Current Cornell head coach Mike Schafer emphasized how important the rivalry was to the hockey cultures of both programs when he listed defeating the Crimson as one of his three goals for his first season in 1995–96. Harvard was unbeaten in the last 20 regular-season games against the Big Red at that time. Schafer's record against Harvard as a coach is 38–20–6 as of January 18, 2019. Cornell went on to defeat Harvard in three games that season with a 5–3 win at Lynah, 5–4 win at Bright, and a 2–1 win at Lake Placid in the ECAC Championship Final. This change of fate reinvigorated the rivalry to the level of passion it enjoys in the present era.