In their last game of the regular season, men’s hockey fell to Princeton in a penalty shootout, bringing their record to 19-7-4. To finish the last game of the regular season, the Big Green set a new all-time attendance record for Dartmouth hockey in Thompson Arena, according to Dartmouth Athletics.
“When you first got out there, and you see all the fans, it definitely takes a second to settle in … everyone wanted to get the crowd going,” captain Tucker McRae ’26 said. “It’s been unbelievable — the support we’ve gotten from the locals and the school this year — and I just want to say thank you again to all the fans for their support the whole regular season.”
To start the night, the Princeton Tigers lined up on the ice to a sea of booing participants, many holding tennis balls. Much of the record-breaking crowd was excited to participate in the second annual Tennis Ball Toss for Charity, during which Dartmouth fans throw tennis balls onto the rink after the Big Green’s first goal. The proceeds of the sale of tennis balls will help the Dartmouth Cancer Center.
Just over a minute into the first period, Dartmouth nearly tipped the puck into Princeton’s net, but fell short. Seconds later, Princeton’s Jake Manfre nearly scored; instead, he sent goalie Emmett Croteau ’27 into the ground, shifting the goal and starting a multi-player scuffle.
The rest of the period was marked by Princeton’s aggressive play, as they led in shots on goal. Around seven minutes in, Dartmouth made a breakthrough, with Jack Silverberg ’28 taking a shot. However, Princeton goalie Arthur Smith blocked it. Dartmouth took four more shots in the period, all of which were blocked by the Tigers.
With 8:06 left in the period, Princeton’s Nick Marciano was sent into the penalty box for holding. The Big Green attempted to capitalize on the power play but came up short.
Amid the deadlock, Princeton’s Joshua Karnish, assisted by Tyler Rubin and Kai Greaves, scored the game’s first goal at 15:52.
With two minutes left in the period, Dartmouth found themselves in front of Princeton’s net, but was not able to find the back of it. At the end of the first period, Princeton led in shots on goal, 9-6.
The second period started as aggressively as the first, with the sounds of players crashing into the boards echoing immediately after the opening faceoff.
Around seven minutes into the period, Dartmouth was once again on the power play after Greaves was penalised for slashing. Near the eight minute mark, Andrew Clarke ’29 took a shot close to the net, but missed.
Seconds later, the Big Green was headed back towards Princeton’s net, only for a Tiger to wrestle the puck far away. Princeton headed fast towards Croteau’s net, but Croteau saved Princeton’s Kevin Anderson’s shot.
In the blink of an eye, there was a pile of hockey players, green and orange, on top of each other. Nathan Morin ’29 and Anderson both landed in the penalty box for roughing.
In the last six seconds of the period, the Big Green was right in front of Smith’s net. All seemed well as Cleaves skated toward the Tigers’ net, until he tripped and fell.
To start the third period, Princeton’s David Jacobs scored 56 seconds in, marking the Tigers’ strong start. Two minutes later, Cleaves tried for another shot, only for Smith to catch it with his glove.
Cleaves tried one more time and finally scored, assisted by Hayden Stavroff ’28, who leads the NCAA with 27 goals, three minutes and 39 seconds into the period. Cleaves’ goal finally put Dartmouth on the scoreboard, and tennis balls flew onto the rink as the marching band burst into tune.
With fewer than two minutes, the Big Green was still a goal behind and opted to pull Croteau from goal, bringing an extra attacker onto the ice.
When a Dartmouth player fell onto the Tigers’ goalie, the net was nearly empty. Cleaves shot from the right after a pass from Stavroff. However, the Princeton coaching staff challenged the goal, hoping for a goaltender interference call. The Tigers were unsuccessful. With the tie, the game went to overtime.
Dartmouth’s starting lineup for the 3 v. 3 format was Cleaves, CJ Foley ’27 and Eric Charpentier ’27. However, Charpentier left the ice quickly and was replaced by Stavroff. Twenty-three seconds into overtime for interference, Princeton gained a one-player advantage as Foley was placed into the penalty box. After getting back into the game, Foley raced into Princeton territory and lined up a shot, but was unable to find the back of the net.
Nobody scored in overtime, bringing the two teams into a shootout.
“We’ve been in [3 v. 3’s] quite a bit more recently so I think there’s a certain level of confidence in our three-on-three game and we saw it when they got that power play in overtime,” Cam MacDonald ’26 said. “We’re a really confident group, especially our special teams on the kill.”
First for Dartmouth’s penalty shootout was Stavroff, whose shot was blocked by Smith. Princeton’s first shot was also blocked. Next for Dartmouth was Ryan Schelling ’29, whose shot was no good. Princeton made their second shot. Closing for the Big Green was Nikita Nikora ’27, who was also unsuccessful, resulting in a Princeton victory.
The game was special for the team’s five graduating seniors. Alex Krause ’26, McDonald, McRae, Mikey Roberts ’26, and Oskari Vuorio ’27 were honored for their contributions to the program.
“These four have raised the standard for future Dartmouth classes, so I’m eternally grateful to be able to coach these guys,” Cashman said.
This will not be the last game for the Big Green seniors. The Big Green will be playing in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament in March.
