March 29, 2003

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Cornell University men's hockey team defeated Minnesota State, Mankato, 5-2, in the first game of the 2003 NCAA East Regional in Providence, R.I. The Big Red (29-4-1) scored three unanswered goals in the second and third period to break a 2-2 second-period tie and cruise to victory.

Cornell opened the scoring just 1:53 into the first period when Mike Knoepfli scored from Doug Murray. The Big Red took a 2-0 lead when Shane Hynes tallied at 9:07 of the first period. The Mavericks (20-11-10) got on the scoreboard in the first period when Dana Sorensen scored at 10:12 of the first, off assists from Grant Stevenson and Shane Joseph.

MSU, Mankato evened the score in the second period as Brock Becker scored on the power-play at the 3:26 mark. Cornell took the lead for good with 6:04 remaining in the second period when Hynes scored for the second time on the afternoon from Matt Moulson and Charlie Cook. The Big Red added two goals in the third period, by Knoepfli and Sam Paolini, to close out the scoring in the contest.

CU's Dave LeNeveu made 18 saves in the win for the Big Red, while MSU's Jon Volp made 32 stops in the loss.

Cornell advanced to Sunday, March 30th's East Region Championship game where they will face the winner of Boston College/Ohio State at 12 noon.

Saturday, March 29, 2003
Minnesota State, Mankato  (20-11-10)	1	1	0	-	2
Cornell University (29-4-1)	            2	1	2	-	5

Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer (Assists)
1	1:53	CU	Mike Knoepfli (Doug Murray)
1	9:07	CU	Shane Hynes (Mike Knoepfli, Matt Moulson), PPG
1	10:12	MSU	Dane Sorensen (Grant Stevenson, Shane Joseph)
2	3:26	MSU	Brock Becker (Jeff Marler, Peter Runkel), PPG
2	13:56	CU	Shane Hynes (Matt Moulson, Charlie Cook), PPG
3	6:42	CU	Mike Knoepfli (Charlie Cook)
3	10:34	CU	Sam Paolini (Ryan Vesce, Stephen Baby), PPG


Saves:
Jon Volp (MSU)		10	17	5	-	32	(60:00)
Dave LeNeveu (CU)	10	2	6	-	18	(60:00)

Attendance: n/a (Dunkin' Donuts Center)