The No. 10 Dartmouth women's hockey team welcomed Colgate University and No. 3 Cornell University to Thompson Arena this weekend for two dramatic games that both went into overtime. The Big Green came out of the weekend with a split, defeating Colgate 4-3 on Friday and losing to Cornell 1-0 on Saturday.
The Big Green was without several key players for both games, missing defenseman Morgan Illikainen '15 due to injury and winger Samantha Zeiss '15 due to illness. Their absences caused the Big Green to have to shuffle lines and rotate players through the lineup.
Despite the injuries, Dartmouth thoroughly dominated Colgate in every respect but the scoreboard. The Big Green took 30 more shots than the Raiders and only took two penalties compared to Colgate's eight.
Dartmouth took the lead with a power play goal from Reagan Fischer '12 just over seven minutes into the game. Kelly Foley '12 skated down the wing and dropped the puck to Camille Dumais '13. Dumais saw Fischer pop up from in front of the net and sent her the puck in space. Fischer artfully one-timed the puck and sent it into the net for the go-ahead goal.
Karlee Odland '15 added to the lead with her second goal of the season just over seven minutes later. Lauren Kelly '14 sent a pass to Dumais, who beat a defender and sent the puck flying at the net. Her shot was stopped, but Odland was there to bang in the rebound.
The Big Green sustained pressure for the rest of the period, narrowly missing on many opportunities. Just 4:30 into the second, the Big Green extended its lead to three with a slap shot goal from Margaux Sharp '13 off a pass from Fischer.
When the game seemed to be a shoo-in win for the Big Green, the Raiders stepped up their game. They scored twice in the second period to cut the lead back to one. Despite a solid performance from Lindsay Holdcroft '14, who notched 14 saves en route to her ninth win of the season, the Big Green looked shaky defensively, especially after gaining the 3-0 lead. The Raiders were ultimately able to tie the game with just over seven minutes left in the third with a rebound goal.
Both teams notched numerous chances in the remainder of regulation, but could beat neither goalie and the game went into overtime.
In the extra frame, the Big Green began to dictate play, notching all seven shots taken in the overtime. Despite these chances, Dartmouth was not able to bury the puck until the clock was winding down. With just under one minute left to play, Dumais took the puck around the Colgate net and shot. The puck was deflected and bounced up in the air. Jenna Hobeika '12 was able to bat the puck down, but not into the net. Fischer had no such problem, scoring the game-winner with 25 seconds left in the game and was immediately mobbed in celebration by her teammates.
The Big Green looked to carry that momentum and extend its unbeaten streak to nine games against Cornell. The game was the Pioneers of Women's Hockey Celebration, at which approximately 70 Big Green alumni who had a profound impact in making Dartmouth women's hockey the national powerhouse it is today were in attendance to cheer on their team.
The Big Green came out firing against the Big Red, controlling play for the first few periods. Cornell turned the tide and outshot the Big Green in the first 14-7, but Holdcroft was up to the challenge, turning away all of Cornell's shots with relative ease.
With time winding down in the first period, the Big Green gained a five-on-three advantage. They notched three shots in the final 30 seconds, but were ultimately unable to score. Their best opportunity came as the clock ran out. Dumais circled near the side of the net and saw Fischer camped out at the back door. She sent her the puck, but Fischer could not connect to give the Big Green the lead.
The Big Green carried that momentum over to the second, outshooting Cornell 12-5 in the frame. Neither team scored, but the game did not lack for excitement. Sally Komarek '13 sent a shot ringing off of the crossbar and the Big Green narrowly missed several opportunities. The line of Komarek, Ali Winkel '14 and Jessica Gagner '13 dictated play against the Big Red by blocking many shots, taking more shots and sustaining offensive pressure. Winkel and Gagner had many rebound chances, but Cornell's goalie was up to the task.
The Big Green appeared to take the lead just over eight minutes into the frame after a scrum in front of the net. Erica Dobos '12 was seemingly able to put in a rebound to give the Big Green the lead. The play was called a goal, but was overturned on replay because the referees determined that the Cornell goaltender had the puck covered before it crossed the line, although the whistle was never blown for a dead puck.
In the third, the Big Green continued to dominate Cornell, outshooting the team nine to four. When Cornell had sustained pressure, as it did on its two power play opportunities, Holdcroft was strong between the pipes, turning away every shot she faced, some in spectacular fashion. The Big Green's best scoring chance again came from Dobos on a two-on-one with Foley. Foley beat a Big Red defender and came in on the net. She beautifully saucered the puck to Dobos who one-timed it off of the edge of the Cornell goalie's pad to send the game into overtime.
In the extra frame, the Big Green outshot the Big Red three to one, but gave up a power play goal. After a defensive miscommunication, Cornell senior Erin Barley-Maloney took the puck behind the Big Green defense and come in on Holdcroft untouched. Barley-Maloney slipped the puck between the outstretched pad of Holdcroft and the post to end the game. The arena went silent after the goal, but everyone stood to applaud the Big Green for its outstanding effort against one of the top teams in the nation.
Dartmouth next travels to Brown University and Yale University this weekend, where it will look to rebound from its first loss of 2012.
