The Dartmouth women's hockey team beat Colgate University in a best-of-three series this weekend to advance to the ECAC Hockey semifinals. After losing an overtime heartbreaker Friday, the Big Green came back the next day to force a decisive game three Sunday afternoon.
Both teams entered Sunday's match knowing that their seasons were on the line. After 60 minutes of hard-fought hockey, Dartmouth (18-9-4, 13-4-5 ECAC Hockey) emerged victorious, crushing the Colgate Raiders (18-9-4, 12-7-3 ECAC Hockey) 7-3.
Physical play defined the weekend's action, with players on both squads fighting hard for control of the puck. An aggressive Dartmouth squad capitalized on the opportunity, with the Big Green repeatedly over-powering the visitors. Dartmouth's special-teams play was outstanding, as the power-play unit scored six goals in game three to send the Raiders home empty-handed.
The first game of the series, played Friday afternoon, set the tone for the rest of the series, with both teams playing very physically. Passions on both sides ran high from the opening puck drop, and the game's intensity only increased following a first-period offensive explosion that saw Dartmouth trail 4-2 after just 20 minutes of play. Five of those goals, including both by Dartmouth, were scored within a span of just six minutes.
In the second period, Sarah Parsons '10 scored twice on power-play opportunities as the Big Green clawed its way back into the game to tie the score at four. Parsons, who had already tallied a goal in the opening frame, recorded her first hat-trick of the season with the effort.
Colgate scored again with just under two minutes left in the period to give the Raiders a one-goal lead.
A Jenna Cunningham '10 goal evened the score at five goals apiece, but Colgate scored again with just 7:35 left in the game to take a 6-5 lead. The Raiders looked ready to skate off with the win, but an incredible goal by Amanda Trunzo '11 sent to game to overtime.
Colgate sophomore Jessi Waters netted the game-winner 2:44 into the extra period, giving Colgate the win in the first game of the series.
Despite the loss, Dartmouth and Colgate had been evenly matched during the game, with the Big Green outshooting the raiders 38-32. The big positive for the Dartmouth squad was on the power-play, where Dartmouth had scored three goals on five opportunities.
Co-captain Sarah Newnam '09 said Friday's game was difficult for the team because of the chance to come back.
"Friday was a tough loss in overtime, especially after working so hard to dig ourselves out of the hole that we were in during the first couple of periods," she said.
Dartmouth and Colgate faced off again Saturday afternoon, with the Big Green fully aware that a loss would essentially guarantee an end to their season. Parsons, adding to her tally of three goals the previous day, recorded another two goals, including a strike just 16 seconds into the match, to lead the Big Green past the Raiders 2-1.
Both teams failed to capitalize on their extra-skater opportunities, with Dartmouth failing to score on four power-play chances, and Colgate shut out on five chances.
Goaltender Carli Clemis '09 proved golden in the win, making 27 saves to force a third game in the series.
"We really showed a lot of character Saturday, coming back to make sure that our season wasn't quite over just yet," Shannon Bowman '09 said.
"We came to the rink prepared and ready to work our hardest to keep the season alive," Newnam added. "We properly executed our systems, and played a full 60 minutes of Big Green hockey. Our hard work paid off when we scored in the middle of the third period and then stayed on top to finish out the game."
With passions still riding high from the previous game, Dartmouth faced off against Colgate Sunday afternoon to decide who would advance to the ECAC Hockey semifinals.
Dartmouth took full advantage of the game's intensity, scoring five straight power-play goals before Colgate even got on the board. Maggie Kennedy '09 scored first for the Big Green, capitalizing on Colgate mistakes to fire a shot into the back of the net just under eight minutes into the game.
Dartmouth scored two more goals in the last 2:10 of the opening frame, with the Big Green taking advantage of a five-on-three and then a five-on-four just over a minute later to make it a 3-0 Dartmouth lead entering the first intermission.
Both teams were held scoreless during the middle period, with play continuing at an intense clip.
The offensive fireworks returned in the third period, with Colgate and Dartmouth scoring a combined seven goals in the last 20 minutes of play.
Dartmouth opened the final period with two more power-play goals. Reagan Fischer '12 scored the game-winner, followed by an Amanda Trunzo '11 goal.
Finally, with Dartmouth enjoying a 5-0 lead, the Raiders mounted a desperate comeback attempt. Two Colgate players scored on power plays to make it a 5-2 game with just under 10 minutes of play remaining.
A second strike from Trunzo, who scored unassisted during a 4-on-4, was answered just 40 seconds later by a Colgate power-play goal. With the Raiders down 6-3 with just five minutes left, however, the Raider's comeback attempt became ever more desperate, and the visitors were ultimately done in by their own frustration.
Two Colgate penalties in the dying minutes of the game led to the games second 5-on-3 for Dartmouth, with Newnam sniping in a shot past the defense to send Dartmouth past Colgate, 7-3.
The game ended on a sour note when Colgate captain Elin Brown was sent off with a 10-minute game-misconduct after she deliberately knocked down a Dartmouth player on a face-off.
"It was nice to finally find the back of that net today and come out in the first period to get the lead," Bowman said. "It was a little emotional at the end of the game knowing that it was our last game at Thompson Arena, but it couldn't have been a better ending, with a big win and an amazing crowd."
The Dartmouth women's hockey team returns to action next Saturday, when the squad travels to Cambridge, Mass., to face St. Lawrence in the ECAC Hockey semifinals, hosted by Harvard.
