Against the Raiders (12-9-3, 6-5-1 ECAC), Doug Jones '12 notched the game-winning goal after 2:43 minutes of overtime. Assisted by Connor Goggin '12 and Eric Robinson '14, Jones snatched the victory for Dartmouth (8-8-2, 5-5-1 ECAC).
"Connor Goggin make a head ups play and saw me near the side of the net from the point," Jones said in an email to The Dartmouth. "He took a shot on the ice in my direction, and I deflected it into the net. It felt good to have a bounce go our way. Our team really came together in the last 22 minutes of the game."
Jones posted a total of three points in the game, also assisting on two goals in the third period.
The game involved numerous momentum shifts. After knotting the game at 1-1 after the first period, the Big Green ceded three consecutive goals to Colgate in the second stanza. Within a time frame of 2:05 near the end of the period, the Raiders wore down Dartmouth goaltender James Mello '12 to score all three goals.
Responding quickly, the Big Green offense drilled two goals within the first 1:35 of the third period and closed the gap to 4-3. Robinson notched the first goal of the period, after just 21 seconds, while Charlie Mosey '15 potted Dartmouth's fourth goal.
Matt Lindblad '14 completed the comeback effort to tie the game at 4-4 with 4:36 remaining in the third stanza. sending the game into overtime.
Robinson, Goggin and Mosey each earned two points in the successful comeback effort.
Despite being called for six penalties, including one 10-minute misconduct during the third period, the Big Green shut down the Raiders' power-play unit. Colgate similarly held Dartmouth to zero power play goals, despite five power-play opportunities.
"We still have not played a complete 60-minute game," Jones said. "We saw how good of a team we can be in the third period at Colgate, and once we can figure out how to play with that intensity and togetherness all the time, things will go our way more often."
The Big Green's victory vindicated its 4-0 loss to the Raiders earlier in the season, in addition to the previous night's overtime defeat at the hands of the Big Red (11-4-4, 8-1-3 ECAC).
Cornell currently alone sits atop the ECAC standings, while Dartmouth is third from the bottom and Colgate is tied for fourth with Clarkson University.
The Big Green fought back from a 3-2 deficit to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime.
"I thought we outplayed Cornell for most of the game," captain Mike Keenan '13 said.
Eric Robinson '12, however, was sent to the sin bin for slashing 1:01 into the overtime period, and Cornell freshman Cole Bardreau capitalized on the power-play opportunity at 2:05 to clinch the Big Red victory. This was Bardreau's third goal of the season.
Both teams netted two power play goals over the course of the game. The Dartmouth squad, which has only scored seven power play goals this season and posts the league's lowest power play percentage of 11.9 percent, has finally shown some a spark of promise in this area of special teams.
After allowing Cornell to take an early lead and break onto the scoreboard at 5:48 in the first period, the Big Green offense woke up in the second period. Despite ceding another Big Red goal early in the second stanza, Mark Goggin '13 put Dartmouth on the board at 17:55. Thirty-six seconds later, Jones took advantage of a power play to knot the game at 2-2.
Cornell stopped the bleeding, netting its third regulation goal with 27 seconds remaining in the period. Eric Neiley '15 then forced overtime after potting a power-play goal at 9:46 in the third period.
Notching three points for Dartmouth, Neiley led the Big Green offense with one goal and two assists.
Cab Morris '14 earned the start in net for the Dartmouth squad and came away with the loss. He now has a 3-2-1 record this season, leading the other Big Green goalkeepers Mello and Jody O'Neill '12 with his .583 win percentage. He also posts a .890 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average.
The Big Red and Dartmouth fought a back-and-forth match earlier in the season, with Cornell pulling away with a 3-2 victory.
Returning home after a long stretch on the road, the Big Green must now prepare to meet Ivy foes Yale University and Brown University next weekend.
"Overall, it was a good weekend for us," Keenan said. "We needed a strong showing, and we came out and were able to play. It gave us confidence that we can get on a roll and get a few wins against Yale and Brown next week."
Facing the Bulldogs (8-9-2 , 5-6-1 ECAC) on Friday at 7 p.m., Dartmouth will then confront the Bears (8-8-3, 5-5-2 ECAC) on Saturday at 7 p.m.
