Dartmouth 4, UMass 4
"I have very little recollection of the game's events. All I can remember is four little people shouting from the blue line, 'The toad is in the hat stool! The toad is in the hat stool!'" commented team bruiser Anthony Balsamo '04 immediately prior to subsiding into his alternate role of team demon.
"I will swallow your soul," he declared before lapsing into a state of unconsciousness.
With the team's cornerstone player in such a state of post-game mental deliria, one could be forgiven for thinking that tragedy had struck the Dartmouth club hockey team during their competition against the Massachusetts Maple Leafs last week.
Fortunately, this was not the case, and still no rational explanation can be given for the bruiser's behavior or comments.
Backed by the sturdy goaltending of netminder Chuck Rosenwasser '06, Dartmouth succeeded in resolving the game in a 4-4 tie and, though not a win in the traditional sense of the word, effectively put an end to the clubbers' five-game losing streak.
Thomas Manzo '07 scored once for Dartmouth and Adam White '05 scored twice, but the highlight of the game came when the mysterious Bart van Veghel '06 hushed the rowdy audience and, with tender loving care, gently nudged the puck past the Maple Leafs' goaltender to score the game-tying goal.
However, Dartmouth almost gave up another goal in the waning seconds of the game. Last minute defensive collapses have cost Dartmouth past games, but to the joy of all clubbers, this one was an exception.
Rosenwasser held strong and shrugged it off afterwards, saying that the only thing that had caused him any concern during the game was when Saltman received a penalty for skewering an opponent with his stick midway through the second period.
"The only things that bothered me were [teammate Julian] Saltman ['04]'s eagerness to put the team second and take dumb penalties, plus the fact that he can't skate," Rosenwasser said.
The clubbers next hit the illustrious ice of Thompson Arena on Feb. 8 in a highly -touted match against Massachusetts Bay College, located in Wellesley Hills, Mass.
