Dartmouth Sweeps Opening Weekend of League Play
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 00:44 | Kleebaum, Rob (Princeton) |
| 1st - 03:00 | Goodship, Alex (Dartmouth) |
| 1st - 07:21 | Walsh, Dustin (Dartmouth) |
| 2nd - 01:13 | Robinson, Eric (Dartmouth) |
| 2nd - 14:11 | PP - Berger, Jack (Princeton) |
| 3rd - 13:37 | Sikura, Tyler (Dartmouth) |
| 3rd - 15:44 | PP - Kleebaum, Rob (Princeton) |
| 3rd - 19:44 | EN - McNally, Brandon (Dartmouth) |
| Princeton | Dartmouth |
|---|---|
|
G:
Rob Kleebaum - 2
A: Andrew Calof - 2 Sh: Rob Kleebaum - 10 Sv: Mike Condon - 25 |
G:
5 Players (#16, #18, #19, #22, #29 - 1)
A: Dustin Walsh - 2 Sh: Connor Goggin - 5 Sv: James Mello - 36 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Princeton | Dartmouth |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 2 for 8 | 0 for 2 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 3 (6) | 9 (18) |
| Shots on Goal | 39 | 30 |
| Face Offs Won | 39 | 31 |
HANOVER, N.H. – In front of a raucous crowd of 3,931 at
Thompson Arena, the Dartmouth men’s hockey team defeated
Princeton, 5-3, Saturday night. A balanced offensive attack helped
the Big Green (3-1, 2-0 ECAC) sweep the home weekend with
back-to-back five-goal efforts in their first two ECAC Hockey games
of the season.
Junior Dustin Walsh (Shannonville, Ontario) had a goal and two
assists to cap a five-point weekend to open league play.
Senior goalkeeper James Mello (Rehoboth, Mass.) turned aside 36
shots from the Tigers (1-3-1, 1-2 ECAC) on the night, including 29
in the first two periods.
Dartmouth most recently swept a home weekend last February when it
beat Quinnipiac (3-1) and Princeton (4-1), the same two opponents
that made the trip to Hanover this weekend.
Princeton’s Rob Kleebaum scored just 44 seconds into the
game on a 2-on-1 opportunity. That would be the last lead of the
night for the Tigers as Dartmouth scored the next three goals to
open the game up.
Junior Alex Goodship (Blackfalds, Alberta) tied it just over two
minutes after Kleebaum’s first with a shot to the top right
corner over the glove of Princeton’s Mike Condon. Goodship
received a pass at the right circle from senior Paul Lee (Garden
City, N.Y.) below thegoal line to set up the one-timer. Junior
Jason Bourgea (South Burlington, Vt.) also picked up his first
point of the season with Lee as both were creditedwith assists.
Walsh scored his second in as many games 6:21 into the first
period. Junior captain Mike Keenan (South Weymouth, Mass.) fired a
shot on net from the left point that Condon kicked out into the
slot. Walsh collected the loose puck, deked out a defender and
found space between the pads of the Tigers’ netminder for the
tally.
Sophomore Nick Lovejoy (Orford, N.H.) picked up the first point of
his collegiate career with an assist on the play, firing the puck
around the boards that ended up on Keenan’s stick.
Just a 1:13 into the second period, sophomore Eric Robinson
(Foxboro, Mass.) made it a two-goal game with his first of the
year. Senior Nick Walsh’s (Shannonville, Ontario) strong
forecheck in the corner caused a turnover. Walsh sent the puck out
front to a wide-open Robinson at the top of the crease for a tap-in
goal between the legs of Condon.
Princeton’s Jack Berger pulled his team back to within one,
3-2, on the power play just over 14 minutes into the middle
period.
Freshman Tyler Sikura (Aurora, Ontario) netted his second of the
season when he finished off a pretty play by linemate Dustin
Walsh.
The younger Walsh brother took a pass in the defensive zone from
senior alternate captain Jim Gaudet (Etna, N.H.) and broke down the
right side of the ice. A quick move along the halfboards shook off
a Princeton defender, causing the Tigers’ player to lose his
stick in the process. With an open passing lane, Walsh slid the
puck down low to Sikura who took the puck and jammed home a shot
under the pads of the Princeton goaltender.
Kleebaum’s second of the night made it 4-3 as he found some
space on the power play in the low slot.
But a Brandon McNally (Saugus, Mass.) goal empty-net goal with 16
seconds left sealed the win, 5-3. The goal was McNally’s
first in a Dartmouth uniform and was assisted by Dustin Walsh and
sophomore defender Taylor Boldt (Niwot, Colo.).
The Big Green were unable to once again capitalize on its chances
with the man advantage, finishing the night 0-for-2. Princeton was
2-for-8 on the power play and benefited from three delay of game
penalties assessed to the home team.
Dartmouth will continue its six-game homestand to open the 2011-12
season when it plays host to Colgate and Cornell next weekend at
Thompson Arena. Colgate will make the trip to Hanover Friday night
with the Big Red playing the Saturday tilt. Both games are
scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.
