The Big Green took to the road this past weekend looking to derail Cornell and Colgate. These traditionally hostile environments always pack in the fans and create problems for opposing teams. Not only did Dartmouth face uncomfortable conditions, but also two undefeated teams. The combination proved too much for the Big Green, who were outscored 9-2 on the weekend and dropped both games to fall to 2-3-0 on the season, 1-3-0 in the ECAC.

Cornell

There was not an empty seat in Lynah Rink on Friday night as the Big Green went in looking for their second straight ECAC victory. Averaging six goals a game going in, Dartmouth's offense couldn't keep up the pace, falling to the Big Red 3-1. Cornell sophomore David Hovey scored two goals, while Big Red goal tender Ian Burt made 35 saves to effectively shut down the Big Green attack.

Cornell's Hovey scored the only goal of the first period, beating Eric Almon ’00 at 9:06. Dartmouth's power play tied the game in the second period, as Curtis Wilgosh ’99 took the feed down low from Ryan Poulton ’00 and Mike Maturo ’02 with forty-nine seconds to go in the frame. Burt stymied the Big Green attack with twelve saves in the period.

Dartmouth's offense couldn't find the back of the net in the third period, as Burt turned away nine more Big Green shots. Hovey's second goal was a fluke, but it proved to be the game winner at 3:44 of the third. The puck bounced unpredictably off the boards behind the net right in front of an unsuspecting Almon, where Hovey put it away at point blank range. Cornell struck again at 15:24 to give Cornell a 3-1 lead. Coach Gaudet pulled Almon to put an extra skater on the ice for the last two minutes to no avail.

"We didn't get to the net and we just didn't get too many second chance rebound opportunities," Ryan Chaytors ’99 said "Their goalie did a nice job controlling the puck. It makes a big difference if he's seeing the puck that well."

Colgate

After dropping previously unbeaten (ECAC) Vermont on Friday night 7-2, the Red Raiders (5-2-0, 4-0 ECAC) proved they are a powerhouse in the conference. After falling behind 1-0, Colgate scored six straight goals as they won their fourth straight.

"They have two really good scoring lines, with a tight checking line as their third line," Chaytors said. "We came out strong and had some good shifts, but they capitalized on all their chances. We got behind the eight ball and couldn't seem to get it going again."

Just 1:28 into the game, Michael Byrne ’01 collected his second goal of the season, beating freshmen goalie Jason Lefevre off a rebound from Scott Peach ’99. Ryan Sinclair ’02 also picked up an assist on the goal. After Colgate's Bryan Owens tied the score at 1-1, the Red Raiders went ahead for good just 32 seconds later when Bryan Long wristed a shot past Dartmouth goalie Rob Delwo ’02.

The rest of the game was all Colgate, as Dartmouth managed only 11 shots on goal in the final two periods while the Red Raiders scored three more goals on 22 shots. Dartmouth faced a Colgate attack that successfully took advantage of the Big Green's aggressive offensive game plan.

"One of their defensemen dropped down a lot as a fourth forward when they set it up in their zone," Scott Peach ’99 said. "We weren't used to it, but it's something to learn from. It's something that can be corrected and we'll work on defending against that scheme."

The Big Green prepare for back-to-back road games at the University of Nebraska-Omaha next weekend.