Dartmouth 3 - Union 4

By Dave Sherzer

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Dartmouth Big Green erased two deficits Saturday night, but the clock ran out on their bid to erase a third as the homestanding Union Dutchmen earned a 4-3 win.

Junior Frank Nardella scored for Dartmouth with just over six minutes remaining to knot the game at three, but Union sophomore Nathan Gillies responded minutes later with a one-timer from defenseman Charles Simard, good enough for the eventual game-winner in front of 1,739 fans at Achilles Rink.

The Big Green made a late charge and had chances to tie it, but couldn't put one past goaltender Brandon Snee. Union's win was its first in eight games against Dartmouth.

With the loss, the Big Green suffers a sweep of its road trip to New York's capital region, and falls below the .500 mark to 9-10-2 (6-6-2 ECAC).

"I thought we worked hard tonight, but we couldn't find a way to put the next one in," said head coach Bob Gaudet. "It's unfortunate. I've said it over and over again - Union is a very good team.

"But we have the ability to dominate every facet of the game. The game's funny - it can come down to a bounce of the puck here and there."

After going 5-2-1 in January, the Big Green suffered its first zero-point league weekend since mid-November.

With eight games remaining, Gaudet hopes some lessons can be learned from this weekend.

"It's a hard one," he said. "I'm trying to find a lesson out of it. You have to work your butts off in order to accomplish anything. But because you work, it doesn't mean you're going to win. I thought we outplayed Union tonight, but we didn't win the game."

The Dutchmen (9-12-3, 5-8-1 ECAC) took a 1-0 lead in a physical first period that saw Dartmouth junior Dan Casella go down with an injury.

Union scored five minutes into the game, as senior Jason Ralph deposited a rebound past the reach of goaltender Nick Boucher (12 saves). Randy Dagenais and Kris Goodjohn earned assists on the play.

About two minutes later, Union center Bryan Yackel unloaded a fierce hit on the center Casella, who crashed into the boards and staggered off the ice. Casella spent the remainder of the opening period on the bench, but returned to action after the first intermission.

The Dutchmen extended their lead early in the middle frame, as sophomore Jordy Federko's line converted a turnover into Federko's second goal of the year, handing Union a 2-0 advantage.

Late in the period, the Big Green finally awoke, thanks to goals from a couple of defenseman.

Freshman Mike Turner got the rally going, taking a pass from Peter Mahler before floating the puck through traffic and past the glove of Snee (28 saves). Turner's goal was the first of his career.

Less than two minutes later, Trevor Byrne got into the act. With a delayed penalty coming against Union, junior left winger Mike Maturo slid the puck to Byrne, who skated next to the crease and punched it in to knot the score at two goals apiece.

The Big Green outshot the Dutchmen 12-5 in the period.

Union recaptured the lead early in third stanza when a Jeff Hutchins centering pass deflected off Turner's stick and between the pipes. Hutchins' goal was his eighth of the year.

With just over six minutes left in regulation, the Big Green tied it once again, as Nardella took hold of a rebound and backhanded his second of the season past Snee. Chris Baldwin and Chris Taliercio earned assists on the play.

The deadlock was short-lived, however, as Gillies scored the gamewinner minutes later, securing the weekend sweep for the persistent Dutchmen.

Dartmouth will be back in action next Friday night with a home game against Harvard. The Big Green is 5-0-0 in its last five tilts at Thompson.