Dartmouth, No. 6 in the ECAC, was swept by No. 11 RPI (9-25-2, 6-15-1 ECAC Hockey) in the first round of the ECAC Hockey League playoffs after a 3-2 overtime loss on Friday and a deflating 3-1 defeat on Saturday.
"We go into every game expecting to win," head coach Bob Gaudet '81 said after the game Saturday. "We expected to be playing next week."
Dartmouth (14-14-3, 11-9-2 ECAC Hockey) beat RPI twice earlier in the season, both times by a score of 5-2, before falling to the Engineers this weekend.
Scott Fleming '11, who scored both of Dartmouth's goals on Friday and has scored a total of five goals against RPI this season, could not save the Big Green as time trickled down on both Friday and Saturday.
"[Fleming] has done a good job for us," Gaudet said after the game Friday. "He had a good game and has had a great sophomore year."
Fleming's two goals were not enough Friday, as a RPI goal at 2:13 in the third period tied the game at two.
The goal forced an overtime period after the Big Green failed to capitalize on many late third-period scoring opportunities.
With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, an RPI player was penalized for holding, which gave the Big Green one last power-play chance.
Shots by Fleming and Doug Jones '12, who took seven shots during the game without finding the net, just missed.
Dartmouth was scoreless on its five power play opportunities throughout the night.
"We had a great opportunity on that power play," Gaudet said. "The [RPI goalie] made really good saves."
At 8:49 in the overtime period, Jeff Foss of RPI finally ended the game as he drilled the puck past Dartmouth goaltender Jody O'Neill '12.
O'Neill, who was recently named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, made 36 saves Friday, and had a save percentage of 0.923 this season.
The first goal of the night was scored by Fleming less than four minutes into the first period, assisted by Adam Estoclet '11.
Estoclet leads the Big Green in scoring with 32 points on eight goals and 24 assists. Fleming scored again in second period, assisted by team captain Rob Pritchard '09 and Peter Boldt '10.
Fleming led the Big Green in goal-scoring with 13 this season, and is third in scoring with 25 points.
Only taking one shot on Saturday, Fleming was again unable to score.
Instead, Joe Gaudet '10 scored Dartmouth's lone goal, 14:58 into the first period, tying the game 1-1. He was assisted by Evan Stephens '11 and Estoclet during a power play, and now has seven goals on the season.
RPI, getting on the scoreboard first at 12:23 in the first period, scored twice during the second to gain a 3-1 lead over Dartmouth. The Big Green outshot RPI 27-21 in Saturday's game, and continued fighting until the buzzer sounded, coach Gaudet said.
"I was really proud of the guys," he said. "It's a sign of the team with eight seconds left, down two goals, trying to score a goal."
The Big Green was plagued by injuries this weekend as integral members of the squad were not healthy.
Pritchard hurt his knee in the first period Saturday, but continued to play during the game after initially limping off the ice. Andrew Owsiak '11 also played despite suffering from injuries.
"We were the walking wounded," Gaudet said. "Though it's no excuse, the guys were not at 100 percent. Still, that is not to diminish RPI."
Dartmouth also missed a major defensive force in Joe Stejskal '11, who was thrown out of the game after being handed a five-minute hitting from behind penalty and a 10-minute game misconduct penalty four minutes into the first period Saturday.
Despite the loss, the Big Green squad, largely defined by the play of underclassmen this year, gained valuable experience from this home-ice playoff series, Gaudet said.
The seniors also played well in their last game at Dartmouth, he said.
"Some of our sophomores and the freshmen had really great years," he said. "Also, Pritchard did a great job for us, he played disciplined hockey. Connor Shields ['09] had a good game. John Gibson ['09] played really well -- they pass that on to the younger guys."
Despite the disappointing first-round exit, Gaudet remained optimistic about the team's chances next season.
"We have some really good recruits coming in next year," he said. "We should have really good depth. Still, we're disappointed, obviously. I also just want to thank the fans this season for their support."
With the series victory, RPI will move ahead in the playoffs, taking on Cornell in the quarterfinals, a best-of-three series March 13 and 14.
