Cook carries Cornell

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Cornell, a big, powerful team on a great run, was too much for Harvard last night, winning the ECACHL championship, 3-1, before 8,637 at Pepsi Arena.

The defending champion Crimson put in a good effort, but they could not hold off the Big Red, who are riding an 18-game unbeaten streak (17 wins) and have allowed only 41 goals in 33 games.

The Crimson grabbed a 1-0 first-period lead on a power-play goal from defenseman Dylan Reese, whose shot from the point sailed over the shoulder of Cornell netminder David McKee (17 saves) at 18:23.

But Cornell took over after that, dominating play in the second period, scoring two goals and outshooting Harvard, 14-2. Cornell is 20-0-2 when leading after two periods, and Harvard, which had gone into double overtime to beat Colgate in the semifinals Friday night, faced a task that proved insurmountable. Cornell added an insurance goal in the third.

"We battled," said first-year Harvard coach Ted Donato. "We didn't play our best game by any means, but ultimately you have to give Cornell a lot of credit. We were outplayed. They deserved to win.

"The two-OT game was a factor. How could it not be? But I prefer not to make excuses. They outplayed us."

The Big Red (26-4-3) tied the game at 1-1 at 9:35 of the second period when winger Paul Varteressian converted a pass from center Daniel Pegoraro on a two-on-one break. Harvard goalie Dov Grumet-Morris (29 saves) flashed out the right pad and caught some of Varteressian's shot, but it trickled in. The winning goal, at 10:30 of the second period, and the final goal, at 6:35 of the third, were both power-play slap shots from the point off the stick of tournament MVP Charlie Cook. Grumet-Morris was screened both times.

"Naturally, when you play for a championship, you want to win," said Grumet-Morris, who knows Harvard (21-9-3) is a virtual lock to receive an NCAA Tournament bid when the field is announced today. "But we played well all year, and put ourselves in this position. We'll go back, practice, and focus on our next opponent. We want to be ready to make up for this.

"I didn't see Cook's shots. They have a very good power play. Charlie just found the back of the net. They played a very good game, and they deserved to win."

For Cornell coach Mike Schafer, there are bigger days ahead.

"We played against a very good team," said Schafer. "It was just a hard-fought game. They had a 1-0 lead, but we never lost focus. Our team deserves a lot of credit. They've done it all season, and I couldn't be more proud of them.

"We're glad to win the ECAC championship, but there's some unfinished business for us [the NCAA Tournament], something more to be accomplished."

Donato felt Harvard, the last team to beat Cornell (Jan. 8), just couldn't stay with the Big Red for 60 minutes.

"That first period went the way we wanted," he said. "We frustrated them a little bit, and got a big goal. But in the second and third periods, they did what they wanted to do."