Dartmouth 3 - Yale 6

By Dave Sherzer

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Dartmouth men's hockey team clawed back from a three-goal deficit, but one of the nation's premier players proved to be too much in the end.

On Senior Night at Ingalls Rink, Hobey Baker Award candidate Jeff Hamilton had a memorable game before a sellout crowd, recording a hat trick - including two goals in the third period - to help the Bulldogs to a 6-3 win Friday night in a crucial Ivy League and ECAC matchup.

With the loss, Dartmouth (12-11-4, 9-7-4 ECAC) is eliminated from contention for the Ivy League title but remains in fifth place in the ECAC standings; when the regular season ends next Saturday, the Top 5 teams will earn home-ice in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

"It felt good to come back from the deficit, but after Hamilton scored their fourth goal, we were pressing a little bit," said junior Frank Nardella, who had a goal and an assist. "It's hard to describe in words right now what we're feeling. We have a tough road ahead of us."

Entering the game as one of the league's stingiest teams in recent weeks, the Big Green had a tough defensive night.

With the help of some power plays and odd-man rushes, the Bulldogs had several quality chances close to the net, making it hard on goaltender Nick Boucher (23 saves), who had allowed only four goals in the last five games.

Yale's six goals tied for the most allowed by Dartmouth this season.

"We could have been better defensively, but they're a good team," Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet said. "We played hard, but we just didn't have enough goals in us. But I give them credit. They took advantage of their chances."

Rendering Boucher helpless on two separate occasions, Yale (14-13-0, 10-10-0 ECAC) grabbed a 2-0 lead in a penalty-filled first period.

Five minutes into the game, the Bulldogs scored seconds after a 5-on-3 power play, as freshman defenseman Jeff Dwyer rifled a pass to Luke Earl, who wristed his 10th of the season past Boucher. The goal snapped Dartmouth's string of 28 successful penalty kills.

Late in the period, Yale used a 2-on-1 rush to score, as sophomore Nick Deschenes slid the puck to linemate Evan Wax, who one-timed it between the pipes for his sixth of the year.

The Big Green awoke in the middle frame, but not before Hamilton went to work for the Bulldogs, collecting a rebound before making it 3-0.

Late in the period, Dartmouth heated up.

First, Frank Nardella picked up his own rebound and lit the lamp on the power play, spelling his fourth of the season.

Then, with just over a minute remaining in the period, left winger Mike Maturo got into the act, collecting junior Chris Baldwin's rebound before back-handing the puck past goaltender Dan Lombard (29 saves).

P.J. Martin completed Dartmouth's comeback in the third, lighting the lamp from the blueline for his second of the season.

After that, it was all Yale, as Hamilton scored twice - giving him 21 goals on the season - before Ryan Steeves tallied an empty netter in the final moments.

The Big Green returns to action next Friday with a home game against St. Lawrence.

Big Green Notes: Senior tri-captain Michael Byrne played his 100^th career game Friday night against Princeton. ... Yale celebrated Senior Night by playing every senior on its roster. ... With an assist on Frank Nardella's goal, Jamie Herrington now has a three-game point scoring streak. ... Nardella, who had a goal and an assist, now has nine points in the last seven games.