The Big Green (4-3-1, 3-2-1 ECAC) faced off against the Quinnipiac Bobcats after tallying 13 goals over its last two games a scoring trend the team hoped to continue entering the match, according to assistant captain Evan Stephens '11.
"Last weekend, we knocked in 13 goals against St. Lawrence and Clarkson, and we wanted to keep that going into this weekend," he said.
Despite the offensive showcase last weekend, Dartmouth was unable to capitalize on its opportunities against Quinnipiac the way it had against St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
The game went back and forth, but the Big Green outmatched the Bobcats overall, according to forward Matthew Lindblad '14.
"We really outplayed them throughout the game they just capitalized on one of the opportunities that they had and we didn't," he said.
The hard-fought first goal of the game came with a little more than five minutes left in the second period when Quinnipiac capitalized on a two-on-one situation to sneak the puck past a red-hot goaltender James Mello '12, who had another phenomenal weekend, according to defenseman Taylor Boldt '14.
"Mello came up big for us this weekend like he did on the road last weekend," Boldt said. "He is playing phenomenally and is a big part of how well the team is doing."
Despite Mello's strength in the net, the loss to Quinnipiac stemmed from a failure to capitalize on scoring chances throughout the game, according to Stephens.
"We had nine or 10 great opportunities to put the puck in the net, especially late in the third, and we didn't," he said. "They had two real chances and scored on one of them."
The final goal of the contest came late in the third period on an empty net after head coach Bob Gaudet pulled Mello for a man advantage in the final minutes.
Following the loss, the Big Green hit the road following the game to face Ivy foe Princeton the next day.
Thirteen minutes into Saturday's contest, the Tigers took the lead.
The Big Green recovered less than three minutes later, however, after a Princeton turnover deep in its defensive zone. Paul Lee '12 recovered the puck and passed it to linemate Andrew Owsiak '11, who was waiting in front of the net to hammer home the equalizing one-timer for his first goal of the season.
Despite only logging three total shots, Dartmouth capitalized on scoring opportunities throughout the second period, and two shots made it in what proved to be the decisive period of the game.
The first came early in the frame during a Big Green power play. Lindblad won the face-off back to linemate Dustin Walsh '13, who snuck the puck past Princeton's Alan Reynolds to give Dartmouth a 2-1 lead.
The Big Green also scored late in the period, this time during a penalty kill.
Reynolds mishandled the puck in the goal crease and Lindblad was standing by to poke the puck in for the team's first short-handed goal of the season. The goal was not the smoothest of his career, according to Lindblad, but it proved to be the game-winner for the Big Green.
"It was not a pretty goal by any means, but a goal is a goal, and we needed it," he said. "It was a hard-fought game and it was getting really close."
Dartmouth held onto a 3-1 lead throughout the remainder of the second period but was unable to keep the Tigers at bay entirely, as Princeton cut the lead to a goal in the first minute of the third period.
The rest of the game was a physical battle, with several scrums developing late in the match-up as tensions mounted.
"Princeton gave us a very physical battle," Stens said. "They are a tough team, and it's good to come away with a victory in those kinds of situations."
Dartmouth held onto the lead and left New Jersey with the 3-2 victory.
The team will be back in action this weekend when the Big Green travels to Cambridge, Mass., on Friday to face off against Harvard University before returning to Thompson Arena on Saturday to take on the Crimson at 7 p.m. in a decisive home-and-home match-up.
