Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Riley Nash scored a pair of goals as the Cornell men's hockey team downed Harvard, 2-1, on Friday night at Lynah Rink. Nash struck for a goal in both the first and second period, and goaltender Ben Scrivens made 14 saves as the Big Red remained unbeaten on the season at 3-0-2.

Cornell (3-0-2, 3-0-2 ECAC Hockey) also got a pair of assists from junior Colin Greening, while Locke Jillson and Blake Gallagher both added a single assist. Harvard's (4-3-1, 4-3-1 ECAC Hockey) goal came courtesy of Michael Biega with an assist to Peter Starrett. Cornell netminder Ben Scrivens posted 14 saves in the victory, while Harvard goaltender Matt Hoyle stopped 35 shots in taking the loss. Cornell finished the game 1-for-6 on the power play, while holding Harvard to 0-for-4 with the man advantage and just two shots.

Harvard opened the scoring at the 5:41 mark as the Crimson capitalized on a miscommunication behind the Cornell goal that saw the puck spring loose to Peter Starrett with Scrivens caught behind the goal. Starrett made a pass to Michael Biega, who jammed the puck into the near post just as the junior goaltender got there, staking the Crimson to the early lead to quiet the raucous Lynah Rink crowd.

Cornell got the equalizer just under four minutes later as Nash took a pass from Colin Greening in between the circles and ripped a wrist shot past the glove of Harvard goaltender Matt Hoyle to knot the score at one, where it would remain for the rest of the period. Both sides would finish the period 0-1 on the power play with an abbreviated man advantage after penalties on Cornell's Justin Krueger and Harvard's Nick Coskren just 26 seconds apart.

In the second period, the Big Red came out with intense pressure offensively, out-shooting the Crimson, 15-4 for the 20-minute frame. That pressure paid off at the 16:51 mark of the period when Nash, standing at the bottom of the faceoff circle to Hoyle's right and with the Big Red on the man advantage, slid the puck toward the goal, where it caromed off a skate and slowly trickled across the goal line.

Cornell had a bit of misfortune when, on a power play in the second period, a shot by Greening was saved by Hoyle with the rebound back to Greening, whose second attempt rang off the left goalpost and down onto the goal line before bouncing back into the crease. The goal light came on, but referee Tim Kotyra, standing on the goal line to the left of the goal, immediately and definitively signaled no goal. The game was delayed for 10 minutes while the officials consulted with the goal judge, with the play ultimately being ruled the puck had not crossed the line into the goal.

In the third period, Cornell kept up the intensity on the offensive end, again out-shooting the Crimson by a 12-3 margin. Cornell also kept the Crimson to a short power play of just 38 seconds and did not allow a shot, as the Big Red successfully kept Harvard at bay over the final 20 minutes. Harvard pulled Hoyle for the extra skater with 47 seconds to play, but could not muster a shot on goal over that span.

Cornell returns to action on Saturday night, taking on Dartmouth in another ECAC Hockey game at Lynah Rink. Opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.