The men's hockey team went on the road in search of its first points since Jan. 6 and again came up empty, losing a 6-5 heartbreaker against the Union Skating Dutchmen on Friday and getting crushed 9-4 by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers on Saturday.
Dartmouth now sits alone in twelfth and last place in the ECAC. A playoff spot is not out of reach, but with the team's continued inability to pick up points against ECAC opponents, its postseason dreams are fading fast.
The Big Green have not won a game in 1995, posting an 0-7-1 record since the start of the New Year. Unlike their last few games, the Big Green played fairly poorly this weekend, especially against RPI.
In both games this past weekend, the Big Green had horrific second periods.
RPI 9, Dartmouth 4
Saturday night RPI overwhelmed the Big Green 9-4 at the Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y. Ben Heller '97 started in net for the second straight night in place of injured starter Scott Baker '97, who did not make the trip. Neither the Big Green defense nor Heller could contain the potent RPI offense, which scorched Heller for seven goals in only two periods.
Dartmouth saw the game slip away in the second period, after surviving the first with a 2-2 tie. RPI forward Kelly Askew gave his team a 3-2 lead early in the second, as he put on a burst of speed, tore around a Big Green defender, and put the puck past Heller.
RPI extended to a 4-2 advantage a short time later as Jeff O'Connor cashed in a rebound off of a Tim Regan shot. Heller made the initial stop off Regan but could not prevent O'Connor from putting the puck past him.
Only a few seconds later, Dion Del Monte '95 appeared to give the Big Green life when he went around an Engineer defenseman, burst in on net, and put the puck past RPI freshman goalie Bryan Masotta. But Dartmouth was deflated when a penalty for having too many men on the ice nullified the goal.
RPI sealed the game on the ensuing powerplay, as Heller stopped an initial Engineer shot, but the puck trickled through his legs behind him. Regan stuffed the puck into the net for a 5-2 RPI lead, and the Engineers never looked back.
Mike Stacchi '95 gave the Big Green a glimmer of hope with a goal off a deflection in front to pull Dartmouth within 5-3, but Rensselaer closed out the period with goals by O'Connor and Wayne Clarke to enter the dressing room after two with a commanding 7-3 lead.
Darik Buchar '98 started the third period in relief of Heller, and gave up two goals. O'Connor scored on a breakaway goal to complete his hat trick and make it an 8-3 Engineers lead. After David Whitworth '98 scored to make it 8-4, Clarke finished the scoring with a goal through the legs of Buchar, which raised the RPI edge to 9-4.
Unfortunately, the Big Green frustration got the better of them at the end of the game, as a large fight ensued with only six seconds left in the game. Both Stacchi and Bob Cancelli '98 were ejected from the game and could face one-game suspensions from the ECAC.
Union 6, Dartmouth 5
Friday night at Achilles Rink in Schenectady, N.Y., the Big Green fell to the Union Skating Dutchmen 6-5. Dartmouth unraveled in the second period and eventually fell behind 6-2 early in the third, only to storm back with three straight goals and fall just short in their comeback bid.
Cancelli and Del Monte had at least five quality scoring chances in the last three minutes of the third, but Union freshman goalie Trevor Koenig preserved the Union win with some good saves.
Dartmouth pulled Heller with less than a minute left, but the Big Green couldn't tie the game and stomached a tough 6-5 loss.
With the score 6-2, Patrick Turcotte '95 used a bit of deception to pull the Big Green within 6-3 with 13:14 left in the game. Turcotte came down the left side of the ice, and looked to the middle as if he wanted to pass. Instead, he ripped a shot on net that beat Union goalie Trevor Koenig, who thought Turcotte wanted to pass the puck.
Only ten seconds later, Dartmouth scored again against a shellshocked Koenig. Charlie Retter '98 took a wrist-shot that banked off the left post and into the net, to cut the Dartmouth deficit to 6-4.
Del Monte scored a huge goal with 3:39 left in the third to pull the Big Green within one. Del Monte fed a pass off to Whitworth, who passed right back to the senior co-Captain. Del Monte's wrister from the slot beat Koenig, and brought Dartmouth within 6-5.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the second, Union reeled off three straight goals to take a 5-2 lead after two. John Sincinski beat Heller on a wraparound, Troy Stevens put one between Heller's legs, and Jay Prentice picked up his own pass in front of the net and beat Heller to account for the three straight Skating Dutchmen goals.
The Skating Dutchmen added a goal only eight seconds into the third period to extend to a 6-2 advantage.
The Big Green return home to Thompson Arena this weekend to face two more ECAC opponents, Colgate and Cornell. One thing the squad could use to its advantage this weekend is the knowledge that they picked up three points on the road against Colgate and Cornell earlier in the season. Dartmouth tied Cornell 5-5 on Nov. 11 and won at Colgate 3-2 a night later.
