No. 9 men’s hockey’s meetings with the Crimson at Lynah Rink are marked by sold-out crowds, flying fish, deafening chants, and an on-ice product that often lives up to the atmosphere: gritty, physical and oftentimes emotional.
And that’s just during the regular season.
While there are plenty of stories about the Harvard-Cornell rivalry, here’s a look at some of the numbers that define this weekend's playoff matchup between the two teams:
All stats are courtesy of Cornell Athletics and TBRW.info unless otherwise noted.
0: Freshman Goaltenders to Start a Playoff Game Versus Harvard
This Friday and Saturday will mark the 28th and 29th times that Cornell and Harvard have met in the postseason. In the previous 27 contests, Cornell has started five seniors, 11 juniors and nine sophomores in net (there is no publicly available data on who started either of the 1994 matchups for Cornell, but the Red rostered only sophomore and junior goaltenders that season).
On Friday, goaltender Alexis Cournoyer could become the first freshman netminder in program history to face off versus Harvard in the playoffs. While head coach Casey Jones ’90 did not reveal his team’s starting goaltender for this weekend, Cournoyer — the newly minted ECAC Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year — has started 23 of Cornell’s 29 games this season.
9-0-1: Cornell’s Playoff Record Against Harvard at Lynah Rink
In the regular season, Cornell owns a 34-26-7 record against Harvard at home, stretching back to a 13-0 loss in 1959 that kickstarted the rivalry’s history at Lynah Rink.
But in the playoffs, the Red is perfect in Ithaca. There have been close calls — such as a pair of 4-3 quarterfinal wins in 2000 — but the Red has defeated the Crimson by an average margin of 2.4 goals at home in the playoffs.
On the road, the Red has been much less dominant, posting a 7-10 postseason record against its rivals. In fact, since 2006, Cornell is 0-5 against Harvard away from Ithaca in the postseason.
Five out of Six Series: Cornell’s Success in Best-of-Three Quarterfinal Series Versus Harvard
In 1994, the Red was swept by the Crimson in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the ECAC tournament quarterfinals. Other than those two defeats, Cornell has never lost to Harvard in the quarterfinals. The Red swept the Crimson in 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2024, and earned a series win with a tie and a win in 1997.
2-1-0: Jones’ Postseason Head Coaching Record Against Harvard
While it will be Jones’ first time helming the Red in March, it won’t be his first collegiate postseason experience as a head coach. During his 13 years with Clarkson, the Golden Knights posted a 20-19 conference playoff record and an ECAC title, along with a pair of losses in the NCAA tournament.
Jones’ squads have fared well versus Harvard when it has mattered most. Facing the Crimson in the 2018 ECAC semifinals, Clarkson staged a three-goal third-period comeback before finding a game-winner in overtime. A year later, again facing Harvard with a trip to the finals on the line, the Golden Knights once again overcame the Crimson in a 5-2 win. Harvard got its revenge in 2022, claiming a 5-3 semifinal win.
2 goals, 1 assist: Currently Rostered Playoff Scoring Versus Harvard
In the past three seasons, Cornell has met Harvard twice in the ECAC tournament, with 4-1 and 4-3 wins in 2024’s quarterfinals, and a 1-0 loss in Lake Placid in the 2023 semifinals. Of the 13 Cornell point-scorers in those games, only forwards Jonathan Castagna, Ryan Walsh and Nick DeSantis remain on the roster.
7-2: Cornell’s Quarterfinal Record Since the Pandemic
Outside the 2022 collapse against Colgate, the Red is undefeated in the ECAC quarterfinals since the pandemic. Last season on the road, Cornell swept the Raiders before clinching its 14th Whitelaw Cup in Lake Placid one week later.
Cornell and Harvard will face off on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Lynah Rink, with a Sunday winner-take-all contest set for 4 p.m., if necessary. All ECAC playoff games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Eli Fastiff is a senior editor on the 143rd editorial board and a member of the class of 2026 in the College of Arts and Sciences. You can follow him on X @Eli_Fastiff and reach him at efastiff@cornellsun.com.
