Last year, after Cornell's hockey team lost three All-Americans from the squad that ran roughshod over its Eastern opposition, it was speculated that, this would be the winter that Harvard. or Boston University, or Boston College dumped the Big Red from its traditional spot atop the ECAC standings. Last night. in its most awesome display this season. Cornell proved how silly that all was.

After allowing an inspired Harvard squad to stay even with it during the first period of play at Ithaca, the Big Red exploded for six goals within 13 minutes of the next session, and went on to demolish the Crimson, 9-3. Now, with all of their serious challengers disposed of, the Ithacans can once again thumb their noses at the critics who claimed that goaltender Ken Dryden was the key to coach Ned Harkness's success.

Big Red Hustlers

The margin of Cornell's victories this season, somewhat narrower than it had been in the past, was deceptive. When Harvard came within two goals last month. when Dartmouth led the Big Red throughout their game last weekend, when Dartmouth led the Big Red throughout their game last weekend, when Brown pushed Cornell into overtime in December-all these seemed indicative of the Ithacans' waning dominance over both the Ivy League and the East.

And even last night, when Harvard rallied twice in the opening period to tie the score at 2-2 after 20 minutes, it seemed that the Crimson might be on its way to the biggest upset of the Eastern hockey season on the Big Red's own home ice.

After only six minutes of play, Cornell tri-captain Dan Lodboa had put the Ithacans ahead, and the Harvard defense was experiencing noticeable difficulty keeping the aggressive Big Red forwards out of its zone. But sophomore Leif Rosenberger put a shot by Cornell goalkeeper Brian Cropper at 7:22, and Harvard was back even again.

And when Cornell's Larry Fullan pushed his squad again at 12:14, Harvard rallied once more. Steve Owen laced a cross-rink pass to linemate Dan DeMichele, who beat Cropper from 10 feet out, and at 17:36 it was tied.

Long Lapses

But early in the second period. the Crimson defense began to slip into lapses that gradually became longer and longer. At the five-minute mark, all five Cornell skaters moved into the Crimson zone, and as a capacity Lynah Rink crowd howled and an inept Crimson defense blundered, kept the puck there for well over a minute. At 6:35, Fullan poked it past Darno out of a scramble, and Cornell was ahead again.

Forty-five seconds later. Lodboa blasted another goal past Durno, and it became evident that Cornell was moving away, out of Harvard's reach. But there was no indication that it would move away as far and as quickly as it did.

At 12:05, with DeMichele in the penalty box for tripping, Kevin Pettit scored for Cornell on the power play. At 16:21, with his team shorthanded. Lodboa stole the puck from two Harvard players and scored on a breakaway. And at 18:12, seconds after the penalty had expired, Big Red center John Hughes grabbed an errant clearing pass at mid-ice, and tallied on still another breakaway. Ned Harkness. grinning broadly, sent out his fourth line. It scored 58 seconds later, and after two periods, it was 8-2. Bruce Durno had had only to make six saves. Two were on breakaways.

At 1:43 of the final period. Fullan completed his hat trick. tying Lodboa for the Robert McGuinn Trophy, symbolic of individual scoring supremacy in the Harvard series. And that, mercifully, was all. The Crimson's George McManama tallied a third goal for Harvard at 19:38, and 22 seconds later, as Harvard's Joe Cavanagh swept around the ice shaking hands. Lelf Rosenberger. Peter Watson, Pettit, Lodboa. Brian McCutcheon. and Jack Turco bra?led on the ice. It was a fitting end to a bitter humiliation.

But fortunately, the humiliation will hurt little more than Harvard's pride. Boston College, with which the Crimson is jockeying for fourth-place seeding for next month's ECAC playoffs, was demolished, 8-1, by Boston University last night at the Eagles' McHugh Forum. All Harvard has to do is defeat Yale twice and Princeton once within the next week-which it should do without excessive trouble-and it will edge out the Eagles for the home ice advantage, although it will most likely have to beat them to advance further in the tournament.