Colgate 2 - Dartmouth 3

By Dave Sherzer

HANOVER, N.H. - During the first intermission of Friday night's game pitting Dartmouth against Colgate, junior Ryan Sinclair told teammate Frank Nardella that he was lifting the metaphorical monkey off Nardella's back.

Nardella then went out and promptly scored his first goal of the season, leading the surging Big Green to a 3-2 win before 2,176 fans at Thompson Arena.

Nardella's goal - coming on a power play - began a spurt in which Dartmouth netted three goals in a 7:12 span, good enough for a 3-1 lead at the time. Colgate cut the deficit to one in the third period, but Big Green goaltender Nick Boucher played well late to seal the victory.

Dartmouth, now 5-2-1 in its last eight games, improves to 6-7-1 overall (3-3-1 ECAC), while Colgate falls to 4-12-3 (2-5-0).

"All week in practice, coach [Bob Gaudet] told us to work hard and stay on it," said Nardella, who finished with a goal and an assist. "We had a little success last weekend, and I think we can keep it going.

"We went out there tonight and we didn't play our best game, but we ended up winning 3-2. I think good teams have to learn how win ugly games, and I think we're going to learn how to do that."

Dartmouth's special teams units continued to play well. The power play finished the night 1-for-2, improving the efficiency to 9-for-66 (13.6%) overall, including 5-for-30 (16.7%) in the ECAC. The penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4 against the Red Raiders.

In net, Boucher reversed his poor career fortunes against Colgate, stopping 25 of 27 shots.

"I thought Colgate played very well, but Nick Boucher came up with some big saves for us," Gaudet said. "He had some game-savers, especially in the third period."

Dartmouth and Colgate skated to a scoreless first period as the goalies played well.

For the Red Raiders, junior Jason Lefevre (32 saves) put on a clinic, making some spectacular saves. The best came late in the period, when Dartmouth right winger Chris Baldwin broke away with Colgate on the power play. Baldwin attempted a back-handed shot, but Lefevre made a beautiful kick save to keep the game scoreless.

The visitors took a 1-0 lead with a Bryan Long goal less than 30 seconds into the middle frame.

After that, however, the tide turned quickly. And in a big way.

Dartmouth's surge began with Nardella's goal. Nardella, the team's scoring leader last season, found a rebound off Lefevre's pads and hacked it in to knot the game at one.

Minutes later, freshman blueliner Brian Van Abel recorded the first goal of his career, collecting a Nardella feed off a faceoff and beating Lefevre to give the Big Green its first lead of the night.

Exactly a minute later, Mike Maturo got into the act. The junior Maturo, Dartmouth's scoring leader, netted his ninth of the season on a soft back-handed shot that evaded Lefevre's reach and spelled the eventual game-winner. Maturo now has a team-leading three game-winning goals.

Lefevre, a perfect 16-for-16 in the first period, allowed three goals on 10 shots in the second.

Colgate cut its deficit to one in the opening moments of the third stanza, as first-line center Kyle Doyle beat Boucher with a fast line drive for his fifth of the season. Junior defenseman Rob Brown earned an assist on the play.

The Red Raiders outshot the Big Green 10-9 in the final period, but Boucher made plenty of quality saves to ensure the win.

Dartmouth has a chance for a perfect weekend Saturday night, but it won't be easy. Visiting Cornell is near the top of the league standings.

"We're playing a really good team tomorrow," Gaudet said. "Cornell is an excellent team. They're big and strong. They have a good goaltender.

"We're just going to have to play a solid hockey game. And I think we've shown that we're capable of doing that."

Big Green Notes: Junior center Dan Casella played the game with a soft cast on his left arm. ... Colgate's Sam Sturgis, who earned an assist on his team's first goal, was a high school teammate and close friend of Dartmouth forward Peter Mahler. Sturgis' brother Jon played at Dartmouth and graduated in 1998. Sturgis currently plays for the Baton Rouge King Fish of the East Coast Hockey League. ... In case you're wondering why the Red Raiders aren't as formidable as usual, it's because they lost their top two scorers - a combined 103 points - from last season. The scoring leader was the prolific Andy McDonald, currently with the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. ... Frank Nardella now has five points in three games. He had three assists last weekend. ... Mike Maturo now has 10 points in the last six games, including six goals and four assists. ... Brian Van Abel's first career goal came in his 14th game.