Dartmouth 0 - Providence 2

Providence, R.I. - A little rest led to a little rust.

Coming off a one-week break for exams, the Dartmouth men's hockey team looked a little out of synch, surrendering two goals in the second period en route to a 2-0 loss at the hands of nonconference foe Providence last night at Schneider Arena.

In its most recent action, Dartmouth (2-4-2, 1-2-2 ECAC) had split a two-game series with visiting Western Michigan over Thanksgiving weekend. The Big Green looked to make a triumphant return to the ice, staring down a talented Providence team that had seen its six-game winning streak broken up just six days earlier.

After the teams skated to a scoreless first period, the Friars (8-7, 3-5 Hockey East) were too much. Veteran defenseman Mike Farrell and Jay Leach were the difference, each beating Dartmouth goaltender Nick Boucher in the middle frame to key the triumph.

"We've had a couple days of practice after exams. I thought we played hard, but they blocked a lot of shots," said Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet. "We are just a hair off offensively. We didn't score any goals, but we had our chances. We just need to find a way to finish. But that's why we play these games."

In net, the rookie Boucher faced 31 shots. He stopped all of the short ones, including several acrobatic saves that kept the Big Green right in the thick of things.

It was the long ones that hurt him. Each of the Friars' netters came from just inside the blueline, as the pucks off both Farrell's and Leach's sticks crossed over 50 feet of ice before finding the back of the net.

Overall, Gaudet likes what he saw from his freshman netminder. "I thought Nick played a solid game for us," he said. "He made some big saves, especially down the stretch when we were trying to come back.

"The two goals that he did let in, it's the kind of thing where you have to guess one way or another, and the two shots beat him. But I thought he played well for us."

If Dartmouth needed any time to adjust after a weekend off, Providence was not an obliging host. As has been a characteristic of this Friars squad, the first period was filled with fights, incurring a total of 14 infractions as each penalty box was brimming with guilty players.

When the whistle wasn't stopping the clock, the early action was defensive. Dartmouth and Providence totaled nearly the same number of first-period shots (8-7 Big Green) as penalties, and neither team lit the lamp.

That, however, quickly changed in the middle frame. Skating on a power play, the Friars finally solved Boucher less than four minutes into the period. Cradling a pass from teammate Mike Lucci at the point, Farrell had all the time he needed as he sent in his second goal of the season and the eventual game-winner.

Leach duplicated that feat later in the period to close the scoring, and Dartmouth sufferred its second shutout of the season. The other whitewash was a similar 2-0 defeat at home against Yale in mid-November.

"This was similar to the Yale game in that we played a team that didn't really want to generate much offense," said Gaudet. "They just want to trap, clutch and grab, and that's something that we're going to have to learn to contend with. Providence stuck to its game plan to a 'T.'"

The Big Green finished the night 0-for-6 on the power play, and now has one game remaining before a crucial showdown with ECAC rival Harvard on Dec. 17. Dartmouth will stay on the road to face Northeastern in Boston tomorrow night.

"I just think we need to get better," Gaudet said. "Northeastern didn't play tonight, so that's going to let them air it out a little more when we play them. But we'll be ready. We just need to go out and generate offense. It will be a good test for us."

Big Green notes: Sophomore Carl Desjardins remained out of the lineup for the fourth straight game. The defenseman suffered an injury in Dartmouth's exhibition match with McGill on Oct. 27. He played in the first four regular season games, but has not been cleared to play since then . . . . Rookie P.J. Martin returned to the lineup after missing six straight games with a knee injury . . . . This contest marked a homecoming of sorts for Dartmouth assistant coach Dave Peters. Peters, a former player at Boston College, served five years (1993-98) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Providence before spending one season as head coach and general manager of the NAHL's Danville Wings. Peters is in his first season with the Big Green . . . . Dartmouth is now 3-for-37 (8.1 percent) on the power play this season.