Yale (9-9-5, 6-7-3 ECAC) arrived in Hanover hoping to defend second place in the Ivy League, which it had wrested from the Big Green (12-7-4, 9-5-2 ECAC) last week following Dartmouth's loss to Harvard (19-1-0, 16-0-0 ECAC). When the two teams played earlier in the season, Dartmouth emerged with a 4-1 victory.
The Bulldogs got the first major opportunity early in the first period with a 5-on-3 power play advantage but failed to get any of six shots past the Dartmouth defense and goalkeeper Carli Clemis '09. Soon after the penalties, the Big Green would get on the board with a goal by Sarah Parsons '10. Less than a minute later, Amy Cobb '08 added to the lead with her fifth goal of the season.
Yale then scored on a breakaway goal four minutes before the end of the first period. Dartmouth accrued another two overlapping penalties, but Clemis kept the Bulldogs at bay during the 5-on-3 power play.
In the second period, Julia Bronson '09 netted a goal on a Dartmouth power play to bring the score to 3-1, but Yale rallied at the beginning of the third period, scoring two goals within a minute of each other to tie the game at 3-3. The final minutes of regulation and the ensuing overtime featured multiple near-misses by both teams, but neither could capitalize on power plays.
"We made some unforced errors in third period," coach Mark Hudak said, "but we learned from the mistakes and did a much better job on Saturday."
After Friday's tie, Dartmouth was determined to secure and maintain a lead against Brown (3-16-4, 2-11-3 ECAC) the following day and succeeded in their task.
The Big Green got ahead quickly on a power play goal by Maggie Kennedy '09. She scored again midway through the second period, followed by a goal from Carrie Thompson '08, her seventh of the season. Sarah Newnam '09 assisted both goals and recorded a career-high three assists in the contest.
Brown finally scored halfway through the final period, but Dartmouth answered with a goal from Marley McMillan '09. The Bears narrowed the margin to two with three minutes remaining but Dartmouth shut down further attempts at a comeback.
"We got the lead this time and were able to hold them off for the most part," Kennedy said. "We weren't going to let them get back in and tie it up like Yale. I thought we played a very solid game."
Power plays were a key element in the victory over the Bears, as three of Dartmouth's goals came on advantage conversions.
"We were able to capitalize on our power play opportunities, which we haven't been doing the past few weekends," Newnam said. "Scoring on the power play definitely makes a huge difference in the final outcome of each game."
The weekend's results enabled Dartmouth to regain second place in the Ivy League following Harvard's 3-0 defeat of Yale on Saturday.
Dartmouth is currently in a heated battle for home ice advantage in the playoffs and every remaining game in the regular season will be very important.
"This week, we plan to continue to work hard and to maintain focus on executing our systems," Newnam said. "At this stage in the season, we need all the points we can get from wins to maintain a good rank for the upcoming ECAC postseason tournament."
Next weekend will be Dartmouth's final home stand of the regular season and is thus especially important to the team's seniors.
Rensselaer (12-11-4, 5-8-3) arrives on Feb. 8 for the "Pink in the Rink" game, during which the Big Green will wear pink jerseys in support of cancer research. The following night is Senior Night as Dartmouth faces off against Union (3-21-2, 0-14-2 ECAC). The Big Green defeated both RPI and Union by two-goal margins earlier in the season.
