Team Notes: Battle for the RiverStone Cup XI Next Up for Big Green
HANOVER, N.H. - It's been quite the week for the state of New Hampshire. Three years of political campaigning and speculation came to an end Tuesday when the polls closed on the 2012 Primary. Every four years the Granite State seems to draw the attention of the nation as its citizens line up to make their voices heard concerning the next President.
However, on Saturday night, the annual game between the Dartmouth and UNH men's hockey teams will recapture some of that attention. The state's lone Division I programs will square off at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester in the Battle for the RiverStone Cup at 7 p.m. for the 11th straight season.
Last season, Dartmouth snapped a two-game skid to its in-state rival with a 5-4, last-minute win; taking home the Cup for the first time since 2008. Then-junior Doug Jones (Marietta, Ga.) scored with 1:11 left in the third to break the 4-4 deadlock, while classmate James Mello (Rehoboth, Mass.) stopped 34 shots, earning the win in net.
UNH is the home team for this year's contest and will have the benefit of last change on Saturday. But look for the ups and downs of last weekend's split at RPI and Union to serve the Big Green well in terms of motivation. A 4-3 win over the Engineers in a nationally-televised game was followed up by a 7-1 defeat the following night to the No. 14 Dutchmen, providing the team with several highs and lows in a 24-hour window.
The Wildcats are the last remaining non-conference opponent this season for the Big Green, who will play ECAC Hockey foes the rest of the way out in 2011-12.
GAME NOTES
BATTLE FOR THE RIVERSTONE CUP XI
In the 10 games between the two teams played in Manchester over
the last decade, Dartmouth is just 3-6-1 against its in-state
rivals. The third win came last season when Doug Jones broke a 4-4
tie with just over a minute remaining in regulation. A 5-3 win in
2008 and a wild 9-8 affair in 2005 were the other two Big Green
wins in the Queen City.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE WILDCATS
UNH owns a 32-18-2 all-time advantage in the series with Dartmouth
dating back to the first meeting between the two in 1936. The
series has been a regular staple for both teams for the better part
of five decades. Under head coach Bob Gaudet, the Big Green are
4-7-1 against New Hampshire.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Twice this season, Dartmouth has gone out on the road for a
two-game weekend against ECAC Hockey foes and both times has come
out with a split. In both instances, the Big Green took the Friday
night tilt and dropped Saturday's contest. This past weekend,
Dartmouth defeated RPI, 4-3, before suffering a 7-1 loss at Union
the following night. The first road trip of the season saw
Dartmouth beat St. Lawrence, 3-1, in Canton, N.Y., but fall at
Clarkson, 4-0, in the second game of the weekend.
FRIDAY NIGHT IS BETTER FOR US...
Dartmouth is 5-1-1 in games played on Friday night, while just
1-4-1 in Saturday contests this season. The lone win on a Saturday
was against Princeton on Nov. 5 in the team's fourth contest of the
season. The Big Green are 0-3-1 since that last Saturday win.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Coming into last weekend's game with Union, Dartmouth had been
outshot in six games this season, but was 5-0-1 in those contests.
The Dutchmen became the first team to register a win when putting
more shots on goal than the Big Green as they had 41 to the
visitors' 30.
AGAINST RPI
In the first game of the weekend, 10 different Dartmouth players
registered points in the win over Rensselaer. Four of those points
came from defenders (Goggin, Keenan, Pinkston, Gaudet), while two
more came from players listed on the fourth line (Goodship,
Lee).
GOOD TIMING
Freshman defenseman Rick Pinkston (Trenton, Mich.) picked a good
time to pick up his first-career goal, notching the tally at 14:20
of the second period against the Engineers. Pinkston's blast from
the point, off a faceoff in the offensive zone, through traffic
proved to be the game winner as it gave the Big Green a 4-1
advantage.
GRANITE STATE PLAYERS
Saturday's game matches the only two Division I hockey programs in
the state, but Dartmouth has just one New Hampshire native on its
roster: Jim Gaudet (Etna, N.H.). The Wildcats have three Granite
Staters on their roster this season, including freshman goalie
Casey DeSmith (Rochester, N.H.) who picked up his first-career
victory in a 26-save, 1-0 shutout Wednesday at Providence.
THE KEY IS TO HAVE THE LEAD AFTER TWO
Dartmouth has been solid this season when holding a lead after two
periods of play. The Big Green are a perfect 5-0 when heading into
the locker room after 40 minutes with a lead.
BEAMISH'S PLAY
Freshman forward Jesse Beamish (Mississauga, Ontario) scored the
team's lone goal at Union for his fourth of the season. Trailing by
seven and killing a five-minute power play, Beamish stole the puck
and finished a rush with a backhanded shot. It was his second
shorthanded goal of the season, ranking second in ECAC Hockey and
tied for fourth in the country. No other Dartmouth player has a
shorthanded marker this season.
LINDBLAD'S SCORING STREAK
Sophomore center Matt Lindblad (Winnetka, Ill.) saw his six-game
point streak come to an end at Messa Rink when he was held off the
scoresheet for the first time since the team was shutout on Nov. 19
at Clarkson (4-0). In that time, Lindblad did not register a goal,
but did have eight assists.
NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
UNH marks the first neutral-site game of the season for the Big
Green. Despite playing in two regular-season tournaments already,
Dartmouth has yet to take on an opponent on neutral ice. The Big
Green have hosted both the Ivy Shootout and The Ledyard Classic
this season and have played 10 games at Thompson Arena and five
road games in 2011-12.
THREE IN A PERIOD
Dartmouth's three second-period goals at RPI marked just the
second time this season that the Big Green have lit the lamp three
times in one frame. The only other occurrence was on Nov. 4 when
the team scored three in the third to come back and defeat
Quinnipiac, 5-4, at home.
TEAM LEADERS
Freshman Tyler Sikura (Aurora, Ontario) picked up just an assist
on the two-game road swing, but sophomore Eric Robinson's (Foxboro,
Mass.) deflection in the slot on the power play against the
Engineers moved him into a tie with the first-year winger as both
have seven tallies this year. Robinson's 11 points (7g/4a) are also
a new career high after recording eight (3g/5a) as a freshman last
season.
CENTURY MARK
Jim Gaudet played in his 100th-career game Friday when he suited
up against Rensselaer. Gaudet picked up an assist in the contest,
starting the play behind his own net that eventually led to junior
Alex Goodship (Blackfalds, Alberta) finishing an odd-man rush at
the other end for his second of the season. Senior Doug Jones
(Marietta, Ga.) is closing in on 100-career points as he has 91
(22g/69a) entering the weekend. He also ranks 14th in assists
all-time at Dartmouth.
IN-STATE
Dartmouth has not played a game in New Hampshire other than at
Thompson Arena or the Verizon since Jan. 3, 2000 (Whittemore Center
- Durham, N.H.)
