Dartmouth made both games over the weekend too close for comfort, but in the end, the Big Green took two wins and reclaimed a share of the conference lead.
On Friday night, Dartmouth (23-3, 16-2 ECACHL) came from behind and edged by Yale with a 3-2 victory in Thompson Arena. Playing short-handed again, the Big Green prevailed with a few lucky bounces and a couple of goals from unlikely sources.
Dartmouth was without forward Gillian Apps '06 and Kazmaier finalist Cherie Piper '06, the team's top scorer. However, the Big Green turned to freshman Nicole Ruta for a spark and Krista Dornfried '05 for the game winning touch.
Yale (13-14-1, 11-7-1 ECACHL) started strong off of the opening face-off. Sophomore Kristin Savard took advantage of the Big Green's inability to clear the puck and scored just 20 seconds into the game.
Dartmouth quickly responded on the power-play at the thirteen-minute mark when junior Tiffany Hagge found an open net from point-blank range after perfect execution of swinging the puck.
Yale held a 2-1 lead for most of the second period behind another goal by Savard and a solid effort by freshman goalie Shivon Zilis, who made 29 saves on the night. But in the period's final minute, Ruta tied the score and the momentum shifted to the Big Green.
On a blue-line shot by Dartmouth defenseman Alana BreMiller '05, the puck ricocheted off of a Yale defender and bounced to the stick of Ruta, who was streaking across to crash the net. The freshman showed great poise and wrested a shot high on the stick-side to even the score.
In the third, both teams attacked the net, putting a combined 20 shots on goal. Lane was able to make all nine of her saves, and Zilis was almost equal to the task if not for the quick hands of Dornfried.
At the 10:25 mark of the last period, Dartmouth defenseman Meredith Batcheller '07 lobbed an arching shot towards net. Before Zilis could make an easy glove-save, Dornfried snatched the puck out of the air with her hands, dropped it onto the ice, and poked it across the crease for the game winner.
"If you work hard, you get some bounces going your way," said Dartmouth coach Mark Hudak. "I thought [Dornfried] made a great play in front of the net."
The 3-2 score would hold up for the rest of the game. Yale pulled its goalie for an extra attacker for the last 1:09 of the contest, but the puck took Dartmouth bounces out of the zone multiple times to prevent the Bulldogs from mounting a sizable offense.
On Saturday the No. 9 Tigers gave No. 3 Dartmouth another close game, but the Big Green held on for a 2-1 victory on senior day and claimed its first sweep of Princeton in four years.
Before the contest, the Big Green recognized its three seniors, Meagan Walton, Alana BreMiller, and Dornfried, but it was junior Katie Weatherston who broke the game open just three minutes after the initial face-off.
At the 2:41 mark, Weatherston took a neutral zone turnover up ice, beat a defender, and slipped the puck behind goalie Roxanne Gaudiel for the 1-0 lead that stood for most of the game. Late in the second period, Carrie Thompson '08 added an insurance goal that turned out to be the game winner. Thompson tipped a BreMiller blue-line slap shot off of Gaudiel's glove. The puck bounced out and trickled across the crease for a 2-0 score at the end of the second period.
Princeton mounted a furious comeback effort in the third period, out-shooting the Big Green 14-5 in the period and 26-23 in the game. However, Lane held her ground for the second night in a row, making 25 saves for the victory.
"Our team as a whole worked really hard today," said Hudak. "We worked smart and kept the puck on the outside, so two-thirds of their shots weren't threatening. And [Lane] did a great job on the others."
Princeton kept up the pressure throughout the period and pulled its goalie with 1:05 remaining on the clock, but Dartmouth's defense prevented any legitimate scoring opportunities.
"We are playing through a lot of adversity right now," said Hudak. "We're playing without two of our top scorers, and Walton is playing with a broken finger. We're doing well considering what the team has gone through recently."
With the home sweep, coupled with Harvard's 4-4 tie against St. Lawrence on Saturday, the two teams are tied atop the ECAC standings. Harvard holds the current tie-breaker with its 6-3 win in Hanover earlier this month.
Dartmouth will finish its regular season on the road next weekend against No. 6 Harvard and Brown. The Big Green will be without the help of Apps and Piper, who are questionable for next week. In an effort to have a healthy team for the playoffs, Hudak is playing it safe.
"We're not going to try to get anyone in there too soon. We don't want to put any players in jeopardy with the playoffs coming up."
Dartmouth has clinched second place in the conference by holding the number-of-wins tiebreaker against St. Lawrence. The Big Green can win the ECAC outright if it beats Harvard next weekend.
