The comfort of home ice for the first round of the ECAC playoffs was but a win away for the Harvard men's hockey team. Unfortunately for the Crimson, RPI senior goaltender and Hobey Baker candidate Joel Laing was one shutout away from setting his school's record for most blankings in a season and for a career.

Pack your bags, Harvard.

Junior winger Brad Tapper scored at 5:36 of the second period and Laing turned aside all 29 Harvard shots as the Engineers defeated the Crimson 2-0 Saturday night at Bright Hockey Center ending Harvard's quest for home ice and a three-game winning streak. Harvard (11-15-2, 9-10-2 ECAC) had defeated Union, 3-2, the night before to give it the opportunity.

"We gave it everything we have," Harvard Coach Mark Mazzoleni said. "We were playing for home ice and did everything you'd expect."

Instead of friendly Bright, the Crimson now travel to the most hostile environment in all of college hockey--Cornell's Lynah Rink. The loss left Harvard tied for sixth place with Princeton. The two had split their season series, so it went to the next tiebreaker, wins against the top five, and the Tigers had the edge.

The Crimson has defeated the Big Red in its last two trips to Lynah, including a 2-1 win on Nov. 13. But Cornell has won the last two times they have met in the postseason, including a 2-1 win at the ECAC finals in 1996, ending Harvard's improbable run at Lake Placid.

"We enjoy playing at Cornell," captain Trevor Allman said. "It's a difficult place to play, but the crowd generates our enthusiasm as well."

Ironically, Cornell did give Harvard some help on Saturday. By beating Princeton, it allowed Harvard to claim its first Ivy League championship since 1993-94.