“It’s certainly tough when you’re changing two out of the five pieces on your first power play going into a game…but there are no excuses,” Donato said. “We need to generate more opportunities, more shots, and it’s something we’ll continue to look at.” 

The Crimson gained momentum in the third period as Ellis delivered an equalizer at 6:26 in the frame. The freshman netted his first career goal on a redirection in front of the net following a slap shot from sophomore blue liner Victor Newell.

Harvard held the Big Red to only three shots on goal in the final 20 minutes, yet the hosts caught the Crimson flat-footed in crunch time. Ryan stopped a clear attempt by Ellis at the Cornell blueline and forwarded the puck to Bardreau to gain a game-winning head step on a Harvard line change.

“The shot had eyes a little bit,” Donato said. “And that’s all it took.”

—Crimson staff writer Michael D. Ledecky can be reached at michael.ledecky@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @mdledecky.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: January 24, 2015

Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Cornell's Joakim Ryan caught Harvard's clear attempt with his glove before Cornell's game winning goal in the third period. In fact, Ryan handled the puck with his stick.