April 4, 2003
NCAA Tournament

	Overall	Conference	Home	Away	Neutral
Cornell	30-4-1	19-2-1	15-0-0	11-2-1	4-2-0
UNH	27-7-6	15-5-4	15-3-1	7-4-4	5-0-1
	Goals/Gm.	GA/Gm.	PP Pct.	PK Pct.	PIM/Gm.
Cornell	3.7 (14th)	1.3 (1st)	.228 (13th)	.904 (1st)	14.5 (40th)
UNH	3.8 (11th)	2.2 (3rd)	.240 (7th)	.869 (3rd)	14.0 (45th)

Cornell: East Region first seed
Cornell 5, Minnesota State, Mankato 2
Cornell 2, Boston College 1 OT

New Hampshire: Northeast Region first seed
New Hampshire 5, St. Cloud State 2
New Hampshire 3, Boston University 0

These two offenses are very evenly matched, although they get their goals in different ways. Cornell likes to use its size and strength to wear opponents down, cycling the puck in the corners and maintaining possession. New Hampshire can cycle as well, but – like Cornell’s last opponent, Boston College – has forwards like Colin Hemingway and Sean Collins who are more dangerous off the rush. Both teams have fantastic first lines, with dynamic duos to lead them – Ryan Vesce and Stephen Baby for Cornell, Hemingway and Lanny Gare (questionable with a shoulder injury) for UNH. That said, what really propelled each team this far was their depth. UNH’s second line of Collins, Nathan Martz and Steve Saviano is as good as most teams’ first units, while Cornell got the bulk of its production in the regionals from the second and third lines.

The Big Red fight the perception that they are a defensive team by insisting they can score goals; UNH wants everyone to know that they’re not the goal-happy ’Cats of years gone by. Whatever people think or say, we can assure you this: goals will be tough to come by Thursday afternoon. Garrett Stafford gives the Wildcats the best puck-moving defenseman on the ice, and he has a strong, if unheralded, group of defensemen backing him up. Senior Kevin Truelson – who missed the BU game with a hip pointer – is typical of the UNH defense corps, sacrificing his body to block shots and make plays. Cornell probably holds the edge defensively, however, thanks to senior defensemen Doug Murray and Mark McRae. They lead a group that’s big and strong, but with deceptive speed. Against Minnesota State, Mankato in the first round Murray was able to chase down a speedy forward at one point thanks to his long, powerful strides. The Big Red don’t have a puck-handler like Stafford, but the defensemen play a role in the offense by pinching aggressively to keep the puck in the offensive zone.

The Players of the Year in their respective conferences, Cornell’s Dave LeNeveu and UNH’s Mike Ayers could be the two best goaltenders in the nation. They square off in a classic goaltenders’ duel. As they frustrate shooters with their near-perfect positioning and quick reflexes, ponder these questions: Could LeNeveu become just the third goalie to win the Hobey Baker Award on Friday? Can Ayers put last year’s semifinal performance behind him and show the national audience how he’s played all year?

Like goaltending, these teams mirror each other on special teams, with fantastic penalty killing and strong power plays. That could mean that a power-play goal or two for either team would make the difference. Cornell’s first PP unit has been together for three years now and moves the puck crisply and unselfishly – but it was the Big Red’s second unit that scored twice in the regionals. New Hampshire plays on an Olympic rink at home, but it seems to adjust well to the NHL-sized sheet (four-for-12 on the power play in the Northeast Regional).

Among the challenges both coaching staffs face is the noon faceoff, and Cornell has the edge in that it played a pair of noon games in the East Regional. But tactically, this matchup appears to be a draw, and both enter with motivation – Cornell wants to make up for last year’s quarterfinal loss to UNH, while UNH wants redemption after a bad loss to Maine in last year’s semifinals. Cornell’s Mike Schafer and New Hampshire’s Dick Umile have both returned to their alma maters and methodically built elite programs. Schafer has won back-to-back ECAC Coach of the Year awards and leads a team that’s almost robotic in its precision. Umile has wisely placed an emphasis on defense with an eye towards postseason success.

WHY CORNELL WINS: The Big Red can dictate the tempo of a game as well as the hurry-up offense Jim Kelly and the Bills used to employ – even though it’s not the same pace. Cornell’s cycling and possession game punishes opponents, and if they keep the puck in the Wildcat zone, it could be a tiring and frustrating afternoon for UNH.

WHY NEW HAMPSHIRE WINS: Keep an eye on the odd-man rushes. Minnesota State, Mankato scored a two-on-one goal against Cornell in the first round – if UNH can generate a handful of opportunities, and find their way past LeNeveu on one or two, it could be the difference. Like both teams’ regional final games, two or three goals could be enough to win this one.