Dartmouth 4 - Rensselaer 2

By Dave Sherzer

TROY, N.Y. - It was a hairy situation. Then it became a Herry situation.

Star center Jamie Herrington scored two goals in the final 2:24 Saturday night to complete a late Dartmouth comeback and lift the Big Green to a 4-2 win in front of 3,241 at Houston Field House.

Dartmouth was trailing, 2-1, in the late stages until Kent Gillings one-timed in a Mike Wheelihan pass with 3:26 remaining to make it 2-2.

Then Herrington took over. He netted the game-winner off a pass from the speedy Lee Stempniak with 2:24 remaining. Later, he forced a turnover in the RPI zone before wristing in the back breaker with 15.7 seconds to go.

The win, Dartmouth's first in this building since Feb. 18, 1989, improves the Big Green to 9-8-3 (6-4-3 ECAC) after a three-point weekend road trip.

"Three points on the road is very big," Herrington said. "It shows a lot about our character. We were down going into the third period in both games, but we battled back and made our opportunities through hard work. If we can continue to bring that work ethic into every game, I think we'll be successful the rest of the season."

Dartmouth had lost 12 in a row in Troy and was winless in the last 15.

The current seniors and juniors, in particular, have some bad memories of games here, including a playoff series two years ago in which the Engineers blew out the Big Green in Game One before netting the tying goal with six seconds to go in Game Two, which RPI won in overtime.

It took a late comeback on this night, but the Big Green finally laid the Houston Curse to rest.

"This is a very big win for us," Herrington said. "I remember losing here in the playoffs. ... We haven't had good fortune in this building, so I think it's really exciting and a very positive experience for us to win here at RPI."

The game had an ominous beginning for Dartmouth, as star forward Marc Cavosie - who is just ahead of Mike Maturo for No. 1 in ECAC scoring - did not have to work very hard for his 32nd point of the season, slowly sliding the puck inside the left post for a 1-0 RPI (9-10-3, 3-7-2 ECAC) lead at the 3:22 mark.

But the Big Green fought back after the early mistake, as Herrington and Chris Baldwin paired for team's second shorthander of the season at 6:51. Herrington and Baldwin formed a 2-on-1 rush, with Herrington taking an initial shot before Baldwin deposited the rebound to knot the game at one.

"We just had a chance to jump off a 2-on-1, and Baldy had great hands on the play," Herrington said. "Marsters made the save, but the puck was floating up in the air and Baldy baseball-batted it right in. That's a credit to his hand-eye coordination and skill level."

The remainder of the first period and the entirety of the second were scoreless and mostly uneventful, with the exception of some moments of nervousness for the RPI faithful in the middle frame when Cavosie went down hard and crawled back to the bench with an apparent injury.

Cavosie remained out of the game for just under 10 minutes, but returned late in the period and looked healthy.

RPI seemed to be maintaining its Troy-based mastery of Dartmouth when defenseman Steve Munn netted a long-distance goal past a screened Nick Boucher (21 saves) with 10:18 remaining.

But with 3:26 to go, Dartmouth struck and kept striking.

Gillings' game-tier came after he nearly had a goal moments earlier. Marsters (29 saves) made the initial save, but the puck squirted behind the goal line, where Wheelihan was able to center it again to a waiting Gillings, who scored his sixth of the year.

The Engineers never recovered. Just over a minute later, the Big Green went end to end, with Boucher sending the puck to Wheelihan, who fed it to a rushing Stempniak, who tipped it to Herrington for the game-winner.

"Stemper is a fantastic player," Herrington said. "He's very solid. He's very poised for a freshman. He sees the ice very well. He has a quick release on his shot. I think he's been a valuable asset to our squad ever since he got here."

The Engineers tried fruitlessly to set up their offense in the final minutes, but the Big Green kept gaining possession, finally ending the Houston Curse for good when Herrington completed his first two-goal game since Jan. 4 against Vermont.

"This building is a very difficult place for us to win games," head coach Bob Gaudet. "I think this is a new situation. We just wanted to play hard and keep the game simple. I was really proud of the guys. I thought they played a great game."

The Big Green now has five of its next six at home. That string will begin next weekend when RPI and Union pay a visit.