After a winless four-game span marked by two losses and two ties, the men's hockey team finally returned to form against regional foe and nationally ranked Vermont last Thursday at the Ledyard National Bank Tournament. A climactic shootout victory over Bowling Green sent Dartmouth to the finals of the tournament, where they would face Vermont, after losing 5-1 to the rival Catamounts just 11 days earlier. The Big Green capitalized on this opportunity, convincingly avenging their defeat by winning 6-3.
The first round of the Ledyard National Bank Tournament kicked off Wed. Dec. 29, featuring two intriguing match-ups. While 12th-ranked Vermont faced off against Providence, Dartmouth battled Bowling Green (8-6-3). The Catamounts handled Providence, 3-1, in the early game, advancing to the finals. Dartmouth, playing for the first time in ten days, took the ice looking for a way to snap out of their recent futility.
Dartmouth drew first blood, as Tanner Glass '07 tallied a short-handed goal at 12:01 of the first period. Eric Przepiorka '06 collected the assist. The Big Green carried their 1-0 advantage into the third, until Bowling Green's freshman forward Jonathan Matsumoto netted the equalizer three minutes into the final frame. Regulation ended in a tie, sending the game into overtime.
After five scoreless minutes a tie was recorded. However, the game moved to a best-of-five shootout to decide which squad would advance to the finals.
Fittingly, both teams scored twice, forcing the game into a sudden-victory shootout in which the first team to gain a one-goal advantage would win. Junior Brett Pilkington gave the Falcons the early lead, but Mike Ouellette '06 quickly evened the score. Both Dartmouth and Bowling Green missed on their next two shots, and after a Matsumoto misfire, Glass beat senior Jordan Sigalet, scoring the winning goal and sending Dartmouth to the championship game. Sean Samuel '07 notched a career-high 38 saves while Sigalet had 50 for Bowling Green.
Thursday's final opened with a scoreless and fast-paced first period. During the second frame, Dartmouth unleashed a deluge of offense unlike any the Big Green had seen since the middle of November. Within twelve minutes, Nick Johnson '08, Nathan Syzmanski '05, and Przepiorka had all scored, putting Dartmouth on top 3-0. Johnson logged his second goal of the game 6:52 into the third, adding to the Dartmouth lead.
Freshman Torrey Mitchell finally got the Catamounts on the board at 8:06. After Lee Stempniak '05 put the Big Green back up four with ten minutes remaining, Dartmouth fans were forced to hold their breaths as junior Jaime Sifers and senior Scott Misfud scored consecutive goals within 3:30 of each other, cutting Dartmouth's lead in half. However, all worries were laid to rest as Stempniak scored an empty-netter with 1:47 left in the game. Dartmouth's 6-3 victory gave them the Ledyard crown and improved their record to 5-6-2 for the season, while Vermont fell to 11-6-3.
Freshman phenom Sean Samuel had 35 saves during the tournament earning him the honor of the evening's most valuable player, as well as being hailed ECAC goalie of the week. Glass received all-tournament team honors.
One month prior to the Ledyard tournament, Dartmouth played then eighth-ranked Maine to a 0-0 tie before breaking for final exams. The Maine game marked the Big Green's finest defensive effort of the season, coming against one of the nation's best.
On December 10, Dartmouth took on yet another nationally recognized program, hosting UMass-Lowell. Dartmouth battled valiantly, but suffered a 4-3 defeat after Riverhawk junior Mark Pandolfo scored the go-ahead goal with 4 minutes remaining in the game.
On December 12, the U.S. National Under-18 team traveled to Hanover for an exhibition match. Stempniak taught the youngsters a college lesson, scoring a hat-trick in Dartmouth's 5-1 victory.
Dartmouth returns to action on January 7 against Rensselear in Troy, New York. Hopefully Dartmouth can carry the momentum and excitement of their Ledyard tournament triumph into their next few contests, including a daunting four-game stretch against all nationally-ranked opponents beginning Jan. 12 at New Hampshire.
