March 30, 2003
NCAA East Regional
A long time coming

NCAA Tournament Coverage

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By Nate Ewell

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It's 23 years since Cornell made its last Frozen Four appearance, four years since their seniors arrived in Ithaca, and just over one year since New Hampshire bounced the Big Red from the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

And while those events may not have directly led to Matt McRae's overtime goal that lifted Cornell past Boston College and into this year's Frozen Four, each of them played a part.

Cornell 2, Boston College 1, 2OT
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
1-C	Ryan Vesce (18)	EV
10:05	Unassisted
Second Period
1-BC	J.D. Forrest (6)	EV
8:00	T. Voce, B. Eaves
Third Period
No Scoring
First Overtime
No Scoring
Second Overtime
2-C	Matt McRae (5)	EV
1:09	Unassisted
Goaltending
BC: Matti Kaltiainen, 81:09, 34 saves, 2 GA
C: Dave LeNeveu, 81:09, 26 saves, 1 GA
Penalties: BC 6/12; CC 7/14
Power Plays: BC 0-6; C 0-5
Attendance: 7,489
NCAA All-East Regional Team
G: Matti Kaltiainen, Boston College D: J.D. Forrest, Boston College D: Doug Murray, Cornell F: Matt McRae, Cornell (MVP) F: Tony Voce, Boston College F: Mike Knoepfli, Cornell

The first week McRae and his classmates were on campus, head coach Mike Schafer gave them a curious assignment: research the history of the Cornell program and learn about its past success.

It instilled in that seven-member group of now-seniors an appreciation for the players who had preceded them, and an ambition to bring the program back to that elite national level.

"It's a responsibility for every player to come in and understand that when they go on the ice and see 25, Joe Nieuwendyk was in that jersey, or Dryden was in that jersey, or Lance Nethery," Schafer said. "They've got to play and try to match those standards. We want them to embrace the fine tradition of our university and the hockey program, and they've done that."

More than the back-to-back regular-season ECAC championships, and more than the No. 1 national ranking, Sunday's win – and Cornell's eighth Frozen Four appearance – signals that the program is back to the status it had in the late-1960s and early '70s, when the Big Red won two national championships.

"For us, this is a real crowning achievement," Matt McRae said. "It's been a long time since we've been in a final four. It's a place we've been preparing for."

The 23 years between Frozen Four appearances is a significant gap for a program with Cornell's history. In that time, 24 other schools have all appeared in at least one Frozen Four. The NCAA Tournament field has expanded from five teams to 16.

The Big Red thought they could end the drought last year, but were upended by New Hampshire. Now they'll face the Wildcats for a chance at more history.

"We want to built a tradition around this team," senior Sam Paolini said. "We always get compared to the 1970 team that went undefeated, 29-0. We want to make a name for ourselves and have teams 10, 20 years down the road comparing themselves to us."

THE ART OF OT

Only a week after beating Harvard in overtime for the ECAC Tournament championship, Cornell found itself in a similar position as Sunday's game went to OT. And the Big Red were having a blast.

"We talked about how exciting it was," Schafer said. "We told the kids, 'This is where you want to be as a student-athlete. Let's go for it, and let's win it.' "

McRae's goal was just his fifth of the season, but he spoke with the confidence of a pure goal scorer afterwards. Kaltiainen had stopped him late in the first overtime to the far side, and was cheating that way again. McRae's shot beat him high to the near side.

When the shot went in, Cornell improved to 3-1 in NCAA Tournament overtime games all-time, and 3-1-1 in OT this year. And now there's much more fun to be had.

INCH's East Regional Three Stars

3. Matti Kaltiainen, Boston College He made things an adventure at times – like when he juggled Shane Palahicky's shot with his pad, stick and glove in the first overtime – but he did the job, allowing only two goals in the two games.

2. Doug Murray, Cornell Memo to the other three teams in Buffalo: don't even bother trying to hit the big Swede. You'll end up on your back.

1. Ryan Vesce, Cornell The Big Red's first goal-scorer Sunday, the shifty center was the Big Red's offensive catalyst, giving him the edge over a half-dozen Big Red candidates.

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE DUNK

• Before each post-game press conference, players, coaches and the media are reminded that the NCAA forbids participants from commenting on the officiating in the game. At last year's Frozen Four, Maine defenseman Peter Metcalf earned an NCAA reprimand for his comments about referee Steve Piotrowski. The NCAA obviously feels Piotrowski did a good job; he officiated the Cornell-Mankato game here Saturday.

• Former Providence College head coach Mike McShane, fresh off leading Norwich to the Division III national championship, was among those in attendance.

• Cornell fans' best chant: "Notre Dame re-jects!" The Cornell band played the Notre Dame fight song as Boston College took the ice for one period.

• After slow and choppy ice hampered play Saturday, especially in the second game, the Dunkin' Donuts Center cranked up the air conditioning Sunday significantly.

• The officials went upstairs to check three potential goals by video review. J.D. Forrest's second period goal, which deflected in off his skate, was upheld after a five-minute review. Early in the third period, it took just one minute to determine that the net had been dislodged before a Cornell shot had gone in. Then 12:01 into the third, Tony Voce's goal was waved off because a player was in the crease.

• Boston College head coach Jerry York took his timeout with 6:39 remaining in the first overtime, a little curious given that momentum had just shifted in favor of the Eagles. With a faceoff in the Big Red zone, BC ran a set play that gave Tony Vice a slapshot from the point, which rang the post.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

To Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal, for his fantastic account of the love affair between the city of Providence and Wisconsin Badger fans (registration required).

To Ohio State captain Scott Titus, for his selection of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" during some post-game karaoke Saturday night. Not a bad rendition, either.

To the snacks in the media room. We don't expect to get pampered (well, actually ...), but given that it's the Dunkin' Donuts Center, a chocolate glazed would have been nice.

To the boards at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The puck bounced as unpredictably as ping-pong balls in a lotto machine. It's very lucky that none of those bounces led directly to a goal.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Big Red heads to Buffalo in search of its third national championship, and while making their first Frozen Four appearance since 1980 is certainly noteworthy, it wasn't at the top of their goals.

"We've been working for this for a long time," senior co-captain Stephen Bâby said. "But at the same time, we're not just satisfied with getting to the Frozen Four. Our goal is to win a national championship."