The men’s hockey team advanced to the ECAC quarterfinals in dramatic fashion Sunday night, stunning Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 5-4 with three unanswered goals in the third period. Brad Schierhorn '16 shot the game-winner with 3:14 remaining.
The victory was the first time in over two years that Dartmouth (10-18-4, 7-13-2 ECAC) made a comeback in the last period after trailing during the first two.
RPI (15-16-6, 8-9-5 ECAC) led at the end of the first period 2-1 and the second period 4-2.
Just over two minutes into the final period, Eric Neiley ’15, cut the lead to one. Then, with 11:12 remaining, Brandon McNally ’15 nailed the equalizer.
Schierhorn completed the comeback with a wrist shot into the top right corner, causing the Dartmouth bench to erupt in cheers.
The overarching theme of the intense three-game series, and the Big Green's season overall, was resiliency. Dartmouth, which started the year 2-11-1 due to a rash of injuries, was the series underdog as the 10th seed.
In the first of its best-of-three playoff series on Friday, RPI dominated Dartmouth 4-1, bombarding February’s ECAC goaltender of the month Charles Grant ’16 with 37 shots.
Dartmouth rebounded Saturday in its second game, as Neiley, Dartmouth’s leading scorer, netted two goals in a 3-2 win, forcing Sunday’s rubber match.
Clarkson University defeated Princeton University on Sunday, making Dartmouth the lowest remaining seed in the ECAC tournament. Dartmouth will play No. 3 Union College next weekend in another best-of-three series for the chance to participate in the semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y.
