With two games remaining in the season, Dartmouth (13-11-3, 10-8-2 ECAC Hockey) is now tied with St. Lawrence (17-11-4, 9-7-4 ECAC Hockey) for fourth place in the League with 22 points. Both teams trail No. 7 Yale, No. 10 Princeton, and No. 11 Cornell, by eight, six and five points, respectively.
All 12 ECAC Hockey teams are given a berth in the playoffs, but only the top four teams in the league are given a bye during the first round. Hopes for the Big Green to receive the bye were diminished this weekend, however, as Dartmouth lost its sole ownership of fourth place in the league -- and the No. 4 seed -- following the two disappointing losses.
Dartmouth entered the third period of play against Clarkson (9-16-7, 7-9-4 ECAC Hockey) down 2-1. After Clarkson took the 1-0 lead on a power play goal 7:44 into the first period, Captain Rob Pritchard '09 scored the Big Green's first goal during a penalty kill. This shorthanded goal is Pritchard's eighth goal of the season.
The Big Green defense, however, collapsed in the last third of the game and allowed Clarkson to score another four goals.
"Team defense has been our downfall for most of the games that we've lost," defenseman Evan Stephens '11 said. "Our defense hasn't progressed, and teams have found our weakness. We're making simple mistakes that haven't been corrected. It's a team thing -- team defense wins games, and that's what we are lacking right now."
Dartmouth did not quit in resignation as Adam Estoclet '11 notched a goal 6:33 into the third period, and Connor Shields '09 scored during a power play with eight minutes left in the game. Despite these two goals, Clarkson held onto the lead during the whole third period, and eventually secured the win with an empty-net goal with less than two minutes remaining.
Big Green goaltender Jody O'Neill '12 made 29 saves as Clarkson outshot Dartmouth in each period, and 35-21 overall. O'Neill now has a save percentage of 0.922 this season.
Defense failed the Big Green again against St. Lawrence, as the Saints took an insurmountable 4-0 lead in the first period and never looked back.
"They got a goal early, and instead of rebounding and coming back with more pressure, we ended up on our heels and we haven't woken up yet," Stephens said. "It's uncharacteristic of our team, and it's something we need to focus on and get better at -- to respond to teams getting up early and come back."
Pritchard scored the first of Dartmouth's two goals of the night off of assists from Estoclet and Stephens 4:36 into the second period, finally putting the Big Green on the board.
Troy Mattila '12 netted his first collegiate goal 4:41 into the third period, assisted by Joe Gaudet '10 and Doug Jones '12.
Dartmouth was outshot 39-34 by St. Lawrence, and both teams went 0-5 on the power play.
The Big Green went into the weekend hoping for victories after last weekend's disappointing 1-0 loss against Colgate University.
Stephens said that the combination of these three devastating losses should not raise questions about the validity of Dartmouth's 5-4 overtime victory over third-place Cornell on Feb. 13, especially as the playoffs approach.
"I don't think they invalidated it," Stephens said. "Our win against Cornell was one of our best games of the year, and they played one of their best games of the year. Any good team goes through slumps, and it's just unfortunate that we are hitting this point before the playoffs. When we play to our potential, that's how good we should be and that's how good we can be."
The Big Green returns to the ice this weekend in Hanover for its last two games of the season.
Friday night is "Pink at the Rink" night, as Dartmouth plays No. 10 Princeton at 7 p.m. in a game that will raise money for the American Cancer Society. Though Dartmouth beat Princeton 4-0 earlier in the season, the Big Green needs to regain confidence in order to have a chance at victory.
"Confidence is a funny thing, it's yet to be determined," Stephens said. "We need a good week of practice so we can gain some confidence. We can't sit and think about our last three games -- that will only deflate us more. We need to make sure we are mentally ready."
Dartmouth will then celebrate Senior Day as it plays Quinnipiac University at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Quinnipiac is currently in sixth place in the conference. Dartmouth lost to the Bobcats 6-0 earlier in the season.
