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The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Men’s hockey swept again, falls to 0-8

11.19.13.sports.menshockey
11.19.13.sports.menshockey

The men’s hockey team lost a heartbreaker in overtime on Friday on the road against Princeton University 5-4, before losing to No. 6 Quinnipiac University on Saturday 3-1.

Senior Princeton forward Andrew Ammon tipped the puck into the net with only 11 seconds left in overtime to seal the Tigers’ (2-7, 1-5 ECAC) second victory against the Big Green (0-8, 0-6 ECAC) this year.

Dartmouth came out firing in the first period, netting three goals to Princeton’s one. The first goal came at the 3:23 mark, when defenseman Taylor Boldt ’14 grabbed a Geoff Ferguson ’16 rebound and rifled a slapshot from the point past Princeton goalie Sean Bonar. The goal was the second in Boldt’s career. Forward Brandon McNally ’15 capitalized on a power play at 9:25, when fellow forward Eric Neiley ’15 won the puck of the boards and fed him for the score. The power play has been one of the Big Green’s strengths this season, as it has have converted on almost 30 percent of its opportunities. Forward Tim O’Brien ’16 added the last Big Green goal of the period when he blocked a shot to create his own breakaway goal, pacing the Big Green to a 3-0 lead.

The momentum shifted to the Tigers at the end of the first period, however, when freshman forward Ryan Siiro scored a power play goal of his own. Junior Tucker Brockett, who finished with four assists, fed junior Tyler Maugeri, who dished the puck to Siiro inside the right cirle. Sirro put the puck just under the crossbar, out of Big Green goalie Cab Morris ’14’s reach.

The Tigers held the momentum in the second period when Maugeri scored, again on the power play. Brockett worked the puck along the left boards, and dished the puck to Maugeri in the slot, where he poked the puck between the post and Morris’s glove to bring the score to 3-2 at 12:03. Princeton sophomore Mike Ambrosia scored the equalizer for the Tigers soon after, getting assists from Brockett and junior Aaron Kesselman.

The Tiger’s run didn’t end there, as senior Andrew Ammon scored the first of his two goals early in the third. Ammon started the sequence off with a shot that was saved by Morris, but Brockett collected the rebound and brought it behind the cage. He then gave the puck up to sophomore Jonathan Liau, who found Ammon again in the right circle. Ammon fired a shot over Morris’s right shoulder for the goal.

“I think we’re starting to put it together,” captain Tyler Sikura ’15 said. “We’re not where we want to be yet. We played some good hockey. On Friday, we started pretty well and then had a period where we lapsed a little and let them back into the game.”

Dartmouth responded at the 12:25 mark, when forward Brett Patterson ’16 scored the equalizer. He stole the puck along the boards, creating a breakaway opportunity for himself. Patterson’s first shot was saved, but he put the rebound away to tie the game at four.

Neither team could find a scoring opportunity in overtime, and it looked as if the game would end in a tie to give the Big Green their first point of the season, but with only 11 seconds left Ammon scored again, redirecting a shot from freshman Tommy Davis.

Morris made 25 saves for the Big Green, while senior Sean Bonar notched 28 for the Tigers. The Big Green was 1-4 on the power play while the Tigers were 2-5.

Traveling to Connecticut on Saturday, Dartmouth faced Quinnipiac (11-1-1, 5-0-1 ECAC) and fought hard but ultimately fell 3-1.

The Big Green put up a valiant effort against the Bobcats and showed signs of improvement from Friday. Morris, who made 26 saves that night, was a standout player.

The Bobcats took a 1-0 lead in the first period, when junior Bryce Van Brabant placed a shot just under the crossbar at the 3:06 mark. He was assisted by sophomore Alex Barron and senior Cory Hibbeler. The Bobcats would eventually build their lead to 3-0 on goals four and 12 minutes into the second. Baron fed Hibbeler who shot through the five hole from the face-off circle for the second goal, while junior Jordan Samuels-Thomas one-timed a Barron pass on the power play for the third.

Dartmouth responded at the 17:33 mark of the middle frame, when forward O’Brien scored his second goal of the season on a breakaway set up by a pass from Ferguson. O’Brien fit a wrist shot from the slot just under Bobcat goalie Michael Gareig’s blocker.

Neither team could score in the third period, and the game ended 3-1 in favor of Quinnipiac.

“I think Saturday was a good measuring stick for us,” Sikura said. “We played one of the best teams of the country and we held our own and played our best game. We need to figure out how to play a full 60 minutes.”

The Bobcats outshot the Big Green 29-20 on the night, and the Big Green’s vaunted power play did not score a goal for the first time since October.

“We’re working hard and will get back on track soon,” Gaudet said in a press release.

The Dartmouth men will enjoy a week off before facing Harvard University on Nov. 30 at home.

“It’s nice that we have the bye week since we have a lot of health issues,” Sikura said. “Hopefully we can get James Kruger ’16 back since he’s missed some time with a broken finger and we have some guys who are under the weather.”