ITHACA, N.Y.--When the Cornell fan jumped onto the ice to tie the traditional Harvard game chicken to the Crimson goal after the second period, he was surprised when he reached under his jacket to pull out the bird.

The chicken was dead.

And so was Cornell.

At least the birdman got to sit out the third period in a comfortable Ithaca City Jail cell. The Big Red wasn't so lucky.

After a seven-goal Crimson second period had given the visiting Harvard men's hockey team a 9-2 lead here yesterday afternoon at Lynah Rink, the Big Red had to endure 20 more embarrassing minutes as Harvard racked up an astonishing 11-3 triumph over a team that was picked to be a central challenger for the 1985-'86 ECAC Championship.

Captain Scott Fusco led the Crimson wrecking machine with six points. His four assists merely matched his output Friday night at Colgate.

His goals first tied and then broke the Harvard career goal-scoring mark of 91 held by Bobby Cleary '58.

"I'm just glad to get a couple goals," Fusco said. "I haven't been able to put it in recently."

Fusco, who took his junior year off to play for the United States Olympic Team, was the only current Harvard skater ever to have won at Lynah. His freshman year the Crimson claimed a 5-4 thriller in overtime, the only Harvard victory here in 10 years.

The Ithaca rink has been a Big Red Hell for recent Crimson squads, including the 1983-'84 edition which saw a 4-0 lead turn into a 6-5 defeat here.

Even the 4100 Lynah faithful, who had played up to 75 dollars to see the biggest annual event on the Ithaca calendar, started to flee after the Crimson's second-period fireworks.

And stunning the rowdy crowd was half the fun for the jubilant Crimson.

"It's great to just shut them up," defenseman Mark Benning said. "Silencing them is half the win."

For Benning's fellow seniors, who have struggled in three visits to Lynah, the moment was precious.

"This is really sweet," Tim Smith said.