Dartmouth 5 - Merrimack 2
Saturday, December 21, 1996
Attendance: 632
SECOND PERIOD EXPLOSION CARRIES BIG GREEN, 5-2
by Mike Machnik (posted on Info-Hockey-L)
North Andover, Mass. -- A five goal second period and superb goaltending by rookie Eric Almon carried Dartmouth to a 5-2 nonconference win at Merrimack.
Making his first ever collegiate appearance, Almon went the distance and turned aside 42 Merrimack shots, including several breakaways, and he was named as the first star of the game.
The Big Green, off to their best start in more than 14 years at 6-3-0, have won four straight including two wins over Merrimack.
Merrimack continued an eight game winless streak (0-7-1) and fell to 3-11-1 on the season, the worst start ever in the 41 year history of the program.
Almon was tested early, facing 14 shots in the first period in which he was only beaten by Warrior forward Rob Beck on a breakaway. Beck received a 100 foot pass at center ice from Darrel Scoville and fought off a defenseman to go in alone, and he scored on his own rebound to give Merrimack a 1-0 lead after one period.
Then the Big Green reeled off five straight goals in the second period to blow the game open at 5-1 after two. Curtis Wilgosh got things started at 5:16 during a 4 on 4 when he followed up the rebound of Scott Peach's shot. Merrimack goaltender Martin Legault (42 saves) made the save but couldn't contain the rebound, and as he looked for the puck, Wilgosh came in to collect it and flip it into an open net.
Bill Kelleher put Dartmouth ahead to stay at 10:19 by scoring into an open net off a feed from Jon Sturgis. Just 1:28 later, freshman defenseman Ryan Poulton scored what proved to be the game winner with a shot from the right point through a partial screen, making it 3-1 Dartmouth. The goal was the first of Poulton's career
Ryan Chaytors and Sturgis added power play goals later in the period to give the Big Green a commanding four goal lead after two. Chaytors beat Legault off a cross ice pass from Peach at 14:04, and then with 12 seconds remaining in the second, Sturgis slammed home a rebound from in front. Chaytors and Sturgis lead Dartmouth with six goals each.
The only goal of the third period was scored 57 seconds in as Merrimack's Rejean Stringer carried the puck out of the right corner, skated to the slot, and shot the puck past Almon uncontested from point blank range. That cut the Dartmouth lead to 5-2, but Almon shut the door afterwards.
Merrimack rookie Jayson Philbin was ejected from the game with 5:48 left when he inexplicably lost control and went after Dartmouth junior Bob Cancelli. Philbin cross checked Cancelli to the ice and began throwing punches at him, and then after being restrained by the officials, he fought to get away and threw punches at several players on the Dartmouth bench. Philbin received a minor for hitting after the whistle, two majors for cross checking and fighting, and a game disqualification to Cancelli's double minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and roughing.
As the disqualification penalty was the second of the season for Philbin, he will miss his team's next two games, both coming in the Syracuse Invitational Tournament. Philbin, who has three goals and one assist on the season along with 41 minutes in penalties, had missed the previous game after receiving a game disqualification penalty during Merrimack's 9-0 loss to New Hampshire on Dec. 6.
by Matt Provence
"Obviously, it feels great to get in a game and perform well," said Almon, a native of Falmouth, Mass. "I was just hoping for a chance, and fortunately, the team played well in front of me."
Almon was sharp from the outset, as he stymied numerous Warrior chances during a sluggish Dartmouth first period. However, Merrimack jumped out in front on a rebound and put-back by senior Rob Beck to take a 1-0 lead 16:24 into the game.
The Warrior lead was erased five minutes into the second stanza. After Merrimack defenseman John Jakopin fell down at the blue line, sophomore defenseman Scott Peach led a two-on-one break. Peach uncorked a shot that was stopped by goalie Martin Legault, but the rebound was rammed home by sophomore Curtis Wilgosh.
Then, the turning point. With the score still knotted, 1-1, Warrior forward Chris Halecki broke free on a breakaway for the length of the ice. He applied a few moves, but was stonewalled by an acrobatic, sliding save by Almon at 8:34 of the second period.
"[Halecki] came from far out, so I had time to set up," said Almon of the save. "It's great to make a good save that sparks the team ¯ that's a goalie's job."
The stop unleashed the Big Green attack. In the next 11 minutes, Dartmouth burned Legault for four goals.
The go-ahead goal was netted by senior Bill Kelleher, who stuffed a rebound past Legault at 10:19. One and a half minutes later, freshman defenseman Ryan Poulton notched his first collegiate goal, blasting a slap shot into the net from the top of the right circle. Sophomore Ryan Chaytors and junior Jon Sturgis added a goal apiece to complete a five-goal second period for Dartmouth.
Almon was named ECAC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 23.
Statistics
Dartmouth
Merrimack
Power Play Goals/Power Play Opportunities
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| Beck | Scoville | 16:24 |
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| Wilgosh | Peach | 5:16 (4 on 4) |
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| Kelleher | Sturgis, Whitworth | 10:19 |
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| Poulton | Wercinski, Buckley | 11:47 (GWG) |
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| Chaytors | Peach, Poulton | 14:04 (PPG) |
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| Sturgis | Dumas, hughes | 19:48 (PPG) |
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| Stringer | Beck, Porter | 0:57 |
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| Almon (Dartmouth) |
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| Legault (Merrimack) |
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| Beck | hitting after whistle | 8:19 |
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| B. Retter | hitting after whistle | 8:19 |
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| Stringer | highsticking | 16:58 |
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| Hughes | highsticking | 17:52 |
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| Burkart | hooking | 0:58 |
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| Dumas | roughing | 3:30 |
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| Philbin | holding | 3:30 |
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| Fox | interference | 7:51 |
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| Scoville | slashing | 13:27 |
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| Philbin | interference | 18:56 |
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| Philbin | interference | 1:52 |
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| Buckley | interference | 6:00 |
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| Kesselring | interference | 10:45 |
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| Rodrigues | unsportsmanlike & hitting after whistle | 12:30 |
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| Whitworth | hitting after whistle | 12:30 |
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| Cancelli | unsportsmanlike & roughing | 14:12 |
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| Giedt | bench minor | 14:12 |
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| Philbin | hitting after whistle & MAJOR cross checking & MAJOR fighting & DQ | 14:12 |
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| Jakopin | hitting after whistle | 17:03 |
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| Risk | unsportsmanlike | 17:03 |
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| Fleming | hit from behind - double minor | 17:06 |