Dartmouth came out firing immediately on Friday night. Nick Johnson '08 and Sean Offers '06 jumped on the board quickly, scoring within two minutes of each other. The Big Green's early 2-0 lead was a sure sign of things to come, as Dartmouth went on to tally two more scores later in the frame. Lee Stempniak '05 and Tanner Glass '07 gave the Dartmouth icers a 4-0 advantage before Yale freshman Jean-Francois Boucher scored with 26 seconds remaining in the period.
Dartmouth continued to roll towards a blowout, potting another two goals by the ten-minute mark of the second period. Offers netted his second of the game, followed by assistant captain Mike Ouellette '06, with his 13th goal of the year.
The two teams would split the rest of the game, exchanging one more goal each off the sticks of Eric Przepiorka '06 and Yale's Brad Mills. By the time the dust had settled, Dartmouth had taken the first game, dominating the Bulldogs 7-2.
The energy brought by the men in green in game one was hastily squelched by Yale the following night, when junior Jeff Hristovski beat an unsuspecting Dan Yacey '05 with a goal 1:01 into the first. As has become a trend with this year's squad, Dartmouth was soon able to knot the game at one. Mike Hartwick '07 sent a pass towards the Yale net, and Jarrett Sampson tipped the puck nicely over junior goaltender Josh Gartner.
Yale was able to capitalize on a power play two minutes into the second period, putting them up 2-1. Yacey had trouble holding onto the trickling puck in front of his net, and Mills easily punched it in. Within moments of the goal, Sampson was called for boarding, giving Yale yet another penalty opportunity. This time, however, it was Dartmouth that would make the most of its disadvantage. Three and a half minutes into the frame, Ouellette found a streaking Stempniak on the right side of the ice. As the crowd rose in anticipation, Dartmouth's captain did not disappoint, notching the shorthanded goal. Nonetheless, it was Yale who would get the last laugh of the period. With four minutes left, senior Nick Shalek's slapper bounced off Yacey's pads directly towards a waiting Will Engasser, who scored the go-ahead goal.
For the first half of the final frame, Gartner single-handedly denied the charging Big Green, rejecting shot after shot. At 12:43, Yale silenced the anxious fans in attendance when sophomore Robert Burns exploited a Dartmouth defender missing his stick and gave the Bulldogs what looked to be an insurance goal.
It took four Yale goals to finally awaken the hapless Big Green. With 4:09 to go, Przepiorka reignited the 3,300 souls in Thompson Arena after rebounding a shot by Offers, bringing Dartmouth within one. There was now a different feeling in the air, with the crowd climbing to its feet. With two minutes remaining, Sampson tapped in his second goal of the night.
The end of regulation meant a sudden-death overtime. The momentum Dartmouth had created was unfortunately no longer there, as Engasser scored the game-winner 2:40 into the extra frame.
While Engasser served as the hero, Gartner played the game of his life. The junior netminder recorded an astounding 60 saves, putting him six shy of a new school record.
"We played great," said Coach Bob Gaudet. "They scored opportunistic goals, they got the breaks, and their goalie was huge."
The decisive third game began with two evenly matched teams, not the 15th-ranked team in the nation versus a five-win 12th seed. As the first period came to a close, neither Dartmouth nor Yale had light the lamp.
Yale's Boucher scored the game's first goal a minute into the second period after a scuffle in front of the Dartmouth net, providing the Bulldogs with a surprising with a 1-0 lead. Gaudet decided to take an early time out, the team's only one of the game, with 15 minutes left in the frame. Whatever Gaudet said, it worked. Johnson tipped in Garret Overlock '06's slapper from the point to tie the game nine minutes into the second, much to the relief of his teammates.
"It was definitely relieving," said Johnson. "Up to that point, Gartner seemed like a wall."
It was all Dartmouth from there. By the end of the night, the Big Green had totaled five goals to Yale's one, escaping the first round of the ECACHL playoffs with a 2-1 series win.
The Big Green returns to action next weekend for the second round, facing off against fourth seed UVM.
