UPDATED March 18 -- For the fourth straight year, the Big Green men's and women's hockey teams have both advanced to the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships, to be played this weekend in New York.
The men's tournament is Friday and Saturday at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, while the women's tournament is Saturday and Sunday at Messa Rink, on the campus of Schenectady's Union College.
The men's team earned the right to advance by winning its second-round best-of-three series against the Engineers of Rensselaer Polytechnic University this past weekend in Thompson Arena. RPI and Dartmouth had tied for fourth place in the conference, but the Big Green won the tiebreaker for the first-round bye and home ice in the second round by virtue of a 1-0-1 record against the Engineers in the regular season.
The series began inauspiciously for Dartmouth Friday as the Engineers got their first win in Hanover since 1998, taking Game One by a 3-1 margin. Mike Ouellette '06 scored the lone goal for the Big Green on a power play five minutes into the third period, but RPI goalkeeper Nathan Marsters made 33 saves to protect the lead, built up in the first two periods. Sophomore Kirk MacDonald scored the game's first goal with 54 seconds left in the first period, launching a low shot from the slot that found its way through the pads of Dartmouth keeper Dan Yacey '05, before RPI captain Scott Basiuk made it 2-0 on a shot from the point during a power play in the second period. With 1:05 to play and Yacey on the bench in favor of an extra skater, RPI forward Nick Economakos added an empty net tally to close the scoring.
The three goals Dartmouth allowed in the loss would be the last allowed at Thompson all season, as the Big Green bounced back with a pair of shutout wins. Dartmouth came out in a fury on Saturday and steamrolled the Engineers, wining 6-0. Jarrett Sampson '06 scored the game-winning goal 11:51 into the game, and was followed by teammates Lee Stempniak '05, Ouellette, Eric Przepiorka '06, Dan Shribman '07 and Mike Turner '04. Meanwhile, Yacey made 33 saves to keep the Engineers off the scoreboard.
Where Marsters had dominated the first game of the series, and Yacey the second, both goalkeepers were in top form in the final game played this season in Thompson. After 40 minutes of hockey, the game was scoreless, and neither team showed any signs of faltering. Then, less than a minute into the final period, Przepiorka skated in on a breakaway during a 4-on-4, and backhanded a shot past Marsters and into the back of the net.
Following Przepiorka's goal, the Engineers began to play desperate hockey, and Dartmouth struggled to clear the puck. The visitors continued to press, fighting up until the final buzzer, but Yacey withstood the pressure, holding off RPI for his second straight shutout and third in five games.
The Big Green men will face Harvard in the semifinals Friday, March 19 at 7:45 p.m., with Colgate taking on Clarkson in the other semifinal. Dartmouth tied the Crimson in November at Thompson Arena before falling 4-0 last month at the Crimson's Bright Hockey Center. The championship game will be played at 8 p.m. on Saturday, following the consolation game, which will be played at 5 p.m.
The Dartmouth women, meanwhile, will take on St. Lawrence in their semifinal matchup at Messa Rink, after sweeping Yale last weekend in Hanover. Yale sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Love put on a show in the first game, stopping 37 of 39 shots, but Dartmouth keeper Stephanie Cochran '06 posted a sterling game of her own in the Dartmouth net, and goals by Meagan Walton '05 and Gillian Apps '06 were enough to beat the Bulldogs, with Katie Weatherston '06 closing the door with an empty-netter in the last minute of play.
Dartmouth ended the series with a strong offensive effort on Saturday, as Weatherston and classmate Tiffany Hagge '06 posted two goals apiece to lead Dartmouth to a 4-3 win. Love made 45 saves, but Hagge and Weatherston gave Dartmouth a 3-2 lead with just over a minute to play. Weatherston added another empty-net tally before Yale's Kelsey Johnson scored an extra-attacker goal with 14 seconds left to leave Dartmouth with a one-goal victory.
Having advanced, Dartmouth will play St. Lawrence on Sunday at 4:15. The Big Green women will be looking for revenge after being swept by the Saints at home over Winter Carnival weekend, while the Saints will be out to secure a bid to the NCAA Frozen Four, to be played next weekend at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI. Currently in fourth place in the PairWise Rankings, which emulate the criteria used by the NCAA selection committee, the Saints were dealt a tough blow when they fell 1-0 to Colgate in game two of their ECAC quarterfinal series. Minnesota-Duluth's upset win over Wisconsin gave the Saints breathing room, but a win over Dartmouth would likely secure a spot in the Frozen Four. The losses by SLU and Wisconsin have all but assured Dartmouth a chance to play for the NCAA Championship next weekend in Providence.
The virtual assurance of an NCAA berth notwithstanding, Dartmouth will look to wrap up its second straight ECAC championship and third in four years by beating the Saints on Saturday, followed by a championship victory Sunday at noon, when the winner of the Dartmouth-St. Lawrence game will play the winner of Harvard and Brown.
