Cornell struck first on the tail end of the man-advantage. At 2:16 in the second stanza, Baby sent a pass up to Doug Murray in the slot. Winger Sam Paolini deflected Murray's slapshot to put the Big Red up 1-0.

Only one minute later, the Big Red's David Francis netted his first of two goals on the night at 3:18 by putting the insurance tally hard past Jonas short side.

Baby's breakaway goal minutes later put Cornell up 3-0, giving the Big Red its first three-goal lead all season.

"We came out in the second period and did a lot of the things we have been talking about all year," Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. "It was the first three-goal lead we had all year and I don't think our kids knew what to do with it."

As evidenced by the rapid-fire sequence of Cornell's shots, it was more opportunity than deliberate offensive pressure that gave the Big Red the advantage. Jonas registered one of his easier nights between the pipes in terms of shots, making 20 saves on 25 attempts.

The Crimson refused to give up as Kolarik brought Harvard within two goals, its closest margin all night, with a rebound shot from assistant captain Pete Capouch's bullet from the left point at 15:04 in the second period.

With under four minutes to go, Harvard had a chance to pull within one, but Bala rung a wrist shot off the post from the left circle, just inches from hitting the twine.

Francis iced the game for the Big Red at 6:16 in the final frame on a two-on-rush with Shane Palahicky, putting Cornell up 4-1.