Dartmouth (12-8-3, 9-5-2 ECAC Hockey) trailed Yale (17-5-1, 12-3-1 ECAC Hockey) 2-1 going into the last minute of the third period. The Big Green pulled its goalie, Jody O'Neill '12, to create an offensive advantage in an attempt to tie up the game.
The Bulldogs capitalized on the empty net, and scored with 20 seconds remaining in the game, creating a 3-1 deficit for the Big Green to overcome. Sean Backman notched the goal for Yale despite an a desperate defensive effort by Joe Stejskal '11.
As Backman took the shot, Stejskal tried to cut him off and hit him into the boards. The Bulldogs reacted angrily to what they said was a cheap shot taken by Stejskal, rushing onto the ice, while Evan Stephens '11 tried to defend Stejskal.
This heated scuffle resulted in various penalties for both teams. Stephens was handed a two-minute penalty for boarding and a 10-minute misconduct.
"I just tried to find [Backman], and we wrestled each other to the ground," Stephens said. "No punches were thrown. It was just more of a wrestling match. It wasn't too serious."
Backman received two roughing penalties and a 10-minute misconduct. Two other Yale players -- Ryan Donald and Mark Arcobello -- were also given 10-minute misconducts.
These long penalties all came with 20 seconds remaining in the game, but Stephens said that he did not expect them to roll over to future games.
"I don't think there's any layover into the next weekend," Stephens said. "I'm not really sure why they gave out 10 minutes in that situation. Still, I know they usually review plays like that. If they deem it fighting, the refs will hand out game misconducts -- then I would miss the next game against Cornell."
Stejskal played an important role offensively in the game as he scored Dartmouth's only goal, which came 18 minutes into the first period. Assisted by Stephens and Doug Jones '12, Stejskal was able to capitalize on a five-on-three power-play advantage.
Despite the early lead, Dartmouth could not hold on for a win.
The Bulldogs scored two goals during the second period, outshooting the Big Green 20-7. Dartmouth outshot Yale 16-12 in the third period, but was unable to find the back of the net.
"It's very disappointing to lose when you get up early on a team -- especially in a close battle for the top of the league," O'Neill said. "We fought hard and the puck just didn't bounce our way tonight."
The Big Green had more success offensively against Brown (2-17-4, 2-11-3 ECAC Hockey) on Friday, scoring a total of five goals -- three of which came in the third period.
Scott Fleming '11 scored twice for Dartmouth and now leads the Big Green in goals with 10 so far this season.
"It was great when Fleming stepped up there for us -- he has been working hard all season," O'Neill said. "It really shows when you look at his stats. It's great having guys chip in, whether it's through blocking a shot or scoring a goal."
Fleming's first goal came during a second-period power play, assisted by Adam Estoclet '11 and Connor Shields '09.
Earlier this week, Estoclet was named one of 16 semi-finalists for the Walter Brown Award, which recognizes the best American-born college hockey player in New England. Tied with Jones for first in scoring for the Big Green, Estoclet now has seven goals and 18 assists this season.
With three minutes remaining in the third period, Fleming scored his second goal of the night. Stephens and Shields also scored during the third period to help secure the 5-2 win for Dartmouth.
Despite giving up one goal to Brown during a late second period penalty kill, Dartmouth played well on special teams. In addition to Fleming's second-period power-play goal, captain Rob Pritchard '09 scored Dartmouth's first goal of the game, also on a power play. It was his fifth goal of the season.
Brown is currently in last place in the ECAC Hockey standings, having won only two games this season. Dartmouth is now in fourth place, trailing first-place Yale by five points, second-place Cornell by three and third-place Princeton by two.
With games coming up against Cornell (15-4-4, 10-3-3 ECAC Hockey) at 7 p.m. on Friday and Colgate (8-15-5, 3-10-3 ECAC Hockey) at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Hanover, Dartmouth hopes to earn enough points to catch up in the standings.
"We need to focus on having a good week of practice and putting on a good game for Winter Carnival," O'Neill said. "Cornell is only three points ahead of us right now, so we'll jump up to one point behind them if we win. It will be huge for us with only a few weeks left in the season."
Moving on from next weekend, the Big Green have four games left in their season, all of which are ECAC Hockey League conference matchups.
