Dartmouth defeated both Princeton and Quinnipiac at home earlier this season, beating the Bobcats 5-4 on Nov. 4 and the Tigers 5-3 the following day in front of a raucous crowd at Thompson Arena.
The game against Princeton went back and forth all night as the Tigers took the lead three times, only to see the Big Green find an equalizer each time.
Dartmouth gave up a goal to Princeton's Michael Sdao just 42 seconds into the game but was able to bounce back quickly by scoring just nine minutes later. Forward Eric Neiley '15 picked up a rebound in front of the Princeton net and snuck the puck underneath the glove of the Princeton goalkeeper.
The second period started in much the same way, as Princeton scored again just over three minutes into the stanza. Once again, the Big Green tied it up 10 minutes later with a boost from Neiley, whose power-play goal tied the game at two apiece.
The third period stuck to the form of the first two, as Princeton senior Marc Hagel grabbed the lead again with a goal only 2:49 into the period. The Big Green, however, were quick to counterattack, as Connor Goggin '12 tied the game again after a perfect centering pass from Matt Lindblad '14, who tallied his second assist of the game.
The remainder of the game remained competitive but neither team was able to take the lead. While the score remained unbroken, Jesse Beamish '15 did manage to shatter a pane of glass behind the net after a blistering wrist shot with 12 minutes left in the game. The game was delayed one hour as stadium crews cleaned up the mess and replaced the broken panel. It was the third panel to be replaced that day, as both teams had broken one during warm-ups as well.
Neiley said the delay caused by the broken glass may have disrupted the Big Green's momentum.
"We were definitely controlling the game up to that point and it was something none of us had ever experienced," he said.
The overtime period was also scoreless, mostly thanks to the play of goalkeepers Michael Condon for the Tigers and the Big Green's Jody O'Neill '12. It was O'Neill's first consecutive starts he started earlier in the week against Harvard since November, and he led the team to a tie in both games.
One of the major storylines for the team this season has been the rotation at the goaltender position. Coach Bob Gaudet has attempted to play the hottest hand of his three different netminders throughout the season, a luxury he may not have for long as both O'Neill and James Mello '12 are set to graduate in the spring.
The game was Neiley's first collegiate two-goal performance and he added himself to the impressive list of members of the Class of 2015 who have had multiple point games this season, suggesting good things for the future of Dartmouth's hockey team.
"I had been getting chances all year, and I was just happy to finally capitalize on my chances," Neiley said.
Neiley also said that the team has done a good job integrating himself and other new freshmen.
"Because [the team] graduated a lot of seniors last year we were forced to come in and be big contributors, we were made a part of the team right away and got the same chances as juniors and seniors," he said.
The game also marked the 100th game of Nick Walsh '12 in a Dartmouth jersey, making him the fourth member of the team to reach the century mark this season.
The Big Green struggled in the offensive zone against Quinnipiac, failing to score until the third period on the team-leading 10th goal of the season by Eric Robinson '14. This proved insufficient to close the gap, however, as Quinnipiac had already jumped out to a 2-0 lead after scoring two goals in the first eight minutes of the game.
O'Neill played another solid game in net for the Big Green, turning away 38 shots, including all 30 he faced in the last two periods.
The Big Green loss allowed Quinnipiac to leapfrog Dartmouth in the ECAC standings, as it now sits one point ahead of the Big Green. A place in the top four still remains a possibility for the Big Green, as only four points separate it from Colgate University and Harvard University, which are tied for third in the league.
After a difficult and exhausting stretch of five games in eight days in which it went 1-2-2, the team gets some rest before the weekend, when it faces off against league-leading Union College on Friday and cellar-dwelling Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday for the Alumni Celebration. Both games are at 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena.
