Dartmouth also suffered a 4-0 loss at the hands of Colgate (6-4-1, 2-2-0 ECAC) on Friday after giving up three goals in the third period. This weekend's losses offset last weekend's sweep of Princeton University and Quinnipiac University.
The Big Green received a total of 11 penalties this weekend, ceding one power play goal in each game. Dartmouth has now allowed seven powerplay goals this season.
Trailing the rest of the ECAC in scoring powerplay goals, Dartmouth finally notched its first one of the season against Cornell. Tyler Sikura '15 gave the Big Green a 1-0 lead 15:05 into the first period, exploiting a one-man advantage and drilling the puck off an assist from Andy Simpson '15.
Entering the third period and with the contest knotted at two, Dartmouth conceded the game-winning goal to Big Red junior defenseman Nick D'Agostino midway through the period. Posting a four-point weekend, D'Agostino scored two goals against Big Green goaltender James Mello '12 to add to his two goals against Harvard University the night before.
"They are a good team and they always have been," Mello said of Cornell. "They work the puck really well and play more of an NHL style. I think we had a couple breakdowns, including myself, and I thought we could have been better."
Dartmouth outshot Cornell, 25-16, and held the Big Red to just four shots in both the second and third periods.
"I thought we were excellent in the third period," Big Green head coach Bob Gaudet said. "We just weren't able to get that go-ahead goal. We battled up into the last seconds and had a play on their doorsteps. It was disappointing for the guys."
The shot differential similarly did not reflect the outcome of Dartmouth's game against Colgate (6-4-1, 2-2 ECAC) on Friday. The Big Green and Colgate both registered 30 shots, but Raiders sophomore netminder Eric Mihalik shutout the Big Green. Mihalik has posted a save percentage of .896 so far this season, while Mello has a save percentage of .901.
"I thought their goalie was as good as I've seen in a long time," Gaudet said. "I thought he was absolutely fabulous."
After giving up the first goal to Colgate 3:38 into the second period, Dartmouth outshot the Raiders in the third period by a 15-9 margin, but could not get onto the scoreboard.
"We just weren't able to get the equalizer," Gaudet said. "James [Mello] made a few really good saves at 1-0 to give us a chance at a one-goal game in the third period. Those first few shifts in the third period, I thought we were going to score."
Instead, Colgate notched its second goal 5:04 into the third period. The Big Green then netted another goal just 39 seconds later, condemning the Big Green to a 3-0 deficit.
"Let's face facts," Gaudet said after the 4-0 loss. "[Colgate] is a very high academic school with 18 full scholarships. They are going to be good."
Despite the two tough losses, Mello said the team's morale remains high.
"We know that we still haven't hit that next level yet," Mello said after Saturday's game. "We have another gear still. We have lapses where we get away from our game plan. We need to be more mentally disciplined and stick to the game plan for the full 60 [minutes]."
Dartmouth travels next weekend to face St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University.
After losing their first five games of the season, the Saints (3-5, 3-1 ECAC) earned three straight ECAC victories, including a 1-0 overtime win over Quinnipiac on Saturday.
The Golden Knights (6-3-3, 1-2-1 ECAC), on the other hand, started off the season strong against non-conference competition, but have struggled recently against ECAC opponents. Clarkson was shutout on Saturday by the Princeton team that Dartmouth beat last weekend, 5-3.
