Minnesota State Falls to Cornell, 5-2
March 29, 2003
PROVIDENCE, R.I. No. 1 seed Cornell, behind a pair of goals from both Mike Knoepfli and Shane Hynes, skated past No. 4 seed Minnesota State, 5-2, here Saturday afternoon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center to advance to the East Regional championship game. The Big Red will face either Boston College or Ohio State later today with the winner earning a berth in the 2003 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, set for April 10-12 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.
Cornell scored twice in the first 9:07 of the game before the Mavericks hustled back to even the game at 2-2 on goals by Dana Sorensen at 10:12 of the first period and then by Brock Becker at 3:26 of the second.
The Big Red, who outshot Minnesota State overall, 37-20, had the eventual game-winner from Hynes on a power-play at 13:56 of the second the first of three straight goals that decided the contest.
"I'm proud of my team," said MSU head coach Troy Jutting, who was honored as the WCHA Coach of the Year a week ago in St. Paul. "We were picked to finish eighth in our league and we made it this far. I am proud of the seniors because of their leadership.
"We were just beat by a better team today. They (Cornell) were smart, big, and handled the puck well along the boards. Defensively, they're a very good team. I was a bit surprised at how well they handled the puck down low. They don't let you get to the net for second shots."
Minnesota State, who finished tied for second in the final WCHA standings and advanced to the WCHA Final Five, finishes a storybook season with a 20-11-10 record. Cornell, meanwhile, takes a 29-4-1 mark into the East Regional championship match on Sunday.
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