TROY, N.Y.-Mar. 5 -- The Dartmouth men's hockey team was eliminated from the ECAC playoffs here tonight, losing a 5-4 game to RPI when Jon Pirrong scored the game-winner with 3:46 left in the first sudden-death overtime.
It was one of the most intense, exciting games the men's hockey team has been involved with for many years -- and that might be an understatement.
Pirrong ended the third-longest game in ECAC playoff history when Jean Francois Gosselin stole the puck behind the Big Green net and dished it in front.
Pirrong's winner beat Dartmouth goalie Scott Baker '97 and sent the Hosston Freid Hasse crowd into a frenzy.
Dartmouth Coach Roger Demment called it a "classic playoff game."
He said the Big Green did a "tremendous job of coming back each time we were down," but added the squad could never "take the lead and run with it."
"It's very difficult to lose a game like this," Demment said.
Both goalies, Dartmouth's Baker and RPI's Mike Tamburro, were tremendous. Baker stopped 36 shots and Tamburro turned aside 41 shots.
In the first overtime alone, Baker kept the Big Green alive with two dazzling saves -- a stuff of an Eric Healey breakaway and a sprawling save on an RPI wraparound attempt.
Tamburro also made an unbelievable save 13:00 into the first overtime, rolling David Whitworth '98 on the doorstep.
Alex Dumas '97 scored the crucial game-tying goal at 8:42 of the third with a cannon shot from the left point that beat Tamburro high to the glove side, knotting the game at 4-4.
Bill Kelleher '96 had tied the game at 3-3 at 3:34 of the third, picking up the rebound of a Dumas shot and beating an out-of-position Tamburro to the far side. But just 54 seconds later, RPI's Bryan Richardson scored off a nice feed from Healey to give the Engineers a 4-3 edge.
Both teams had a chance to win it in regulation, and each team hit the post once in the third period -- Brent Retter '97 for the Big Green and Tim Regan on a breakaway for RPI.
The second period was like two periods in one -- the Big Green dominated the first half of the stanza, scoring twice, but RPI controlled play in the last 10 minutes of the period, scoring two goals of their own to emerge with a 3-2 lead after two.
Trailing 1-0 after one period, Dartmouth came out flying in the second and scored twice to take a 2-1 lead.
Whitworth got the Big Green on the board just 33 seconds into the second. After Kelleher tipped a point shot from Shane Ness '98 on goal, Bob Cancelli '98 shuffled the rebound to Whitworth.
Whitworth slid the puck into the lower-left corner of the goal to tie the game at 1-1.
Then, at 6:47 of the second, Jon Sturgis '98 cleaned up another rebound in front, tucking the puck into the lower-right corner past Tamburro to give the Big Green a 2-1 lead.
But the Engineers came back with two scores of their own to take a 3-2 advantage.
At 11:32 of the second, Alain St. Milaire scored for RPI, tying the game at 2-2, when his rebound shot in front beat Baker. Regan's powerplay goal at 14:44 gave RPI a 3-2 edge.
RPI controlled the early play and struck first, scoring just 1:56 into the game on a goal by Richardson.
Richardson took on a feed from Healey behind the Dartmouth net and ripped a shot that clanged off the right post and over the shoulder of Baker to give the Engineers a 1-0 lead.
But the Big Green picked up their play midway through the first and were able to head to the lockerroom trailing by only one goal.
