The shocking win marks the Big Green's first come-from-behind victory of the season, as well as its first win after giving up the opening score. However, things looked grim for Dartmouth in the first period.
Yale, a 9-4 November drubbing at the hands of the Big Green still fresh in its mind, opened strong. Jean-Francois Boucher was able to sneak the puck past goalie Mike Devine '08 with 18:40 left in the first period. The Bulldogs lit the lamp once more six minutes later and followed with a power play goal several minutes after that.
Yale goalie Alec Richards was red-hot, saving point-blank Big Green shots on net from Connor Shields '09 and seniors Eric Przepiorka and Mike Oullette. The Bulldogs out-shot Dartmouth 16-6 over the opening 20 minutes.
Dartmouth looked dejected heading into its locker room after the first period, but after a short break, the team hit the ice refreshed and ready to play.
Dartmouth came out with guns-a-blazing, like a team full of John Wayne's. The Green out shot Yale 26-4 in the second period and outscored them 2-0, with goals coming from sophomore Nick Johnson at 15:54 and Przepiorka at 11:26. J.T. Wyman '08 assisted on both plays.
Still, as Dartmouth entered the third period of play, it found itself down 3-2 against a beatable opponent. Then Connor Shields got the opportunity to play the hero, and he did not disappoint.
At 14:18 in the final period, Shields received the puck at center ice, skated into Bulldog territory all alone, and flicked a flash bulb worthy one-timer off Richards' shoulder.
Shortly afterwards, at 13:43, Ouellette fed Glass a beautiful pass from the right-side circle, which Glass was able to take top-shelf on Richards, giving the Big Green a well deserved 4-3 lead.
Alas, that brief glimpse of victory was short-lived, as Yale's Brad Mills faked low on Devine and shot high to send home the tying goal. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Oullette came through again.
With 3:51 left in the contest, Devine passed the puck out of his own zone to Glass. Glass streaked up the ice, playing give-and-go with Ouellette before the senior captain lifted the puck and his team, rocketing one past Richards for his 10th goal of the year.
Jarrett Sampson '06 played the role of Geico, providing the Big Green with some much-needed insurance, tallying an empty-netter with less than a minute to go in the game.
Devine finished the game with 28 saves, and the Big Green mustered a magnificent 49 shots on net -- a season high.
In a matchup against the Brown Bears Saturday night, Dartmouth was skating on sunshine as the puck dropped in Providence, R.I. The Bears, who came into the match with an overall record of 3-14-6 and an ECAC mark of 2-10-4, were expected to be an easy opponent, especially with the momentum that should have carried over from Friday night's amazing come-from-behind triumph.
However, even the best-laid plans do not always come to fruition, as Dartmouth left Meehan Auditorium with an extremely disappointing 2-2 tie.
Brown scored first, with Cory Caouette lighting the lamp on a power play with 2:30 remaining in the opening stanza. The Big Green waited a while to tie the score, as Sampson fired a fast shot on Brown netminder Mark Sibbald. Sibbald was able to save the initial shot, but he allowed the bane of all goaltenders: a rebound. Johnson scooped up the loose puck before putting it top-shelf for the tying goal with just 0:34 seconds remaining in the second period.
The Big Green was once again out shot in the first period, 14-7, yet it turned its shooting patterns around once more, out-firing Brown 14-8 in the second frame.
Brown retook the lead with 11:56 left in the contest before the man who could be called the Big Green's MVP this season, David Jones '08, evened the game at two. Assists came courtesy of Glass and Wyman. The goal was Jones' team-leading 11th of the 05-06 campaign.
Sean Offers '06 appeared to score the winning tally with three minutes left in the competition. Offers fired a shot on net that seemed to squeak by Sibbald and over the blue line before Sibbald was able to swipe the puck out of the net. However, the referees disagreed.
The Big Green can look forward to an exciting set of match-ups next weekend, as ECAC rival Quinnipiac comes to Thompson Arena on Friday before the annual tennis ball tte--tte against Princeton kicks off Saturday.
The Princeton match will be nationally televised on ESPNU and will commence at 4:30 p.m., just before Winter Carnival weekend swings into full gear.
The Big Green is now 11-10-2 overall and 9-5-2 in the ECAC. It has also climbed up the conference rankings to the third spot and is in an excellent position to host a first-round ECAC playoff series.
If Dartmouth continues to play the way it did against Yale, the Big Green will be pulling off amazing performances well into the pleasant, warm New Hampshire spring season.
