This weekend's much anticipated match-ups against Harvard and Brown turned out only half as well as Dartmouth would have liked. The Big Green found a way to quickly recover from Friday night's heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Crimson with a strong performance in Providence, beating the Bears 3-1.
Dartmouth marched into 10th-ranked Harvard's Bright Center with the momentum of a three-game win streak. The surging Big Green took control early, dictating play throughout the opening period. In fact, it was Dartmouth who jumped out to a swift lead when junior Mike Ouellette's point-blank shot at 12:32 deflected off the shin pad of a Harvard defender's skate and slid past Crimson netminder Dov Grumet-Morris. Dartmouth was able to maintain this lead for more than 20 minutes, as the Big Green denied Harvard on a number of power play opportunities.
However, the third-ranked power play team in the nation could not be contained indelibly. Dartmouth handed the Crimson a one-man advantage after inexplicably, and illegally, playing with six men on the ice for more than a minute. Sophomore forward Ryan Maki punched the equalizer past Dan Yacey '05 at 17:25. The second period ended with both teams locked at one goal apiece.
The final frame was characterized by increased intensity. Both Yacey and Grumet-Morris kept their teams in the game with a number of acrobatic saves. Nevertheless, it was Harvard that would finally capitalize on its opportunities.
After more than four minutes of constant offensive pressure in Dartmouth's zone, Crimson sophomore Dylan Reese blasted a slapper from the high slot over Yacey's shoulder, sending the Harvard faithful into a frenzy. With only 58 seconds left to play, the Big Green never responded. The 2-1 victory gave Harvard its fifth straight win and propelled the team into a tie with Colgate for second place in the ECACHL (14-5-2, 11-4-1 ECACHL).
"We gave them too many power play opportunities," said Dartmouth Head Coach Bob Gaudet. "They're too good of a team for us to not play smart."
Though the Friday night loss hurt, Dartmouth had less than 24 hours to recompose itself, facing off against Brown the following night in Providence. The Bears are about as solid as teams come, but the Big Green was not about to let both weekend games slip away. It took 17 minutes for the College to figure out Brown's defense and freshman goalie Adam D'Alba.
With 2:30 left in the first, Grant Lewis '07 shoveled the puck to Garret Overlock '06, who, in turn, fired a high shot past D'Alba to put Dartmouth up 1-0. Two minutes later, Ouellette scored his second goal in as many days after Lee Stempniak '05 found the Dartmouth junior patiently waiting. The Big Green completed the frame with 21 shots on goal, the most in a period this season.
The Bears eventually responded five minutes into the second period. Junior Rugo Santini set up senior captain Les Haggett with a drop-pass in front of the Dartmouth net. Haggett connected and cut the Big Green lead in half, bringing the Bears within one.
However, that would be all for Brown, as Stempniak closed the deal with an empty-netter at 19:43 in the third. Following the 3-1 win, Dartmouth (12-9-2, 9-7-0 ECACHL) reclaimed sole possession of fifth place, two points behind Vermont for fourth. Even in the loss, D'Alba continued to make his mark, stopping 42 shots on the night, two shy of his career-high. Yacey finished up with 20 saves and improved his record to 6-6-1.
"We were tied with Brown heading into the game on Saturday and wanted to come out and separate ourselves from them and try to move towards the fourth place bye," Stempniak commented. "Any time you lose, you want to come out and play a strong game, and we worked on fixing our mistakes from the night before. We played a 60 minute game and everyone worked on taking care of our defensive zone and limiting their chances."
Asked if the Brown victory, a night after the Harvard collapse, revealed anything about Dartmouth's disposition, Ouellette said, "The win definitely shows what kind of character we have as a group. We've been playing great hockey lately and things just keep coming together."
Dartmouth returns home to Thompson Arena for Winter Carnival, hosting St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday.
