| Sam Cornelius |
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Versatile player who played three seasons on the Notre Dame blue line
and one at left wing ... strong skater with outstanding speed and
stickhandling skills ... moved to left wing as a senior to take
advantage of his skating ability ... made first appearances at left
wing during the 2000-01 season splitting duty between defense (16
games) and left wing (nine games) ... capped his prep career as one
of 10 finalists for Minnesota's Mr. Hockey award ... one of 82 Notre
Dame monogram winners from the state of Minnesota, a group that
includes 1973 All-American defenseman and Edina native Bill Nyrop ...
became the 13th Edina native and 10th graduate of Edina High School
to letter with the Irish hockey program ... teammates with 2001
graduate Dan Carlson on Edina High School's '97 state championship
team ... previous Edina High School products with the Irish have
included defenseman Steve Curry ('70-'74, 129 games, 19g-61a) and
right wing Tim Kuehl ('86-'90, 125 games, 65g-80a) ... two Edina West
graduates also have lettered with the Irish, as has Hill High School
product and Edina native Kevin Nugent ('74-'78, 131 games, 54g-75a).
AS A SENIOR: Played in seven games for the Irish at left wing ...
produced a goal and an assist with four shots on goal and a +1
plus-minus rating ... saw first action of the season versus Ferris
State (Nov. 9-10) ... stepped into lineup at Princeton and delivered
game-winning goal at 2:27 of third period when he outmuscled the
Tiger defense to a loose puck in the crease and slid it under
goaltender Dave Stathos ... assisted on Michael Chin's goal in 2-1
loss to Michigan (Jan. 5).
AS A JUNIOR: Saw action in 25 games (16 on defense and nine at left
wing) ... scored one goal with no assists for one point on the season
... recorded seven shots on goal for a .143 shooting percentage ...
picked up six penalties for 12 minutes ... had a -6 plus-minus ratio
in his 16 games on defense but was even in nine games at left wing
... lone goal of the season was Notre Dame's final goal of the year
during the third period of the 7-2 loss to Western Michigan in the
season finale ... goal came off a faceoff as Chad Chipchase won the
draw back to the top of the left faceoff circle where Cornelius
snapped a wrist shot past Bronco goaltender Jeff Reynaert.
AS A SOPHOMORE: Skated in 16 games as member of veteran defensive
corps that included four seniors and one junior on the regular top
six ... registered one assist, 12 shots, five penalties for 10
minutes and a -1 plus-minus ratio ... split time as a seventh
defenseman and fourth-line winger in several midseason games,
including 4-3 loss to Princeton ... helped forge third tie of that
game after his rebounded shot from the left point was chased down by
Andy Jurkowski, leading to Troy Bagne goal ... appeared in just one
of final 18 games (the 1-1 tie at Bowling Green on Feb. 19) ...
skated in Irish wins over Union (4-0), Miami (5-2), Alaska Fairbanks
(1-0) and Lake Superior (2-1).
AS A FRESHMAN: Saw the ice in 36 of 38 games, paired mostly with
juniors Sean Molina and Andy Jurkowski ... notched four points
(1g-3a), with two power-play assists, 18 shots, nine penalties for
26 minutes and turned in a -9 plus-minus ... part of Irish defense
that set team record for goals-against average (2.60) ... his first
career goal proved to be game winner (4-3 at Ferris State), on a low
shot through a screen after Joe Dusbabek's shot kicked back between
the circles ... recorded first career point one week earlier, setting
up Brian Urick's equalizing goal in first period of 4-2 win over Lake
Superior (part of a three-game point streak) ... had primary assist
on Carlson's 5-on-3 power-play goal in 7-1 win over Western Michigan
... assisted on Matt Van Arkel's power-play goal for early lead in
4-3 win at Northeastern (where he posted season-high three shots) ...
each of his four points came during first nine games.
PREP & PERSONAL: An accomplished performer at Edina High School,
where he helped the hockey team capture the state title and earn
national rankings as a junior ... finalist as a senior for Mr. Hockey
Award while earning all-state honors ... totaled five goals and 29
assists in 24 games of '97-'98 ... scored 11 goals and added 61
assists in his four-year career ... played in the nation's
longest-ever high school game, a 3-2 victory over Eden Prairie in the
1998 regional final (99:39) ... helped Edina finish sixth in the '98
state tournament, with a final record of 22-6 ... scored the
game-winning overtime goal in the 1997 state semifinals versus
Hill-Murray High School ... team went on to win '97 state title when
former Edina and Notre Dame teammate, Dan Carlson, scored the lone
goal in a 1-0 win versus Duluth East High School goaltender and
former Notre Dame teammate Kyle Kolquist ... named to '97
all-state-tournament team ... invited to USA Hockey select-17 camp
... named all-city and all-state as a senior, when he also served as
Edina's team captain ... all-conference as a junior ... led Edina to
three regional titles and two conference crowns ... also played
junior hockey with the Twin City Vulcans ... born Nov. 12, 1979, in
Minneapolis, Minn. ... son of Henry and Mary Cornelius ... full name
is Sam McDonald Cornelius ... graduated with a degree in marketing
from the Mendoza College of Business.
Cornelius' Career Statistics
| Year | GP | G | A | Pts | Shots | Sh Pct. | P/Min | PPG | SHG | GWG | +/- |
| 1998-99 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | .056 | 9/26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -9 |
| 1999-00 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | .000 | 5/10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 2000-01 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .143 | 6/12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 |
| 2001-02 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .250 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | +1 |
| Totals | 84 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 41 | .073 | 20/48 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -15 |
