The Harvard hockey team came on the ice as tight as Uncle Scrooge. Cornell's squad of fast, tough Canadians came to play.

Before Crimson goalie Bill Diercks could make a clean save Cornell had pushed four close-range goals past him, and by the end of the first period Harvard was out of contention, 6-0.

The Big Red exploded once again, for three goals two minutes apart in the second period, bringing the final margin to 9-0. Crimson skaters never gave up, but at the same time they never came close. Big Red goalie Ken Dryden was called on to make only three saves in the first period, five in the second, three in the third. None of the paltry 11 tested the 6-3 junior.

The Harvard players wanted to win too badly. Last year the Big Red downed Harvard three times, easily, on the way to the national championship. Possibly because Cornell skates in a class by itself, maybe because it is a team of 100 per cent foreign imports, the Harvard players seem to accord them a respect given no one else.

Harvard's first line started shakily, feeling out the ice in a manner not seen before last night. After 90 seconds, Bobby Bauer's second line came on. Almost immediately they had trouble clearing the puck. Cornell's Dan Lodboa rifled a shot off Dierck's pads to Ted Coviello who put in the rebound from six feet.

Forty seconds later, Harvard defenseman Terry Flaman let the puck slip through his skates at the Cornell blue line and Lodboa and Bill Lewis came down the ice against defenseman Chris Gurry. Gurry blocked one pass, but not the second, and Lewis's hard shot trickled through Diercks's pads.

Cornell juniors Brian Cornell and Pete Tufford got loose on another breakaway against the first defense, and Cornell placed a fade-away shot into the open far corner at 5:03.

Jack Turco's third line was still on the ice when the opening barrage ended a minute and a half later. Cornell's John Hughes took a pass from Harvard's Barry Johnson and passed to Steve Giuliani for a ten-foot backhander.

Harvard's nervousness was now compounded by a loss of confidence. Even normally adroit stickhandlers like Bobby Bauer and Ron Mark couldn't control the puck. Crimson passes were all a shade off target, and pucks invariably hopped over or off Harvard sticks.

Futility Underscored

Harvard's futility was underscored at seven minutes of the opening frame when referee Giles Threadgold sent two Cornell players into the penalty box 25 seconds apart. Bauer couldn't hold a pass from Mark, Bauer held the puck too long and had a shot blocked, Mark couldn't control the puck, Flaman let a pass back go over the blue line, Pete Mueller took a shot when he had none, and Mueller couldn't hold a pass from Bauer.

Cornell regained full strength, and on its first sortie both defensemen Bob Carr and Gurry fell down, but Diercks came up with a nice save.

The Big Red padded its 4-0 lead at 12:33 on a power play goal by Lodboa.

Cornell's sixth goal was a brilliant individual effort by Hughes, knocking down a waist-high pass and fighting both Flaman and Gurry to get off a quick flip.

Garth Ryan and Lewis scored at 12:07 and 13:30 of the second period. On both occasions Cornell had more players around the goal mouth than Harvard.

Thirty seconds later Lewis flew past Carr and Mueller and completed his hat trick with a bull skimmer into the lower right corner.

Everyone Off Form

Just as no one had stood out in Harvard's victories, all were equally off form in defeat. The only exceptions were Gurry and penalty killers Dwight Ware and Chip Otness, who even combined on a break-away try in the third period. Ware's performance prompted the biggest applause by the Harvard fans, many of whom would like to see the Crimson junior taking regular turns.

But Harvard's poor play was all to Cornell's credit. Pete Tufford, centering the all-junior line, as good a forward as there is in the East, and the five sophomore forwards from Ontario--all of whom scored last night--make Cornell's fast-breaking attack a constant threat.

But the big difference between Cornell and every team Harvard has played to date is defense. If Captain Skip Stanowski (the only senior on Cornell's squad!) is not the best collegiate defenseman in the country, it would be because his partner, junior Bruce Pattison, is. And sophomore Dwayne Ferguson is not that far behind.

Harvard goalie Bill Diercks, whose average but not reputation was marred, recorded 28 saves: 8-8-12