Dartmouth Loses Top-10 Battle

Photo by Beverly Schaefer

Boxscore

CANTON, N.Y. ­- Despite holding a slim advantage in shots, the third-ranked Dartmouth women's hockey team fell to the nationally-ranked Saints of St. Lawrence, 3-0, in ECAC Hockey action on Friday night.

For Dartmouth (5-1-0, 4-1-0 ECAC Hockey), senior goaltender Carli Clemis (Taber, Alta.) saw her shutout streak come to an end, giving up her first goal in three-plus games in the second period. She had not given up a goal in 212 minutes of ice time.

For St. Lawrence (6-1-2, 3-0-0 ECAC Hockey) Allison Domenico led the Saints with a goal and an assist with the goal coming on the power play in the second period. Also scoring for St. Lawrence was Carson Duggan and Karell Emard, both coming in the third period for a couple of insurance goals.

Though the two teams found themselves scoreless after the opening period, there were plenty of chances for each team to grab the early lead.  However, St. Lawrence netminder Brittony Chartier and Clemis stole the show in the first period, making nine and 15 saves, respectively.  The Saints seemed to have the majority of the quality scoring chances, as Emard and Jordan Pyers were both robbed by Clemis on the door step.

After the scoreless opening frame, special teams gave St. Lawrence the 1-0 lead with 13:12 remaining in the second period. Courtney Sawchuk skated the puck along the boards, and after beating a defender, she fired a pass to the top of the crease for a waiting Alison Domenico.  She then re-directed the pass over Clemis' right shoulder and into the net for her sixth goal of the season and a 1-0 advantage.

In the third period, Dartmouth had two quick back-to-back power play chances to open the third period, but the Saints' penalty killing unit was up to the task.  As the final seconds ticked off of Tara Akstull's penalty, Duggan stole the puck in the offensive zone, and after a sleek move helped her elude a defender, she found herself with a one-on-one chance against the Dartmouth goaltender.

Though her initial shot was stopped, the rebound bounced high into the air, and she was able to slap it out of midair and under the cross bar for a 2-0 lead at 7:46 of the third period. It was Duggan's 86th goal of her career, which broke the school record.

The goal seemed to lift St. Lawrence and gave them all of the momentum, as they were able to come right back only 1:42 later and make it 3-0 on Emard's second goal of the season.  Emard was able to bang in a slap shot after a feed from Lisa Batchelor to make it a 3-0 game with 10:32 to play in regulation.

The Big Green would control much of the offense for the remaining half of the period, as they finished the third period with an impressive 14-6 advantage in shots on goal.  However, Chartier was fantastic, as she made save after save including a sprawling glove save on what appeared to be a tap-in goal in the final minutes.  Her 31-save effort was the difference as she earned her second shutout of the season.

Dartmouth finished with a slight 31-30 advantage in shots on goal, the Saints' used a 1-for-3 night on the power play to earn the victory.  The Big Green was held without a power play tally, finishing 0-for-5 with the extra skater.

Dartmouth will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as the Big Green travels across town to face Clarkson in a Saturday matinee at 4 p.m.