Third-Period Comeback Pushes No. 8 Dartmouth Past Yale

Photo by Sam Rubin

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. - Capping a frustrating weekend in which Yale lost a pair of one-goal games to two of the top teams in ECAC Hockey, No. 8 Dartmouth got the game-winning goal from forward Reagan Fischer with 48 seconds left to beat the Bulldogs 3-2 Saturday afternoon at Thompson Arena. Yale had rallied from an early 1-0 deficit and lead 2-1 heading into the third thanks to goals from freshman forward Aleca Hughes and senior defenseman Helen Resor, but the Big Green tied the game on a power-play goal by defenseman Sarah Newnam with 8:17 left. Freshman goalie Genny Ladiges made 24 saves for Yale.

Dartmouth (16-6-2, 12-3-2 ECAC Hockey) took a quick lead when Ladiges got a piece of forward Sarah Toupal's shot but not enough to keep it from trickling in at the 1:42 mark. Ladiges, who had made a career-high 37 saves in a 2-1 loss at Harvard the night before, settled down quickly after that. Five minutes later the Big Green threatened to extend the lead during a 2-on-1, but Ladiges adjusted to square up on a shot from forward Maggie Kennedy after Kennedy took a cross-ice pass from forward Amanda Trunzo.

Yale (9-14-0, 5-11-0 ECAC Hockey) tied the game when freshman forward Aleca Hughes took the puck off the boards low, skated in to the left circle and put a shot on goal from a tough angle that slid past Dartmouth netminder Carli Clemis. Sophomore forward Bray Ketchum assisted on the play.

A flurry of shots from the senior line of Crysti Howser, Danielle Kozlowski and Maggie Westfal lead to a Dartmouth penalty at 10:33, but the Big Green had the best scoring chance in that two-minute span. Ladiges had to react quickly to deny U.S. Olympic forward Sarah Parsons, who skated in and tried a backhander. The Big Green had another short-handed chance in the waning seconds of the period, as forward Shannon Bowman chased down a loose puck and skated in on Ladiges, but that shot was denied and the teams went into the first intermission tied at one.

The Howser-Kozlowski-Westfal line generated another series of scoring chances three minutes into the second period, but amidst a scrum in front of the net the Bulldogs were whistled for a hand pass. But they got right back down the ice after taking the face-off in their own end, and took the lead on a play that was set up by a beautiful backhand pass in front of the Dartmouth net by junior forward Caroline Murphy. Ketchum snared the puck and put a wrister high on goal, and after her shot hit the post senior defenseman Helen Resor was there to knock in the rebound for a 2-1 Yale lead at 3:35.

Ladiges continued to be tested throughout the period. Trunzo tried using a Yale defender as a screen for a wrist shot six minutes in, but Ladiges reacted quickly to grab that wrist shot. Ladiges also had to display some quick reflexes with five minutes left in the period, when a long Dartmouth shot deflected off the stick of a Yale player right in front of the net. Ladiges gloved that one to keep the Bulldog lead intact heading into the third period.

The game turned when the Bulldogs were hit with their only two penalties of the game in a span of four minutes midway through the third. They were two seconds away from killing off the first Big Green power play, thanks to a pair of huge saves by Ladiges and a pair of blocked shots by Kozlowski. But after Yale freshman defenseman Heather Grant was finally able to clear the puck for the Bulldogs with 40 seconds left on the power play, Dartmouth came right back down the ice and Newnam found the back of the net through heavy traffic.

The second Yale penalty did not result in a goal but it did help negate the offensive momentum Yale had generated in the second period, when the Bulldogs outshot the Big Green 11-6. Sophomore defenseman Samantha MacLean dove to the ice twice to break up plays in the Yale zone, and Resor also had a key block. Ladiges gloved a shot by forward Amanda Trunzo just as the Yale penalty came to an end.

The Bulldogs just missed re-taking the lead with three minutes to play when junior defenseman Alyssa Clarke intercepted an attempted Dartmouth clear in the Big Green zone and fed Ketchum, whose shot went just wide.

Just when it seemed the teams were headed to overtime, Fischer skated into the Yale zone and put a shot on goal with a Yale defender in between her and Ladiges, and it sailed in for the 3-2 lead.

The Bulldogs immediately called timeout. After Yale won the faceoff and pulled Ladiges for an extra attacker, the Bulldogs were able to set up Howser low in the right circle. But Clemis reacted quickly to move over and deny Howser's shot with 34.5 seconds left, and the Big Green controlled the puck after that to run out the clock.

Yale returns home to host RPI Friday at 7:00 p.m.