By the third period, they were grateful for their point.

Capouch evened the game at 1-1 as part of a 12-shot Crimson effort in the final period of regulation play. Harvard poured on the offense, raining shots on Cornell goalie Ian Burt from the point, but was only rewarded when Capouch's blast deflected off a Big Red defender in front of the net an even 12 minutes into the frame.

"I think by the end of the game, we had them on the ropes, and they knew that they were fortunate for the game to only be tied," Kolarik said. "But we were not looking to get any ties. We always want the win."

The victory was in jeopardy during the overtime period as Steve Moore took a hooking penalty at 1:03.

"Cornell is a team that likes to wear you down as the game progresses," Dominic Moore said. "They had the power play in overtime, but Jonas and the whole team stood their ground."

This game was defined in part by an ineptitude on special teams. Cornell went 0-for-9 on the power play, while Harvard merely came up empty on seven.

Still, overall, the Big Red expected to be able to outmuscle the Crimson in this contest like it was able to do during last year's playoff. However, the new talent and the fruits of Assistant Coach Ron Rolston's rigorous off-season workout program paid off with considerable success.