With the victory, second-ranked Cornell (31-3-1, 20-1-1 ECAC) advanced to its second-straight Frozen Four appearance, in which it lost to Boston University, 4-1. The University of Wisconsin, Madison won the Championships, beating Boston University (27-7-4, 15-3-3 Hockey East) by a 4-1 score in the tournament's final game.
"I am very pleased with the season," head coach Mark Hudak said. "We did play to our potential and even a little beyond."
The Big Red jumped out to an early lead in the game against Dartmouth with a short-handed goal from freshman Jennifer Brianne. Stealing the puck in her own zone, Brianne skated in alone on the Dartmouth net and scored on the breakaway.
Dartmouth responded quickly with a score from Camille Dumais '13 on the same power play. Dumais picked up a loose puck near the right circle and fired a top-shelf shot into the back of the net.
The tie did not last long, however, as the Big Red retook the lead just 31 seconds later. Junior Ogilvie Kendice beat Dartmouth goaltender Lindsay Holdcroft '14 to put Cornell ahead, 2-1.
Although both teams recorded 11 shots on net in the second period, Cornell was able to take advantage of its scoring opportunities. Junior Catherine White and sophomore Laura Fortino added insurance goals in the frame to extend the lead to 4-1.
Attempting to engineer a comeback in the final period, the Big Green gave up more scoring chances in its defensive zone. Cornell got two more goals from junior Chelsea Karpenko and one tally from junior Rebecca Johnson to cap the victory.
The Big Red outshot Dartmouth 26-22 in the game, while Cornell's junior goaltender Amanda Mazzotta recorded 20 saves for the victory.
The two teams met a week earlier in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference final. In that game, Cornell outshot the Big Green, 28-14, on its way to a 3-0 victory. Two weeks before that encounter, Dartmouth was able to upset Cornell, 4-2, at home.
Despite low expectations and inconsistent play to begin the season, the Big Green became one of the eight teams selected to play in the NCAA tournament. Dartmouth finished the regular season strong, winning 10 of its last 11 games and earning home-ice advantage in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.
"Once we got to Christmas the team really bonded to what we were doing," Hudak said. "So I think the second half of the season really had a lot to do with the team working well as a team. It had much more to do with the team forming well."
Competing in the ECAC playoffs as the number three seed, Dartmouth broke the hearts of Clarkson University players by staging a late comeback in a deciding third game. In the semifinals four days later, the Big Green stunned Harvard University and ended the Crimson's season.
Writer Young Hou contributed to the reporting of this article.
