Dartmouth Wins Battle for the RiverStone Cup
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire (12-4-4) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Dartmouth (10-5-2) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 05:07 | Mike Sislo (New Hampshire) |
| 1st - 18:55 | PP - Fleming, Scott (Dartmouth) |
| 2nd - 02:27 | Smith, Rob (Dartmouth) |
| 2nd - 09:30 | John Henrion (New Hampshire) |
| 3rd - 00:39 | Stejskal, Joe (Dartmouth) |
| 3rd - 07:58 | John Henrion (New Hampshire) |
| 3rd - 13:02 | Walsh, Dustin (Dartmouth) |
| 3rd - 15:10 | PP - Paul Thompson (New Hampshire) |
| 3rd - 18:49 | Jones, Doug (Dartmouth) |
| New Hampshire | Dartmouth |
|---|---|
|
G:
John Henrion - 2
A: Blake Kessel - 2 Sh: Paul Thompson - 6 Sv: Matt DiGirolamo - 25 |
G:
5 Players (#14, #17, #18, #20, #22 - 1)
A: Adam Estoclet - 2 Sh: Doug Jones - 6 Sv: James Mello - 34 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | New Hampshire | Dartmouth |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1 for 3 | 1 for 1 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 3 (6) | 5 (10) |
| Shots on Goal | 38 | 30 |
| Face Offs Won | 32 | 44 |
MANCHESTER, N.H. - In typical fashion when Dartmouth and New Hampshire meet, it was a wild one. Nine goals scored, one goal reviewed, 68 shots between the two squads and the Big Green winning for the first time since 2008. With a batted in shot, Doug Jones (Marietta, Ga.) gave Dartmouth its fourth lead of the game and the 5-4 victory over the 4th ranked Wildcats.
With the goal, Jones was voted the Most Valuable Player in the Battle for the RiverStone Cup. The first goal of the game went to the Wildcats as UNH took advantage of an odd-man rush to sneak the puck past goaltender James Mello Rehoboth, Mass.). The play was set up when Scott Fleming Plainfield, Ont.) and Adam Estoclet (Orono, Minn.) had a give-and-go the other way with Estoclet's shot going wide. The Wildcats got the puck and quickly came back the other way with the first shot Mike Sislo being deflected by Connor Goggin Glen Ellyn, Ill.). Paul Thompson was able to get the puck and jam it past a prone Mello, sending the goalie backwards into the net. Dartmouth tied the game with 1:05 left in the frame off a power play shot by Fleming. With 00:16 left in matching penalties by the Big Green and the Wildcats, UNH was whistled for another infraction giving Dartmouth time to try and set something up.
The play began when Evan Stephens (Bessemer, Mich.) got a slap shot off with linemate Joe Stejskal (Grand Rapids, Minn.) getting the rebound. Stejskal passed to Estoclet on the left side as he began the tic-tac-toe play. Estoclet passed to Doug Jones (Marietta, Ga.) out front with Jones immediately getting the puck to Fleming who was camped out on right side of the post. Fleming put it behind Matt DiGirolamo as the goalie had come out of the net after having committed to Jones. Rob Smith (Brooks, Alta.) lifted the Big Green to the early lead in the second as he and linemate Paul Lee (Garden City, N.Y.) teamed up for a great play in front. Traffic around the goal caused DiGirolamo to become distracted as Lee was able to quickly get a rebound over to Smith for the putback. But the Wildcats tied the contest at 9:30 as John Henrion was able to find an answer for netminder James Mello (Rehoboth, Mass.). Mello had been facing increasing pressuring from UNH but had made several acrobatic saves to keep his team in the lead but Henrion was able to take advantage of a misguided rebound to shoot over the junior netminder's shoulder for the equalizer.
The third period proved to be the most exciting 20 minutes of the game as Stejskal's slapshot just 39 seconds into the final period gave Dartmouth the lead for a second time in the game. Estoclet and Matt Reber (Edina, Minn.) were the two that teamed up for the steal in the New Hampshire end to set the play up for Stejskal.
The Wildcats got one past Mello at 12:02 when Henrion potted his second on the contest with a deflected shot that went over Mello's pads as the game was tied for the third time. Jones gave Dartmouth the lead again with 1:11 left to play as he followed his own shot and batted the puck up and over DiGirolamo for the goal.
The Big Green will be back to league play next weekend, traveling to Union and Rensselaer on Friday and Saturday.
