ITHACA, N.Y. — Harvard silenced the rampant Lynah Rink crowd early, then cruised to a 6-2 win over No. 10 Cornell on Saturday evening.
After the ceremonial fish were thrown on to the ice as the Crimson entered the rink for the start of the game, those same men from the harbor of Boston put the pedal to the metal as they skated to the smells of the sea.
The Big Red committed the night’s first penalty just under a minute and a half into the contest and Harvard made them pay when Colin Blackwell collected his own rebound and deposited his follow up attempt through Cornell goalie Mitch Gillam’s legs.
“We had a few guys trying to get used to it and our goaltender [Merrick Madsen] had never played here,” said Donato on the Lynah crowd. “It was important to get off to a good start and just get a good, positive mojo on the bench. When you can play with the lead, it puts you in a better position.”
Donato’s gang killed off a penalty of their own just a couple minutes later, but the Big Red did not convert. The Crimson onslaught continued once they returned to full strength.
Crimson defenseman Brayden Jaw threw a shot on Gillam from the top of the right faceoff dot that was kicked out straight to the blade of freshman Michael Floodstrand, who made no mistake in doubling the visitors’ advantage.
A Kyle Criscuolo power-play tally built the Harvard lead to three just a couple minutes later, but Cornell had a pushback to get their hometown crowd back in the game.
Big Red senior John Knisley showed patience in the offensive zone when he held off on a shot attempt, then wheeled around the net and fed defenseman Ryan Bliss to get Cornell off the schneid with just moments left in the opening frame.
An upbeat home side kept their momentum alive in the following period when Trevor Yates cashed in on his fourth of the season after Gillam started the play from behind his own cage. He picked up one assist on the play and Alex Rauter garnered the other.
“Tonight and last night, when things got going a little bit, we got away from being disciplined,” said Cornell coach Mike Schafer. “Playing home sometimes is a curse with our fans, they get excited and they want to do something extra and they get away from playing the way they should play.”
Indeed, undisciplined play plagued the Big Red after their second goal and Harvard cashed in on two more goals in the period, including one with 27 seconds left from Luke Esposito to bury Cornell.
For Donato, the response from Cornell’s surge was enough for the win: “I think the fourth goal settled everybody back in.”
The closing frame proved that his side was settled as the Big Red mustered 11 shots, but never seriously threatened with a comeback with Madsen turning aside all 11 that he faced in the closing frame.
