Harvard's best chance to tie the game came on a power play four minutes before the no-goal.
Sophomore Henry Higdon, who was riding a six-game goal scoring streak, first took a feed from senior Jason Karmanos and sent the puck wide right. The play continued, and freshman Craig MacDonald found Higdon all alone in front of Elliott, and once again the sophomore narrowly missed the goal, sending it inches to the right of the post.
The Crimson wouldn't come that close again.
By the latter stages of the second period and especially the third period, both teams were fatigued. That, combined with Cornell's strong defensive play, made it very tough for Harvard to come back in the third.
Just as Harvard had limited the potent Vermont offense to three shots on goal in the third period of the Crimson's 4-3 win Friday, Cornell held Harvard to only three shots in Saturday's final stanza.
"I think everyone was tired and it showed," Konik said. "They were pretty successful at locking us up, especially in the neutral zone."
The Crimson made it interesting in the final minute with Tracy pulled for an extra attacker, keeping the puck in the Big Red end for the final 30 seconds. However, nobody could get a solid handle on the puck, and with Cornell's glue-like defense, Harvard couldn't get any shots on net.
So the buzzer sounded and the Cornell team surrounded Elliott, who was named the tournament's MVP, while all Harvard could do was watch and wonder, "what if..."
But whatever happened, or didn't happen, on Saturday, Harvard made the most out of what had been a frustrating season. The team came together for the playoffs and first knocked off third-seeded St. Lawrence last weekend and then eliminated top-seeded Vermont on Friday.
Had a bounce or two gone Harvard's way Saturday, the team would now be preparing for the NCAA Tournament. But even with the loss, there's nothing for the players to be sad about in the long run.
They left everything out on the ice, and that's all a fan or coach could ask for.
"We wanted to make the most of it," Tomassoni said. "I admire my kids--they gave it everything they had, and more."