"Sometimes in this world you get what you deserve," said Niagara coach Blaise MacDonald. "Scott was the best player on the ice tonight and he gets the game-winner."

Cornell, which had lost to Providence on Tuesday, jumped on the board first at 9:05 of the opening stanza when Mike Rutter dropped the puck back for Ryan Moynihan. The senior skated in from the top of the right faceoff circle and wristed a shot over the left shoulder of Niagara goaltender Greg Gardner and just under the crossbar.

The Purple Eagles tied the game at 13:23 while shorthanded. Seniors Jay Kasperek and Kyle Martin skated into the Cornell zone on a two-on-one, but the puck slid off the stick of Kasperek just as he went to make his move on Cornell's netminder Matt Underhill. Unfortunately for the Big Red, the puck found its way to Martin, however, and he chipped it into the net for his team-high tenth goal and career point number 100.

On the same power play, Cornell was able to cash in and regain the lead a mere 45 seconds later. Sophomore Denis Ladouceur's shot from the left circle went off the glove of Gardner and bounced down into the crease, where senior Doug Stienstra stuffed the puck into the net.

Niagara scored the lone second-period goal to tie the contest at two at 4:29. Defenseman Nate Handrahan skated down the ice from his end into the Cornell zone and took a shot that Underhill thought he had under control. The Purple Eagles' Peter DeSantis found the puck, however, loose in front of the Cornell goalie and flipped it in over the kneeling netminder.

The teams played a scoreless third period with the best potential opportunity going to Niagara. Kasperek streaked into the Cornell zone on a breakaway, but was eliminated when he was tripped up by Cornell's David Hovey. The Purple Eagles, however, were unable to connect on the power play for the fourth time on the evening.

A high-tempo series of plays led to the overtime winner for Niagara -- which captured the tournament title last season in double overtime.

Stienstra broke into the Purple Eagles' zone on a partial breakaway, but as he approached the net, Gardner reached out with his stick and poked the puck away.

Niagara jumped right up ice and a collision between a Cornell defenseman and a Niagara forward ended up in the lap of Underhill. The puck came around to McDonald, who quickly wristed the puck on goal and through the legs of a stickless Underhill as he scrambled back into position at 18:42 of the extra frame.

"We had good balance in all four lines," said MacDonald. "We played all four in overtime ... we typically never match lines."

"We were outworked and outhustled by a team that wanted this game more than us," said Cornell coach Mike Schafer. "We deserved to lose ... A bunch of the guys in the lineup tonight didn't do the job. That's disappointing as a coach."

Gardner ended the game with 26 saves to Underhill's 43. Niagara, 0-4 on the power play, moves on to play Colgate in a rematch of last year's finals, while Cornell, 1-1 with the extra man, battles Merrimack in the consolation game.

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