Not even the UVM cow-bell lady could help her beloved Catamounts overcome the deafening roar of a delirious Dartmouth contingent and the amazing play of the Big Green, as Dartmouth upset UVM 4-1.
UVM's sensational senior trio of linemates Eric Perrin and Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas were shut out in their final chance at a victory over Dartmouth at Thompson -- a stat the Big Green was determined to make a reality from the start of the season.
Freshmen goalie Jason Wong continued his brilliant play in net from last weekend, as he denied shot after shot from the most dangerous line in college hockey. "The Great Wall's" 31 save performance, coupled with three unanswered third period goals by the Big Green resulted in the upset that fans and players will not soon forget.
One could feel the tension and anxiety lingering in the air during warm-ups, and the excitement only continued to grow as the Big Green hyped up their introductions to create a playoff atmosphere.
The level of play on the ice lived up to the pregame spectacle, as both sides executed well early. UVM wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. At 3:08, their big guns, St. Louis and Perrin were busy creating behind the net. Perrin found his captain, St. Louis, alone in front of the net, and he put a beautiful move on Wong to light the lamp.
Dartmouth buckled down and didn't let this early blemish break out into panic. They killed their first penalty effectively, and executed extremely well on their first two power plays, as goalie Tim Thomas stepped up to ensure the 1-0 UVM lead going into the second period.
Twenty-four seconds into the second frame, the Big Green ignited a raucous crowd that wouldn't stop ranting until the last "Start the Bus" chant had sufficiently worn into the Catamounts heads. Jon Sturgis '98 sparked the explosion off a well executed face off play designed to create a two on one. It did just that, and Sturgis blasted one home from the top of the right circle to keep the pressure on UVM.
It was during this second period when it became evident the Big Green were taking the Catamounts entirely out of sync. Coach Roger Demment had emphasized all week the importance of slowing down the speedy Cats, and Dartmouth did just that. No UVM player was allowed a comfortable trip up the ice, as they were constantly pushed, prodded and checked by feisty Big Green team defense.
In fact, the only line that really gave the Big Green any scares was Perrin/ St. Louis/Ruid. While the rest of the period was played out with neither side breaking the deadlock, the mood on the ice seemed to be swaying in Dartmouth's favor.
The Dartmouth offense kicked into gear in the third, scoring three unanswered goals to leave the nations fourth ranked team wondering what had hit them.
David Whitworth '98 notched the game winner on a power-play goal at 2:10 off assists from blueliner Owen Hughes '97 and Sturgis. Hughes fed Whitworth at the top of the slot, and the assistant captain one-timed the puck home, glove-side of Thomas.
Dartmouth's defense and goaltending kept up its solid play, as Wong made a few spectacular saves to deny the French-Connection anything to "ecrivez a la maison" about.
After the Big Green's best penalty kill of the evening after a Ryan Chaytor's '99 delay of game call at 7:18, it appeared the game was in hand, but Wong certainly would take any insurance he could get. His senior Captain Brent Retter provided it on the prettiest goal of the night.
Retter stole an attempted pass into neutral ice, and took it over the blue line past the fallen UVM defender. He juked the other Cat defenseman out of his skates, as he proceeded towards Thomas from the left circle. Staring down the All American and showing excellent patience, he made a solid fake to Thomas's stick side, causing him to go down. Retter simply put the puck top-shelf past a flailing glove-save attempt. He was pleased with the goal following the game.
"I have a history of chirping with Thomas," Retter said. "Playing against each other for the past four years, we've gotten to know each other pretty well, and there's a big rivalry between us so it was definitely nice to get one on him."
Forced to pull Thomas in the waning minutes, Whitworth padded the Big Green's phenomenal victory by adding the empty-netter with 42 seconds remaining.
Demment was obviously pleased with the overall play of the Big Green.
"UVM is a great team, but they may be struggling a bit right now," Demment said. "We executed our game plan almost to perfection and never let them feel comfortable on our ice. That was our goal, and after converting on some scoring opportunities we were able to come out with the win."
It probably will never be fully understood why the Big Green have had such enormous success against one of the nations top programs at Thompson over the past four years. Retter offered his own explanation.
"I think part of it is that guys get really pumped up for this game," Retter said. "It is the rivalry, the building is always packed, and they're the number one team in the league so we always step it up a notch. Hopefully we can keep our play elevated to this level all year. That's what we're aiming to do."
If Dartmouth can execute, maintain that level of team defense, and continue to receive solid goaltending as they did Friday night, they will have success right in their sights.
