Jason Elliott was the undisputed series MVP, the sophomore netminder letting by just one goal all tournament, as the Big Red men's ice hockey team defeated Harvard 2-1 on Saturday to come away with the ECAC championship title and a spot in the twelve-team NCAA playoff field. The Crimson leapt out to an early 1-0 lead as Tommy Holmes scored his eighth goal of the season just thirty-six seconds into the first period. Harvard did itself in almost ten minutes later when Tripp Tracey deflected a Matt Cooney shot on goal that then went in off Harvard defenseman Jeremiah McCarthy at 10:05 in the first. Cooney was credited with the goal even though he hadn't been the last to touch the puck; Jeff Burgoyne and Brad Chartrand earned assists. Just over two minutes into the second stanza, Mike Sancimino put in what was to be the game-winner, his tenth of the season, with assists from Tony Bergin and Andre Doll. Neither team scored on the power play tonight; Harvard went 0 for 4 and Cornell 0 for 2 in man-up situations. The Red had 12 minutes of penalty time to Harvard's 16. Cornell now takes its 21-8-4 record into its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1991. The Red will be joined by the Catamounts, who earned a spot in the tourney thanks to their regular season title. Vermont, who fell to Harvard in yesterday's early semifinal match, defeated Clarkson today in the consolation round. Games in the two western conferences may not yet be over, so not all of the participants may be certain at this point, much less their rankings. The twelve-team field, the seedings, and the game arrangements will be announced Sunday night at 9:00 EST on the Empire Sports Network, which is currently enjoying a nine-day "preview" on Ithaca's Time Warner Cable service, on channel 52. ========================================================================= Mark H. Anbinder | [log in to unmask] Public Communications Inc. | [log in to unmask] ========================================================================= HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.