Quarterfinal thumbnail: Army vs. Cornell

No. 15 seed Army (11-5) vs. No. 7 seed Cornell (11-5), Noon, ESPNU

If there were May Madness pools, Army would've been the ultimate bracket-buster. The Cadets pulled off what many experts ranked as the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history by knocking off two-time defending national champion Syracuse, 9-8, in overtime at the Carrier Dome on Devin Lynch's goal. That prevented the anticipated rematch of last year's Syracuse-Cornell title game in which the Orange staged a miracle comeback in the closing seconds to force overtime before winning their 12th title. Army's top offensive players are attackmen Jeremy Boltus (seventh nationally with 4.13 points per game) and Garrett Thul, a freshman sniper with 40 goals. On defense, goalie Tom Palesky is a good one and defenseman Bill Henderson will be a strong challenge for Cornell's super-sophomore attack, Rob Pannell (Smithtown West). Pannell and Stony Brook's Kevin Crowley lead the nation in points per game at 4.63. Pannell is more of a feeder, with 47 assists. Ryan Hurley has scored 41 goals. Defensively, Cornell goalie A.J. Fiore played well in the Big Red's triple-overtime victory over Loyola on defenseman Max Feely's goal. Cornell beat Army, 12-11, on March 6, winning 20 of 28 faceoffs. If Austin Boykin can duplicate that today, Army is in trouble.