On Friday night the men in green traveled to the New York interior to square off against the Cornell Big Red (17-6-4, 12-5-3 ECACHL), ranked number one in the ECACHL and number six nationally. The Big Green came into Friday's game tied with the Colgate Raiders for second place in the ECACHL, one point behind the Big Red.
However, Friday's match held even more weight for the Big Green, as it was a chance for them to seize their first Ivy League title since 1980. Dartmouth came into the contest riding a ten game unbeaten streak in the ECACHL, and with the surging David Jones '08 at forward and the heavenly intervention of Mike Devine '08 in net, the team looked to continue its wining ways and crush the Big Red.
Unfortunately, one man stood in Dartmouth's way. Preseason All-American and Sports Illustrated article-featured goalie David McKee allowed only one Big Green goal in 60 minutes of play, saving 22 shots and improving his record to a solid 17-5-4 on the season.
The game was pushed out of reach for the Big Green after the first stanza, as Dartmouth found itself down 2-0.
The Big Green, as usual, outshot its opponent early on, but a proliferation of Dartmouth penalties caused this stat to be a moot point. It was while a Dartmouth defender was in the penalty box that Cornell's Topher Scott capitalized on a rebound let loose by Devine, and knocked the puck past the Dartmouth goaltender and into the back of the net. Rebounds continued to plague Devine, as the Big Red's Byron Bitz drove home a rebound stick side over Devine's shoulder for the second Big Red score of the contest.
However, the men in green would strike back with a shorthanded score just minutes into the second period. Nick Johnson '08 stole the puck from Cornell's defenders, who had been passing it back and forth at center ice. Johnson skated into the Big Red zone, and deeked-out a Big Red team member, sliding the puck over to a streaking Rob Pritchard '09, who had come around the right side of the net to light the lamp for the first Dartmouth tally of the game. The shorthanded goal was the first of Pritchard's career.
Unfortunately for Dartmouth's comeback chances, the Big Red pulled further ahead once again at 13:48 of the second period. As several Big Red players collapsed toward the Dartmouth net, Devine tried to poke check the puck away, but Cornell's Matt Moulson was able to sneak the puck past Devine as the net lost its bearings.
The Big Green had a number of opportunities in the third period to stage a comeback, yet McKee came up big in net for the Big Red, stopping all eleven shots he faced in the period. The Big Green outshot Cornell yet again in the final period of play, 11-6.
Devine finished with 27 saves against the Big Red.
Dartmouth walked into Colgate's (16-10-6, 12-6-2 ECACHL) Starr Rink on Saturday night knowing it controlled its own destiny in the ECACHL standings, holding down third place, while Colgate remained in second. If the Big Green were to win -- coupled with a Harvard University victory over Cornell on Saturday -- Dartmouth could move into a tie with Colgate. This victory would keep the Big Green only one point out of first place in the ECACHL, despite Friday's disappointment. They received the help they needed from Harvard, who eked out a huge victory over the Big Red 4-3 on Saturday night. Dartmouth then moved into a second-place tie with Colgate in the ECACHL after re-routing the Raiders 3-0.
The shutout was a collegiate first for Devine's, as he saved all twenty-one shots he faced on the night.
The Big Green took the lead at 11:32 in the opening frame when Tanner Glass '07 won a tightly contested battle in the corner and passed the puck, behind the net, to Jarrett Sampson '06 and Colgate's goalie Mark Dekanich. Sampson then worked the puck around the left side of the crease and slid the black disk across the net to Eric Przepiorka '06. Przepiorka shot low and Johnson helped to poke the puck past Dekanich and into the net.
The Big Green went up 2-0 with 11:49 taken off of the clock in the second period. Both teams had four skaters on the ice as a result of concurrent minors. Garret Overlock '06 received the puck in the Colgate zone and passed it over to Pritchard, who set up a shot for J.T. Wyman '08. Pritchard circled around the back of the net with Dekanich sliding over to the far side of the crease. Pritchard sent the puck to Wyman, who was there to shoot it into the empty cage, putting Dartmouth up 2-0.
Dartmouth finished its scoring early in the final period of play, when Ryan Bellows '09 sent a picturesque pass to fellow freshman Kevin Swallow, who served up a beautiful shot from behind the net. Swallow's shot went off of the skate of a Colgate defender, and into the back of the net, lighting the lamp for the third time and sealing a Big Green victory at 3-0.
Dartmouth finished the night outshooting the Raiders 30-21. The Big Green improved to an impressive 14-11-2, 12-6-2 in the ECACHL, and has come a long way since their early season woes. Dartmouth hosts Clarkson on Friday evening and fourth place St. Lawrence on Saturday night in a pivotal match-up for playoff seeding.
Both games will face-off at Thompson Arena starting at 7 p.m.
