Dartmouth 0 - RPI 2

Troy, N.Y. - Last Thursday, the Dartmouth men's hockey team played mediocre and won. Last night, the Big Green played much better and lost.

Facing an offensively-imposing Rensselear squad in front of an energy-filled crowd of 5,156 at the 23rd Annual Big Red Freakout -- an event that draws hordes of alumni, former players and students to Houston Field House -- the Big Green displayed its usual defensive and goaltending savvy.

On the offensive end, however, Dartmouth (7-10-4, 6-5-3 ECAC) generated very little, and in the end, fell victim to one of the best goaltenders in the nation. Senior Joel Laing, whose save percentage (94.5) was the nation's best entering last night's affair, stopped all 26 shots he faced as the Engineers defeated the visiting Big Green, 2-0.

The shutout, Dartmouth's third of the season but first since mid-December, snapped a modest two-game winning streak for the Big Green. Dartmouth still has won five of its last eight games and can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Brown next Friday.

"I thought it was a brutally boring game. I thought they'd really come after us, and they didn't," said Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet. "I was really surprised. I think they're a good team, but we just missed some chances to score goals. I think they got a couple lucky breaks, and they did what they had to do."

Against Union on Thursday, the Big Green showed the effects of having only three days of rest between conference weekends, getting outshot 38-24 and allowing an average Union squad to stay in it from beginning to end. A late goal from defenseman P.J. Martin saved the day, however, and Dartmouth escaped with a 2-1 win.

Last night, things weren't quite as lopsided. Dartmouth won the shooting war, 26-24, and applied plenty of pressure on the Engineers in the process. As it turned out, RPI's man between the pipes was not to be beaten. Laing recorded his second consecutive whitewash and fourth of the season, and is now just over 48 minutes shy of breaking the ECAC record for most consecutive minutes without allowing a goal.

"Joel Laing is a gamer. He comes to play," RPI coach Dan Fridgen said. "He's a guy in the locker room that steps up and leads. But I thought it was good job by everyone on the ice. He needed support out there, and we did a good job defensively."

Less than five minutes into the game, a swarm of Engineers players converged on the Dartmouth net and potted the game-winning goal. After rookie netminder Nick Boucher stopped a shot from defenseman Jared Reigstad, sophomore Matt Murley took care of business, wristing the puck between the pipes for his sixth netter of the season.

Early in the third frame, RPI senior Steve Caley one-timed a centering pass into the back of the net for the Engineers' second and final goal of the game.

"We're a very young team," Gaudet said. "We missed some chances. I thought we had some good opportunities off faceoffs and a few rebound opportunities, but we just didn't deposit them. And that's the difference in the game.

"It's a credit to them. They beat us."

Big Green notes: RPI is 7-0-3 in its last 10 Freakouts . . . . According to a tenative look at next year's schedule, the Big Green will not participate in next year's Freakout. The University of Vermont, Dartmouth's traveling partner, will do so instead . . . . Chris Taliercio and Chris Hontvet were off the ice after appearing in two straight games . . . . Dartmouth defeated Brown 4-1 earlier in the season.