Frozen fish is on menu at Cornell
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A rivalry that really stinks, or at least has the potential to, was renewed Friday night, when the Harvard men’s hockey team cautiously took the ice at Cornell.
That, at times, has been the most difficult task. Cornell fans have often greeted the Harvard players with flying fish -- literally -- part of on ongoing feud that began 35 years ago.
In 1973 a Harvard student threw a dead chicken at the Big Red’s goaltender, in what was like a slap shot in the face of Cornell’s agriculture department. In the rematch at Cornell, the fish flew and have ever since.
“Every year Cornell officials try to get them to stop and still they bring the fish,” said Harvard Coach Ted Donato, who played for the Ducks and Kings. “The kids come in the morning and hide fish under ceiling tiles, seats, they even put them in the bathrooms, like the gun for Michael Corleone.”
Cornell officials continue in efforts to lure fans away from using real fish, encouraging them to throw stuffed animals, which will then be donated to charity. “They have been trying that for years,” said Donato, who played at Harvard from 1987to 1991.
The result? “One year, they threw a dead shark on the ice at us,” Donato said, laughing.
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Trivia time
Who is the only Cornell player in the NHL’s Hall of Fame?
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Hate story?
The Cornell band pipes in during Harvard games as well, playing the theme from “Love Story” between periods. In the movie, Oliver Barrett plays for a Harvard team that loses to Cornell. Hence, the song.
“The brutal truth is, most guys on our team can’t remember a song from seven years ago,” Donato said. “These kids hardly remember the Beatles, so I doubt they know a song from a movie 30 [actually, 38] years ago.”
Another thought: They could play Public Image Ltd.’s “This Is Not a Love Song.” That was recorded in 1983.
Then again, that might be too old for the students too.
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Deja vu
Much has been made of the Colorado Avalanche’s reaching into the past and turning this season’s team into an alumni club meeting by the time the NHL trade deadline hit Tuesday.
Kings Coach Marc Crawford earlier in the week joked about the way the trend was going, saying: “I thought I was going to be coaching there again.”
Hopefully he goes to the right bench tonight when the Kings meet the Avalanche in Denver. Crawford was in Colorado from the 1994-95 season to 1997-98, winning the Stanley Cup in 1996.
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Trivia answer
Goaltender Ken Dryden, who won six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens.
Still, how good could he have been? The year after Dryden left Cornell, the Big Red went 29-0 and won the NCAA title with 5-foot-5 Brian Cropper in goal.
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And finally
Political satirist Will Durst, describing the latest debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama: “It was riveting. Like listening to golf on the radio in Mandarin.”
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Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this report.
