Box Score (PDF)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. — Eric Freschi didn't start the night on a line with Cole Bardreau and Christian Hilbrich, but the trio was put together by 20th-year head coach Mike Schafer in the final minute of a tie game because of his defensive experience. Except defense was never needed on this shift.
 
Freschi took a pass from Bardreau on a transition chance and buried a shot under the blocker of Harvard goalie Steve Michalek with 40.5 seconds remaining in the third period to give the Cornell men's hockey team a dramatic 3-2 victory over the fourth-ranked Crimson in front of a raucous sellout crowd at Lynah Rink.
 
In the latest chapter in one of college hockey's greatest rivalries, Freschi might have been the likeliest of unlikely heroes. After all, a versatile forward known more as a grinder is developing a knack for scoring goals in the clutch. He scored the overtime winner against Clarkson in November in a short-handed scenario, and he entered Friday night leading the nation in short-handed goals per game.
 
The play started with Harvard attempting to break out of its own zone, but Hilbrich's diligent forecheck forced the Crimson defense to just flip the puck out of the zone. A couple of Harvard players attempted to get off the ice on a line change, and Joakim Ryan made a deft play to knife the puck out of midair at the Cornell blue line and quickly wheel a cross-ice pass to a bellowing Bardreau on the left wing. This created a three-on-two break, with Bardreau staying wide into the left circle before dishing off to Freschi.
 
It was a dramatic end to a game which essentially saw both teams score in ways that fans may have expected to see from its opponent. Harvard (11-4-2, 7-3-2 ECAC Hockey, 3-2-1 Ivy League), ranked fourth in both major national polls, is known for its speedy, skilled forwards and ability to score goals in transition — but one Crimson goal came on a rebound, and the other was a deflection from net-front traffic. Cornell (8-8-2, 6-5, 3-1), the tallest team in the nation which prides itself on team defense and winning one-on-one battles, scored all three of its goals in transition.
 
The teams traded body blows in the opening 20 minutes before a wildly entertaining second period — a frame which saw the Big Red fire 19 shots on goal, a season-high for a single period. Harvard struck first when Jimmy Vesey swept in a rebound of a Wiley Sherman point shot at the 2:00 mark. Things appeared to get worse for Cornell when it was issued a penalty 18 seconds later. But not only did the squad kill off the ensuing power play, it quickly countered with Bardreau's second goal of the season. A Crimson forward tried to connect on a pass back to the point at the end of the power play, but the puck deflected off the defenseman's stick and right into the path of Jake Weidner — who had just jumped on the ice at the end of a teammate's penalty. Weidner came up the left side on a three-on-two, then — with John Knisley driving the net — set up Bardreau coming down the slot. He sniped a shot just under the crossbar over Michalek's glove.
 
Hilbrich gave the Big Red the lead about two minutes later with his team-leading sixth goal of the season, set up by slick plays by a pair of freshmen. A Harvard player flipped the puck out of his zone toward center ice, where defenseman Ryan Bliss quickly swiped the puck out of midair and steered a pass to Hilbrich entering the zone down the middle. Hilbrich passed to Dwyer Tschantz on the right wing, and he feathered a return pass behind a Crimson defenseman to give Hilbrich an open lane toward goal. Hilbrich made a move to his backhand, shoveling the puck over Michalek's glove.
 
Harvard equalized early in the third period on Eddie Ellis' redirection of a Victor Newell point shot. It was the last shot to elude Big Red goalie Mitch Gillam, who made 21 saves to earn the victory.
 
Cornell returns to action at 7 p.m. Saturday, when it plays host to Dartmouth at Lynah Rink in another ECAC Hockey and Ivy League game. The contest is already sold out.