Cornell 2 - Dartmouth 3

Hanover, N.H. - In a game that could only be defined as a "must-win" for everyone involved, the Dartmouth Big Green rode a stellar performance from goaltender Eric Almon to a huge 3-2 win over the visiting Cornell Big Red Sunday afternoon at Thompson Arena.

The stakes were fairly obvious: the winner would sit in third place in the ECAC, the loser in eighth.

And Almon came up big. Making his first start since before the New Year, the veteran made Senior Day an afternoon to remember, tallying 37 saves to snap his team's two-game losing streak and propel the Big Green into a four-way tie for third place.

With the score tied, 2-2, midway through the second period, a singular effort by Mike Maturo allowed Dartmouth to score the eventual game-winner. Maintaining the puck all the way down the ice despite constant pressure, Maturo finally danced into the slot and lit the lamp for his seventh goal of the season.

That would end the scoring, and Dartmouth (9-13-4, 8-8-3 ECAC) completed a season sweep of the Big Red. With the loss, Cornell (8-14-4, 7-9-3) dropped to eighth place, percentage points behind Harvard.

"Eric Almon earned the start today," said Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet. "As a senior, he's played a lot of hockey here. He hasn't played as much this year, obviously, but I just wanted a positive situation for Eric. He's worked really hard in practice to stay sharp, and I just think it was right for him to play this game. And he played great."

Even in games as important as this, many coaches preach the importance of a one-play-at-a-time, one-shift-at-a-time kind of approach.

Still, Big Red head coach Mike Schafer acknowledged that his team knew the implications of this late season affair.

"Our guys know. They're aware of it," he said. "They knew the importance of this game, but they also know the importance of next weekend's games too. They just need to play hard."

Was a return to Thompson Arena improbable if Dartmouth lost this game? "Honestly, yeah," Gaudet said. "But it never came up, not once in conversation with the team. It was all about focus and playing one shift at a time. It sounds like something I've said all year long, but it's true."

Cornell jumped on top five minutes into the opening period. Remaining one step ahead of the Big Green defense, juniors Dan Svoboda and Andrew McNiven stormed Almon from both sides of the net. Choosing to shoot rather than pass, Svoboda slid the puck between the pipes for a 1-0 Big Red lead.

Dartmouth answered back midway through the period. Skating in his 100th career game, defenseman Ryan Poulton turned the trick, squeezing the puck between goalie Matt Underhill's legs with five seconds remaining on a 5-on-4 power play. It was Poulton's 47th career point.

The teams traded goals early in the second period. Ryan Sinclair scored first to hand Dartmouth a brief one-goal advantage, taking advantage of Cornell's failure to clear the zone by dumping the puck past Underhill. Cornell responded two minutes later, as Frank Kovac slapped a shot past a flattened Almon to tie the score at two.

Midway through the period, Maturo's goal enabled the Big Green to reclaim the lead. Last year's team leader in scoring, Maturo has struggled to regain his form this season, but the sophomore forward chose an appropriate time to get back on the scoring sheet.

"This is just a huge win for us," Gaudet said. "To be able to come back from a tough loss Friday night is big for our team. Cornell generates a lot of shots, and they're big and strong, so this is a huge win for us. We need to stay in the hunt, and this helps us a lot."

All told, Cornell outshot Dartmouth, 39-18, but Almon was the difference. In the Big Red net, Underhill stopped six of nine shots, while rookie Chris Gartman was a perfect nine-for-nine.

"It's disappointing to outshoot them 39 to 18 and come out with a loss, especially on the road," Schafer said. "It's a long road still. We have to win both games next week against two teams, Princeton and Yale, that we need to beat. Dartmouth has a tough road ahead, too.

"It's tight. No one's going to know until about 9:40 Saturday night where everyone's going. Things are going to get a lot wackier from here on in."

With home ice still up in the air -- Dartmouth likely will ice it with a .500 weekend at Clarkson and St. Lawrence, while Cornell may need a home sweep of Yale and Princeton -- both teams will be back in action next weekend. The Big Green will battle Clarkson Friday night, while the Big Red will host Yale.

Big Green notes: Mike Maturo's goal was his first since Jan. 24, when he scored late in the third period against Cornell. Maturo, Dartmouth's points leader last season with 25, upped his season total to 14 (7g, 7a) . . . . Defenseman Ryan Burkart, who has all of 18 points in 110-game career, now has a three-game point scoring streak. He recorded an assist in the 5-2 loss to Princeton, a goal in the 6-2 loss to Colgate, and an assist on Sinclair's goal today . . . . Today was "Senior Day" at Thompson Arena. The Big Green honored veterans Eric Almon, Ryan Poulton and Burkart in a pre-game ceremony. Appropriately, Almon was the game-winning goaltender, Poulton scored Dartmouth's first goal, and Burkart earned an assist . . . . With an assist on Maturo's goal, Jamie Herrington now has a three-game point scoring streak . . . . With assists on Dartmouth's first two goals, Frank Nardella increased his team-leading points total to 17 (6g, 11a) . . . . Dartmouth beat Clarkson, 5-3, and lost to St. Lawrence, 3-4, in late January. St. Lawrence is in first place in the league.