Before the two goals, it looked as if Harvard had gotten away with its critical mistakes. Cornell had two breakaways within thirty seconds of each other, while the score was still tied at 2, but came up empty.

Harvard, however, could not capitalize on any other breaks in the final period. It went on the power play with 5:27 left in the game, but the previously shaky Cornell penalty kill slammed the door shut on the Crimson.

Burt made 23 saves for the Big Red.

"We persevered over a lot this year," Cornell Coach Mike Shafer said. "In the third period, we stayed on track and didn't get rattled."

As per tradition, the Cornell fans flooded the ice when the final buzzer sounded, celebrating their team's third-straight elimination of top rival Harvard when the pair have met in the postseason.

"The celebration puts the players in touch with the fans," Shafer said. "It's a neat, college hockey environment."

Penalties marred most of the second period, but the waning minutes previewed the wild third as the teams lit the lamp 22 seconds apart. With 2:28 remaining, Dominic Moore dug the puck out along the right boards and fed Stay at the point. Stay faked the blast, and slid a long pass to freshman winger Brett Nowak, who tipped it past Burt to give Harvard a 2-1 lead.