than its on-the-ice show.

But Harvard-Cornell is first and foremost a superb hockey match-up.

Forget the chickens that get tied to goalposts. Forget the fish that fly from the crowd.

Nine of the last 38 Harvard-Cornell games have gone into overtime.

The series began in a rink named after the original Big Red. On January 8, 1910, Harvard and Cornell played in St. Nicholas Rink in New York. The teams fielded seven players apiece and played 20-minute halves. Harvard triumphed, 5-0.

In recent years, Harvard-Cornell has been a battle for league and national supremacy. It's Michigan versus Ohio State. It's the Lakers versus the Celtics.

Cornell won national championships in 1967 and 1970, when the team went 29-0. Harvard has been to six of the last seven NCAA Tournaments.

Of the 60 games played since 1960, 19 have been decided by one goal, 11 by two goals. There have been two ties.

There is a numerology to Harvard-Cornell. Close games tend to end 4-3 or 5-4.

And the winning goals have rarely been pretty:

January 9, 1971: With 3:35 left in overtime, Harvard was on a power play. But Cornell forward Kevin Pettit chased down the puck in the corner and fired a pass to Jim Higgs, who slipped a shot into the Harvard net. Cornell 5, Harvard 4.

January 16, 1974: Three minutes into overtime, Cornell forward Bob Peace slipped off with the puck and raced unstopped to the Harvard net. Harvard goalie Jim Murray stood waiting. Peace shoved a shot under Murray's pads. Cornell 5, Harvard 4.

February 23, 1978: With 18 seconds remaining in overtime, three Cornell skaters raced to the Harvard goal. Two Crimson defensemen and goalie John Hynes waited. Cornell wing Rick Box passed to freshman Roy Kerling who passed to Co-Captain Lance Nethery. Nethery flipped a wrist shot over Hynes' right shoulder. Cornell 4, Harvard 3.

February 12, 1982: Three-and-a-half minutes into overtime, Harvard freshman Scott Fusco took a pass from Greg Olson in front of the Big Red net. Fusco stood still. Cornell goalie Brian Hayward stood still. Then Fusco moved, poking a shot between Hayward's pads. Harvard 5, Cornell 4.

February 17, 1985: Cornell forward Dave Shippel dribbled a shot off a face-off past Harvard goalie Grant Blair four minutes into overtime. Blair was stunned. Then he was angry. No goal, he insisted to the referee. It had not crossed the line, he yelled. It had not touched the net. Cornell 5, Harvard 4.

February 16, 1986: It was the biggest goal Lane MacDonald never scored. With seven minutes leftin overtime and Harvard on the power play, Crimsondefenseman Randy "Bud" Taylor fired a shot fromthe point. It screamed past Cornell goalie DougDadswell and into the back of the net. Theofficial scorer gave MacDonald, who had beenhanging out near the goal mouth, credit for thegoal. After the game, MacDonald admitted he hadnot touched the puck. Harvard 4, Cornell 3.

Not surprisingly, the Big Red and the Crimsonare traditionally the two toughest teams in theECAC. Cornell has won the most leaguechampionships--seven. Harvard is second with four.

Cornell and Harvard have the only winningrecords in ECAC Tournament play. Cornell is41-16-1, Harvard 36-19-1.

Puck Pluck

But for all the excitement, this match-up hasalso turned bitter. Cornell's Pettit was calledfor a five-minute major in the '71 match-up fortwice drawing Crimson blood. In 1985, CornellTri-Captain Mike Schafer tried to hit HarvardCoach Bill Cleary with a puck. Schafer fired fromcenter ice. The puck missed Cleary's head byinches.

Harvard-Cornell can get ugly. But it is neverdull