The first period was a battle of offensive power and defensive attrition, with the two teams put up strong efforts on both ends of the ice.
UNH struck first, jumping out to an early lead five minutes into the game. Wildcats senior captain Mike Sislo put the puck into play in front of the Dartmouth net, finding a way past goaltender James Mello '12. Mello was forced to dodge a fish thrown onto the ice by a Wildcats fan after the goal, following UNH tradition.
The Big Green, however, was able to secure the equalizer after a tripping penalty on UNH junior Blake Kessel late in the first period. Kessel is the brother of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA player Phil Kessel. The game picked up again when a centering pass from Doug Jones '12 found captain Scott Fleming '11, who buried the puck to tie the score at one each.
The Big Green took the lead for the first time in the game soon after the first intermission, when Paul Lee '12 passed the puck off to Rob Smith '10 in front of the net. Smith slipped the puck by UNH junior goaltender Matt DiGirolamo to give Dartmouth a one goal advantage.
Despite several highlight-worthy saves by Mello, the Big Green was unable to hang on to the lead. UNH sophomore forward John Henrion tied the score midway through the second period.
Both teams struggled to find the net late in the second period, and the battle for the Riverstone Cup was anything but certain as both teams continued to fire on all cylinders heading into the third period.
The Big Green came out of the gates quickly in the third, when assistant captain Joe Stejskal '11 found the back of the net from the blue line less than 30 seconds into the period. Matt Reber '11 and Adam Estoclet '11 tallied assists on goal, and Dartmouth took the 3-2 advantage.
The score was only Stejskal's second of the season, but, like his first which was an overtime game-winner in the Ledyard Cup consolation game it came at a decisive moment for the Big Green.
"We were fortunate enough to get that go-ahead goal and let us, not really relax, but take a deep breath and get going and start playing our game in the third," Stejskal said.
Despite Dartmouth's momentum and an aggressive Big Green forecheck, the Wildcats were able to capitalize on a turnover deep in the Dartmouth defensive zone. Henrion took the puck and placed it just over the shoulder of Mello, picking up his second goal of the contest and tying the game with 12 minutes remaining.
Minutes later, UNH dodged what would have been a game-changing goal when Fleming hit the crossbar with nine minutes remaining. Although the puck appeared to have crossed the plane of the goal on video replay, NCAA hockey does not mandate replay review and after head referee Dean Gilbert waved off the goal the play stood. The ECAC will begin mandating the use of replay next season.
The Wildcats were not as lucky later in the period. Dustin Walsh '13 gave the Big Green its third lead of the game with seven minutes remaining, burying a loose puck in front of the net.
Junior forward Paul Thompson later picked up a rebound in front of the net and slid the loose puck past Mello, evening the score at 4-4 with less than five minutes to play in regulation.
Jones became the hero of the game, however, by picking up his own rebound in front of the net and giving the Big Green a decisive goal and the victory. The goal came with just over a minute left in the game.
"We had some good back pressure coming," Jones said. "It was just one of those plays where I was just trying to get the puck on net, and it went on net I was lucky enough to for it to come up in the air to me. I just swatted at it and it worked out."
Jones was named the game's Most Valuable Player, and the Big Green dethroned the fourth-ranked Wildcats to claim the Riverside Cup for the first time since 2008.
"It was a great game, it was one of those up-and-down battles right to the very end," head coach Bob Gaudet said. "It was an exciting game even from the bench with a lot of energy for both sides. They have a very good team."
The Big Green will play all of its remaining 12 games against ECAC opponents, starting next weekend when the team travels to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Friday and Union College on Saturday. The Big Green sits in fourth place in the ECAC standings and third place in the Ivy League.
