There’s a new man in charge of the Cornell football program. After Christmas, former Big Red coach Jim Knowles stepped down to take the defensive coordinator position at Duke, and Cornell conducted a national search for a new leader. The school found its man in Mississippi offensive coordinator Kent Austin.

No. 6 Harvard (10-4-4, 8-4-2 ECAC) dominated from whistle to whistle, blanking conference bottom-dweller Union (5-19-1, 1-11-1), 4-0, at Bright Hockey Center.

The Engineers (10-10-5, 7-4-3 ECAC) scored two early goals and never looked back, handing the No. 6 Crimson (10-5-4, 8-5-2) a 4-2 defeat.

The Crimson (4-10-2, 4-5-2 ECAC) continued to break out of its early-season slump with its second-straight victory this afternoon, taking it to Dartmouth (4-13-0, 2-8-0) in a 4-1 conference win at Bright Hockey Center.

Two first-period goals set the tone as the No. 6 Crimson (9-4-4, 7-4-2 ECAC) beat up on Colgate (7-14-3, 3-6-3), 5-1, at Bright Hockey Center—breaking a three-game winless streak in the process.

Cornell junior Karlee Overguard found the back of the net with 4.4 seconds left on the clock, forcing No. 6 Harvard (8-4-4, 6-4-2 ECAC) to settle for a 4-4 draw with the No. 10 Big Red (8-7-3, 7-1-3) at Bright Hockey Center.

For the second time in as many weeks, the Crimson welcomed a top-10 opponent to Bright Hockey Center, and for the second time, the home team came away with a win.

Senior goalie Christina Kessler of the Harvard women’s hockey team took another tour on the international circuit last week, backstopping the Canadian U-22 squad to a gold medal at the MLP Cup in Ravensburg, Germany.

2009 was a year the Harvard men’s hockey team wanted to forget. But in its last chance for redemption before the calendar turned, the Crimson ended the year on a good note.

With the Winter Olympics less than two months away, the US women’s hockey team is set, and three Harvard skaters will be making the trip to Vancouver.