The Big Green traveled to Ithaca, N.Y., Friday night in the middle of an explosive 5-1 run. That was until fellow Ivy and nationally-ranked no. 9 Cornell managed to outmatch Dartmouth 3-1 with penalties dousing the red-hot Big Green. The spark would return to Dartmouth the following night in Hamilton, N.Y., as the Big Green ousted the first-place team in the ECAC for the second time in one week, beating no. 8 Colgate in convincing fashion, 6-3.
The week began on a high note when forward Mike Ouellette '06 was named offensive player of the week on Tuesday by the USCHO, INCH, and ECAC. Ouellette had three goals and four assists while playing the universities of New Hampshire and Vermont last weekend. Nick Johnson '08 was also named ECAC rookie of the week.
The first period against Cornell began uneventfully until 7:41 into the game when Tanner Glass '07 was sent to the sin-bin for tripping. The Big Red capitalized on the game's first power play opportunity.
Freshman Sasha Pokulok beat Sean Samuel '07 after a scramble in front of the Dartmouth net. Two minutes later, Chris Snizek '05 was called for holding, setting up yet another Cornell power play strike. This time it was junior Matt Moulson who put Cornell up 2-0.
Dartmouth started the second frame with a one-man advantage, but the Big Green could only muster three shots on goal in 1:24. At 9:27 into the period, Cornell found a way to penetrate the Dartmouth defense once again. Freshman Doug Krantz fired on Samuel, only to be stopped by the goalie's outstretched leg " or so it seemed. The puck dribbled away from the sophomore netminder and into the back of the goal. Coach Bob Gaudet attempted to stop the bleeding by pulling Samuel, replacing him with Dan Yacey '05, but it was too late.
Frustration set in as Jarrett Sampson '07 was ejected for spearing three minutes into the third period. Nonetheless, Yacey shut down the Cornell offensive during their five-minute power play. With 7:42 remaining in the game, Grant Lewis '07 put Dartmouth on the board off a pass from Lee Stempniak '05 during the Big Green's fourth power play chance of the night. With the victory, Cornell improved to 8-0 at home and 17-6 overall, solidifying their second-place standing in the ECAC.
The only thing that could possibly stop the Big Green the following night was a snow storm, delaying their game with Colgate by two hours. Other than that, Dartmouth was a completely dominant force, as they confronted the first-place Raiders.
Like the previous night, it took 13 minutes for the first team to score, but this time it was Dartmouth who jumped out to an early lead. With 6:13 remaining in the first, Eric Przepiorka '06 pierced the Colgate zone, putting the Big Green up 1-0.
Forty-four seconds later, Johnson successfully rebounded Stempniak's original shot, notching his team-leading tenth goal of the season and giving Dartmouth a 2-0 cushion. Stempniak recorded his twelfth assist of the year on the play.
Przepiorka continued his one-man assault 1:35 into the second period, giving Dartmouth a commanding three goal lead off of passes from Rob Jarvis '07 and Mike Hartwick '07. Colgate senior Adam Mitchell scored at 3:20 to bring Colgate within one, but Lewis quickly countered with a goal of his own during a 5-on-3 power play.
Within six minutes of the start of the final frame, Dartmouth's lead was no longer safe. At 4:11, Raider freshman Tyler Burton fired a shot past Yacey, cutting into the Big Green's advantage. Three minutes later, senior Dmitry Yashin followed suit, making it a game again at 4-3.
However, Dartmouth was not to be denied on this night. J.T. Wyman '08 sealed the deal with three minutes left, scoring his first collegiate goal. After Colgate pulled its goalie with under a minute remaining, Przepiorka completed his second hat trick in five games, giving Dartmouth a 6-3 victory.
The Big Green finds itself just three points out of the ECAC postseason picture, with a record of 9-8-2 (6-6 ECAC). Dartmouth has re-emerged on the national scene after defeating three ranked opponents in the past two weekends, placing twentieth in the country in the INCH power rankings.
The Big Green hopes to continue its climb up the ECAC standings next weekend when the team returns home to Thompson Arena, facing-off against Union on Friday at 7 p.m. and RPI on Saturday at 7 p.m.
