In the championship game Sunday night, Northeastern University (8-8-1, 4-7-1 Hockey East) defeated the No. 14 University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2-1. UMass Lowell (11-7-1, 5-4-1 Hockey East) advanced to the championship game after defeating Holy Cross, 3-0, on Saturday.
Although the Big Green (3-10, 1-6 ECAC Hockey) outshot Holy Cross (5-10-4, 4-6-3 Atlantic Hockey), 38-27, its seven power plays yielded no goals.
"Since we have lost four games in a row, guys are getting frustrated and tense and trying to be perfect," captain Peter Boldt '10 said. "Guys tighten up and lose the comfort and the ease. That is something that has evolved over this season since we aren't as successful as we used to be."
Holy Cross struck first, establishing a 2-0 lead shortly into the second period. Kyle Reeds '11 answered 12:41 into the second period with a goal off assists from Joe Gaudet '10 and Rob Smith '10, tightening the Big Green deficit to 2-1.
The Crusaders strengthened their lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal 1:31 into the third frame just as Dartmouth had killed off the first of two penalties. A late goal by Dustin Walsh '13 with 1:23 remaining in the third period was not enough, as Holy Cross notched an empty-net goal with just seven seconds remaining in the game.
In the first round of the tournament, the stands emptied early as Dartmouth was routed by Northeastern in a 7-0 loss.
"We got beaten in every facet of the game and that disappoints me," head coach Bob Gaudet said. "Sometimes you get beat, but in [a certain] area there are things you feel good about. This isn't one of those nights. It isn't a lack of effort it unraveled."
Defenseman Evan Stephens '11 led the team with five shots although Dartmouth was outshot by Northeastern during each period. The Big Green's leading goal-scorer, Scott Fleming '11, took just one shot.
Netminder Jody O'Neill '12 was pulled from the goal midway through the second period after allowing four goals. In his first collegiate appearance, Charles Corsi '13 replaced O'Neill and played the last 31:40 of the game, letting in three goals. The goalkeepers combined for 35 saves on the day.
"Charles has worked really hard," coach Gaudet said after the game. "It was an opportunity to get Jody out and an opportunity to give [Charles] some time. I didn't feel like Jody was getting help."
O'Neill now has a save percentage of .898 for his 12 appearances this season, while Corsi has a save percentage of .850 for his single showing.
Freshman goaltender for the Huskies, Chris Rawlings, was impenetrable in net and made 32 saves throughout the game. Rawlings was named the tournament MVP.
Northeastern capitalized on its power plays with two goals and established its dominance by drilling a shorthanded goal during a Dartmouth power play.
The most recent Big Green loss by such a large margin was delivered by Harvard in a 10-1 loss during the 2005-2006 season.
Dartmouth took the championship game of the Ledyard tournament last year with a 4-2 win over Bemidji State University, but after this year's result, the Big Green is focusing on getting back on a winning track.
"Confidence in sports is a really fragile thing," coach Gaudet said. "It's a funny business you have to have amnesia, but you also have to learn from your mistakes. What we need to do seriously is battle every shift like it's the last, regardless of the score or the situation."
Dartmouth returns to the ice with home match-ups against Brown (5-9-1, 3-4-1 ECAC Hockey) at 7 p.m. Friday night and No. 9 Yale (8-3-3, 4-1-2 ECAC Hockey) at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Yale is currently in fourth place in the ECAC standings with 10 points while Brown trails in sixth, with seven points. Dartmouth sits at the bottom of the league with just two points.
