LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – It took over 64 minutes of game action to put a goal on the board, but No. 2 Harvard punched its ticket to the ECAC Hockey title game with a hard-fought 1-0 overtime victory over No. 3 Cornell Friday.
Crimson’s Alex Laferriere struck early in the OT period on a pass from Baker Shore, who sold Big Red goaltender Ian Shane on the shot before feeding Laferriere across the slot with a wide-open net in front of him.
“It was obviously really exciting, the heat of the moment you forget what happened,” Laferriere said. “I think everybody in the building thought Baker was going to shoot and then he found a seam back door.”
Despite both teams boasting offenses among the top 10 nationally in scoring, the game played out in a tight, defensive fashion typical of playoff hockey. Blocked shots (29) nearly equaled shots on net (35) through regulation play, as defenders had no qualms putting their bodies in front of pucks.
Few quality chances were generated through the game’s opening two periods, but that did not diminish the intense nature of the game.
“What you saw was two teams that know that defense wins this time of year,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “I thought both teams really managed the puck. We have a ton of respect for Cornell.”
The defensive style of play was something the Big Red leaned into, even planned for coming into the contest.
“We kind of drew it up to be a 0-0 game,” Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. “The Coronato and Farrell line killed us at Harvard earlier this year and we were determined that they weren’t going to do that again to us tonight, and we kept them off the scoreboard.”
Play began to open up in the third period, when the Crimson and Big Red rattled off 17 shots after only managing 18 through two frames. Despite this, neither side could find the back of the net, sending the game to overtime to set up Laferriere’s eventual game winner.
With the win, Harvard advances to face Colgate in the ECAC Hockey championship game Saturday, looking to become the first repeat champion since Union won three straight titles from 2012 to 2014.
The Raiders earned their spot in the championship with a double-overtime win over top seed Quinnipiac in the first semifinal matchup. Friday was the first time since 1992 that both ECAC Hockey semifinal games went to overtime.
