Men's Hockey: Checking In on A Storied Rivalry

Danny Biega scored the game winning goal on the power play last season to defeat Cornell at Lynah Rink 4-3. Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletic Dept. Communications.

The Crimson overcame some adversity in the form of a disallowed goal and two one-goal deficits to earn a 2-2 tie against the Bobcats last Saturday. Now they are looking for the first win of the young season and for Harvard fans, it could not come at a better time than over arch-rival Cornell. Cornell, meanwhile, is hoping to avoid a small losing streak after dropping a 5-4 decision to Brown. Other than that, it'll be the same Harvard-Cornell as always in terms of atmosphere.
Key Storylines: For Harvard, it is all about the power play tonight. The Crimson are on a small streak of having scored at least one PPG in their last 6 games, including 13 PPGs in the last 8 ECAC contests, including the 3 scored in Ithaca last season to propel Harvard to the win. No surprises that Harvard's win streak last year came when the PP started clicking. Cornell is 9 of 13 on the PK.
For Cornell, the key is if they will find their defense or not tonight. While they limited Yale to only two goals, they are, on average, giving up 4 goals a game, thanks to giving up 5 goals each to Mercyhurst and Brown. Probably small comfort for the Crimson though as Cornell's also averaging 4.67 goals per game. Not exactly the definition of Cornell hockey but only results matter.

The particulars: You can tune into the game on 95.3 FM WHRB as well as WHRB.org. There's also video with WHRB's audio at GoCrimson.com. The usuals have the call. Game time is at 7pm and pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m.