The Quinnipiac Bobcats (9-7-6, 6-3-5 ECAC Hockey) dominated the third period, erasing a one-goal deficit and scoring with five minutes remaining in the game to edge past the Big Green (6-8-2, 4-6-1 ECAC Hockey) with a final score of 2-1.
Head coach Mark Hudak attributed the lackluster final period to a chain of mental and emotional mistakes that gave Quinnipiac the opportunity to gain momentum.
"We made a series of mental mistakes that took away the momentum," he said. "We were struggling to play for a full sixty minutes."
In contrast to the closing frame, Hudak explained, Dartmouth outplayed the Bobcats in the first two periods. He added that despite a scoreless opening period, the Big Green created many chances to get the puck in the net.
"We seemed to have a lot of energy and opportunities, but we just didn't cash in on them," he said.
Dartmouth's lone point came from co-captain Jenna Cunningham '10, who scored her ninth goal of the season 12 minutes into the second period.
The senior forward pushed the puck through traffic, swooped around the net and swept the puck under the glove of Bobcat freshman netminder Victoria Vigilanti.
While the match-up was relatively clean, Dartmouth failed to capitalize on its three power play opportunities.
Between the pipes for the Big Green, Mariel Lacina '10 pushed aside 24 shots, while Vigilanti made 20 saves.
Following the disappointing loss, Dartmouth traveled to New Jersey, where the Big Green traded the lead four times with a resilient Princeton squad (9-9-3, 7-4-3 ECAC Hockey). The Tigers had a strong finish to win the game 4-3.
Dartmouth again failed to maintain its momentum through the entirety of the game and could not counter the Tigers' last minute efforts in the third period.
Amanda Trunzo '11 put Dartmouth on the scoreboard first with a power-play goal eight minutes into the second period, but the Tigers retaliated 47 seconds later on an extra-skater opportunity.
After knotting up the game in the middle period, the Big Green recaptured the lead for the second time in the match with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Co-captain Sarah Parsons '10 put the Big Green ahead after her shot from the right face-off circle trickled past Princeton sophomore Rachel Weber inside the far post.
With a man-up advantage, the Tigers responded quickly and erased the one-goal deficit off a rebound in front of the net. Princeton took the lead with a game-winning goal at the 17-minute mark.
The Tigers peppered Lacina with 41 shots, while Dartmouth managed only 27 on Weber.
An injury-riddled game against University of Connecticut on Jan. 2 forced Hudak to make some changes to the Big Green's lineup, and he expected to see the effects of these alterations on the ice, he said.
"It's inevitable that the changes are going to have some effects on the team," he said. "It impacted us, but I also saw some good things come out of it."
There was a slight lack of confidence in the way the team competed in both games, Hudak said.
"We seem to be playing very hesitantly," he said. "Somehow we need to get back some of that confidence."
Hudak admitted that it was difficult to get to the root of the problem, but stressed that the team must focus on what it has been doing well.
Dartmouth returns home next weekend with a pair of games against Colgate University and Cornell University. The Big Green takes on the Raiders in Thompson Arena at 7 p.m. on Friday and faces the Big Red on Saturday at 4 p.m.
