Goalkeeper Jody O'Neill '12, who was replaced after allowing four goals in less than two periods against Quinnipiac, rebounded with a 41-save shutout performance against the league-leading Tigers (13-3-0, 8-2-0 ECAC). The game was O'Neill's fourth shutout and second 40-plus save performance this season.
Dartmouth (9-5, 6-3 ECAC) opened the scoring with three minutes left in the first period. Defenseman Dan Markowitz '11 found the net with a shot from the right side of Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba for his first goal of the season.
After a hard-fought second period, the Big Green scored again on a top-shelf strike by Doug Jones '12 that was assisted by Connor Goggin '12, giving the away team a two-goal cushion and forcing the Tigers on their heels.
Dartmouth dominated the game with strong defense, stopping the formidable Princeton offense cold throughout the night. The Big Green engineered the penalty kill to perfection, denying the Tigers on four consecutive Princeton power plays in the third period. Despite the lack of discipline on penalties, the team showed impressive teamwork fighting off the league leaders while shorthanded.
An increasingly desperate Tigers team pulled Kalemba out of net with just over two minutes left to play in the third period. That strategy failed, however, resulting in two open-net goals for Andrew Owsiak '11 and putting the final tally at 4-0 in favor of Dartmouth.
Princeton came into the contest bolstered by a four-game win streak that has propelled it to the top of the ECAC standings.
The Big Green may have gained some motivation for the underdog win on Sunday night from their disappointing road loss on Saturday. Playing at the TD Banknorth Sports Center in Hamden, Conn., Dartmouth was shut out 6-0 by an unranked Quinnipiac University team, the first time the squad has given up six goals all season.
After a scoreless first period, the Bobcats (11-6-1, 6-3-1 ECAC) took control of the contest shortly after the first intermission. Quinnipiac's Bryan Leitch took advantage of a Dartmouth penalty to score the team's first goal, and Jean-Marc Beaudoin scored an unassisted goal 35 seconds later after a Big Green turnover.
O'Neill was taken out of the game in the middle of the second period after Dartmouth went down 4-0. He was replaced by James Mello '12, making his first regular season appearance on the ice.
This goalie change marked the first time this season that O'Neill has been knocked out of the net. He made 15 saves, while Mello came in to make nine.
"Jody getting pulled wasn't his fault," captain Rob Pritchard '09 said after the game Saturday. "The goals they scored were good shots. We weren't backing him up so we pulled him to give him a rest."
The Bobcats capitalized on this sign of resignation from the Big Green to score another two goals against Mello in the third stanza. The Dartmouth offensive effort also waned in the third period, as the Big Green took only three shots compared to Quinnipiac's nine.
Throughout the contest, the Big Green failed to mount a comeback, despite several offensive opportunities.
Connor Shields '09 took the first two shots of the game for Dartmouth in the first period but could not get the puck in the net. In the second period, Scott Fleming '11 had a one-on-one opportunity against the goalie but was also unable to score.
Quinnipiac freshman goaltender Dan Clarke was impenetrable, earning his first shutout in only his second start of the season.
Dartmouth had five power plays in the game but was unable to score during any of them. In contrast, the Bobcats took advantage of their seven power plays to score three of their goals.
"Their power play unit was really good and we didn't execute the way we should have," Pritchard said. "We just didn't convert our chances on offense."
Usually a more productive offense, Dartmouth took only 19 shots in the game. The 6-0 loss was the first time this season that the Big Green has been shut out.
"That is really low for us since we usually shoot around 30," Pritchard said. "We just weren't taking shots when we had the opportunity to."
The game against Quinnipiac was preceded by the Ledyard National Bank Classic, which was held in Hanover on Sunday, Dec. 28 and Monday, Dec. 29. Dartmouth won the tournament after defeating Army 5-4 on Sunday and Minnesota's Bemidji State University 4-2 on Monday.
O'Neill, Shields and Goggin were placed on the All-Tournament team, while Kyle Reeds '11 was named the MVP of the tournament. Reeds scored two short-handed goals during Sunday's game against Army and had an assist to Matt Reber '11 against Bemidji State.
Dartmouth defeated Army in overtime, as Pritchard scored the winning goal early in the extra period. This was the captain's second goal of the season, and advanced the Big Green to the championship game against Bemidji State.
"It was a huge morale booster," Pritchard said. "Army was a really hard-working team and Bemidji was really skilled. It was a big challenge, but it was good getting back to playing American-style hockey after playing in Europe."
The men's hockey team competed in Europe as a part of its winter training trip.
The Big Green men will be back in action this weekend with home contests against Yale and Brown. Both games start at 7:00 p.m. at Thompson Arena.
