PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The math was simple.

When asked where his double-overtime goal in the East Regional final against Boston College ranked on a list of personal achievements, Cornell's Matt McRae wasted no time in coming up with a comparison.

	Cornell goaltender David LeNeveu (r) is congratulated by Boston College forward Ben Eaves.

"Take my last greatest goal and times it by a billion," he said. "It's definitely the biggest goal I've ever scored."

And one of the biggest goals in Cornell history.

"It couldn't happen to a better kid," Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. "He's fought through some injuries and has persevered."

McRae scored the game-winner at 1:09 of the second overtime to give the Big Red a 2-1 win Sunday in front of a crowd of 7,489 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. It was his fifth goal of the season and first since Feb. 21.

The senior from Toronto, who was named the MVP of the East Regional, started his winning drive when he gathered the puck at center ice. McRae skated around Boston College defenseman John Adams to the bottom of the right faceoff circle, where he fired a wrister that beat BC goalie Matti Kaltiainen over his left shoulder.

"I had a fair amount of time," McRae said. "I had my eye open for the near side.

"The goalie was cheating to the far side. He stopped me with 11 seconds to go in the first overtime when I shot to the far side so I thought it was time to change it up a bit."

That quick thinking and the resulting goal sends Cornell (30-4-1) to its first Frozen Four since 1980 as it searches for its first national title since 1970. The Big Red's national semifinals opponent at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo is New Hampshire (27-7-6) on April 10 at noon ET (ESPN2).

The second game that day will have defending champion Minnesota taking on Midwest champ Michigan (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in a rematch of last year's second national semifinal.

Cornell will try to avenge another tough late-season loss from last season. Last week's 3-2 overtime win over Harvard took care of the ECAC Championship. Now, the Big Red will try to make amends for last year's 4-3 loss to UNH in the national quarterfinals.

"This team has been driven since last year, a loss to Harvard in the ECAC Championship and a devastating loss to UNH," Schafer said. "We've come full circle and given ourselves a chance to accomplish our goal: a championship.

"You work so hard all year long. This is the great time of year. I've always said to our players, 'enjoy the journey.' The journey is so much fun."

There's still one more stop on this journey for Cornell and that point wasn't lost on the players. They are happy to get the win, but are looking forward to the challenge ahead.

"We've been working for a long time," captain Stephen Bâby said. "And we're not satisfied with getting to the Frozen Four. Our goal is to win a national championship.

"It was a great game but we're looking to Buffalo."

Four teams. Three games. One champion. Simple math.

East Regional notes