Riley Nash could not have picked a better time to break his scoring drought. The sophomore center buried his first two goals of the early 2008-09 campaign — helping Cornell edge Harvard, 2-1, in front of 4,267 raucous Cornell supporters Friday night at Lynah Rink. The victory snapped the Crimson’s four-game winning streak in the bitter Ithaca-Cambridge rivalry. “It’s nice to see Riley score a couple of goals and relieve some of the pressure on him,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “There’s no question he was pressing. I think any offensive player takes a lot of pride in wanting to score goals. He’s had his chances and tonight it was nice for him to get us a couple [goals].” The No. 18 Crimson (4-3-2, 4-3-2 ECAC Hockey) captured an early 1-0 advantage 5:41 into the contest, as sophomore left winger Michael Biega pilfered the puck away from junior netminder Ben Scrivens behind the net and deposited it inside the right post. Scrivens initially left the crease to make a play on the puck, which was dumped into the Cornell zone by freshman defenseman Peter Starrett, but he was unable to recover before Biega lit the lamp. It was Biega’s second tally of the season.

Tonight and tomorrow, Lynah Rink will host what could be two of the most crucial home games for the Red this year. Tonight, the Red (2-0-2, 2-0-2 ECACH Hockey) will square off against the visiting Harvard Crimson (4-2-1, 4-2-1) in what will be the 129th meeting in this bitter historic rivalry. Tomorrow, a Dartmouth team (4-2-0, 4-1) that is tied for second in ECAC Hockey will come to Ithaca for a 7 p.m. matchup.

One thing became evident about the men’s swimming team after its meet at Harvard this past weekend — this team is ready to compete for an Ivy title. After traveling to Cambridge, Mass., to take on Dartmouth and defending Ivy champion Harvard, the Red came up seconds short of beating the defending champions in its own pool. Cornell did defeat Dartmouth, but ultimately could not hold on for the upset over the Crimson.

Head coach Deitre Collins-Parker didn’t have any complex strategic advice or passionate speeches for the volleyball team when it seemed on its way to an upset loss to Harvard in the last match of the season. She asked a simple question, and the team — which had dropped the third and fourth sets to Harvard after winning the first two — responded.

Red overwhelmed by smart Crimson line

Prior to Saturday’s loss in Cambridge, Mass., the football team had stayed close in all of its three games, bouncing back to win each game at the wire. Saturday at Harvard, however, the game was essentially decided before halftime, as fifth-year quarterback Chris Pizzotti and the Crimson rolled over the Red, 38-17.