Attendance: 3,965
Officials: Peter Torgerson (R), Bill Jones, Richard Patry
click image above to see slide show
| Game shot charts: | period 1 | period 2 | period 3 |
By Dave Sherzer
HANOVER, N.H. - The Dartmouth men's hockey team came into Saturday night's game with Yale knowing that it was one solid effort away from winning the Ivy League championship.
The Big Green men came away from the game feeling that the quest for the title was largely out of their control.
Dartmouth dropped a 4-2 decision to an injury-ravaged Yale squad in front of 3,965 at Thompson Arena, falling victim to a pair of two-goal outbursts, including Luke Earl's two netters in a one-minute, 56-second span of the third period that snapped a 2-2 tie and put the Bulldogs en route to the win.
After the game, the Big Green (12-10-5, 9-6-5 ECAC) was visibly disappointed in failing to earn a win that would have sown up the program's first Ivy title in 22 years.
"We got only one out of four points this weekend and we didn't win the Ivy title," senior Chris Taliercio said. "This is my last year trying to get one, and I would have liked to have a ring wrapped up by now."
"It was one step forward and two back tonight," Gaudet said. "There are so many things in this game that are completely out of your control.
"They obviously benefited from (seven) power plays," he added. "We didn't get those chances in our building. For whatever reason, we didn't."
The Big Green spent 7:22 of the first 14:21 on the penalty kill, as Torgerson whistled the home team for the first four minor infractions of the game. Dartmouth killed all four of the Yale power plays, including a 38-second stretch in which the Bulldogs had a two-man advantage.
Midway through the second period, the fifth Yale power play proved to be the charm, as it ignited a two-goal outburst.
The visitors scored a pair of goals just 38 seconds apart, with Jeff Dwyer netting the first with the man advantage before left winger Mike Klema one-timed a pass from Ryan Steeves past Nick Boucher (21 saves) to make it 2-0.
Dartmouth got on the board at 14:42 of the middle frame, as rookie Lee Stempniak followed his own rebound and punched his 10th of the season between the pipes. The Big Green then knotted the score at 6:57 of the third when Kent Gillings, tied up with a defenseman in the slot, used his only free hand to slide the puck past Dan Lombard (38 saves).
But the 2-2 tie did not last for long, as Earl netted a pair to put the Bulldogs en route to the weekend sweep.
Dartmouth, now tied with Clarkson and Harvard for second in the ECAC standings, will finish the regular season next weekend at St. Lawrence and Clarkson. A Top-Five finish will earn the Big Green home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
Statistics
Scoring by Period
Team
1
2
3
Total
Yale
0
2
2
4
Dartmouth
0
1
1
2
Power Play Goals/Power Play Opportunities
Yale: 2 for 7
Dartmouth: 0 for 4
Goals
Period
Team
Goal
Assists
Time
1
none
2
Y
Dwyer
Higgins, Grobe
7:15 (PPG)
2
Y
Klema
Steeves, Noe
7:53
2
D
Stempniak
Herrington, Baldwin
14:42
3
D
Gillings
Taliercio, Maturo
6:57
3
Y
Earl
Higgins, Grobe
8:56 (,GWG, PPG)
3
Y
Earl
Hellemeyer, Higgins
10:52
none
Saves by Period
Player-Team
Min.
1
2
3
Total
Lombard (Y)
60:00
8
16
14
38
Boucher (D)
58:19
7
9
5
21
Penalties
Period
Team
Player
Penalty
Time
1
D
Nardella
slashing
5:32
1
D
Murray
interference
8:14
1
D
Murray
hooking
10:59
1
D
Baldwin
slashing
12:21
1
Y
Steeves
slashing
18:06
2
D
Taliercio
tripping
6:36
2
Y
Klema
hooking
7:58
2
D
Hunter
cross-checking
11:08
2
Y
Dwyer
holding
14:55
2
D
Costa
hitting after whistle
17:41
2
Y
Mutter
hitting after whistle
17:41
3
D
Martin
hooking
7:51
3
D
Herrington
roughing
11:38
3
Y
Callahan
roughing
11:38
3
Y
Callahan
instigating
11:38
3
D
Maturo
roughing
19:35
3
Y
Grobe
roughing
19:35
|
|
|
|
|
|