Brown 2 - Dartmouth 1

Hanover, N.H. -- The Dartmouth Big Green did everything they could to beat the Brown Bears Friday night. They took twice as many shots, spent most of the second and third periods in the offensive zone, and drew an eye-catching seven power play chances.

Despite their best efforts, Scott Stirling had other ideas. The Bears' stellar netminder, a senior, stopped 31 shots, including 13 in an exciting third period, to propel the 11th-place Bears to a 2-1 upset of the fourth-place Big Green.

Dartmouth outshot Brown, 9-6, in the first period, but surrendered rebound goals to rookie Jason Wilson and senior Tyler Garrow. Garrow's goal, which lit the lamp with only 15 seconds remaining in the first, proved to be the difference, as only Dartmouth blueliner Ryan Poulton was able to solve Stirling later in the game.

With the win, Brown improves to 5-15-2 (3-11-1 ECAC) on the season, while Dartmouth slips to 7-11-4 (6-6-3).

"I thought the guys worked really hard," Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet said. "We played against a team that needed a win. They got it here. But I thought we did a good job. It's disappointing not to have anything to show for it."

While Dartmouth has found more success this season than the Bears -- especially in the league standings -- Brown has never been an easy opponent for the Big Green to handle.

Even with his team's 4-1 win over Brown back on Nov. 6, Gaudet -- who coached the Bears from 1988-97 -- sports just a 1-4-1 record against his former team.

Tonight, it was Stirling who made the most difference.

"I've said it before," Gaudet said. "Their top six scorers and their goaltender are guys that myself and my staff brought into the Brown program as we were leaving, or were already there.

"Scott's been a top-level goalie all the way through, and obviously they rely very heavily on him."

The Bears didn't create an abundance of chances in the first period -- they took just 10 total shots to Dartmouth's 27 -- but they took advantage of what they got. Less than three minutes into the game, Wilson collected a rebound off the pads of goaltender Nick Boucher and swatted it between the pipes for a 1-0 Brown advantage.

Late in the same period, after Dartmouth had spent nearly three straight minutes in the offensive zone, Brown took just 12 seconds to extend its lead to two. After winning a faceoff in front of their own net with 27 left on the clock, the Bears' second line sprinted the length of the ice, sent the puck on net, and then celebrated after Garrow flipped it in with 15 seconds remaining in the period.

Midway through the second frame, Dartmouth finally solved Stirling. Taking advantage of his team's third power play of the night, Poulton took a pass from forward Jamie Herrington and blasted a 55-foot line drive past the goalie and into the net to cut Brown's lead to one.

Dartmouth outshot the Bears, 10-4, in the second period, but Poulton's goal was all the Big Green could manage.

And that would be the story of the game. Dartmouth finished the night 1-for-7 on the power play, including a game-ending chance -- ostensibly a 6-on-4 opportunity, because Boucher had been pulled -- that saw denial after denial from Stirling.

The senior netminder improved his personal record to 5-8-1 on the season.

"There's nothing that you can point a finger at that we didn't do," Gaudet said. "We made good hockey plays and didn't score. We didn't have much puck-luck tonight, and it didn't go in for us.

"It went in for Brown. They had two plays from guys who don't score a lot of goals. But I give them credit. They did enough to win the game."

The Big Green will be back in action next Friday night with a road game against Yale.

Big Green notes: With Ryan Poulton's man-advantage netter in the second period, Dartmouth has now scored a power play goal in three of its last four games . . . . Poulton's goal was his first against the Bears in seven career games . . . . Sophomore forward Chris Baldwin was the receipient of a flattening check midway through the third period and had to be removed from the game. No word yet on the severity of the injury, which appears to be to his head. Junior Michael Byrne took double shifts in Baldwin's absence . . . . Dartmouth's next opponent, Yale , earned a 2-0 decision over the Big Green back on Nov. 13.