Komarek's Game-Winner Gives Dartmouth Overtime Win
HANOVER, N.H. — Junior Sally Komarek (Minneapolis, Minn.)
tallied two goals, including the game-winner 51 seconds into
overtime, to give the Dartmouth women's hockey team a 4-3 win
against 10th-ranked Northeastern at Thompson Arena on Saturday. The
win improved the Big Green to 5-4-1 overall and the loss dropped
the Huskies to 10-4-0.
Early in overtime, junior Camille Dumais (Beaconsfield, Quebec)
passed the puck to junior Lisa Berreman (Eagan, Minn.) at the top
of the left circle in the Huskies' zone. Berreman's shot sailed
over the goal, but Komarek collected it behind the net. She then
circled around the far side of the net and fired a backhanded shot
that found a hole between Northeastern goaltender Florence
Schelling and the far post.
It was Komarek's third goal of the season and her second of the
game. She also assisted on Dartmouth's first goal. It marked
Berreman's first assist of the season and Dumais' fifth. It was the
first overtime win for the Big Green since they bested Clarkson at
home in the third game of the best-of-three first round series of
the ECAC Tournament last February.
Freshman Katie Milligan (Kingston, Ontario) gave Komarek the
ability to provide the late game heroics by slowing down the
fast-paced Northeastern offense. Milligan earned her first
collegiate victory, stopping 29 shots. She made two saves in the
extra period and made an outstanding 15 in the second to hold the
Huskies scoreless in the period.
Northeastern put a tally on the board early in the game just 1:26
into the contest. Brittany Esposito had the puck on the far left
side and found Casey Pickett skating to the front of the crease.
Pickett received the pass and stuffed the puck in the right side
for her 10th goal of the season.
After a Huskies' penalty, the Big Green used the power play to tie
the game seven minutes later. After receiving a pass from senior
Kelly Foley (South Boston, Mass.), junior Margaux Sharp (Carleton
Place, Ontario) fired a shot three strides in from the blue line
that knuckled in the left side for the goal. It was Sharp's first
goal of the season and the second in her career.
Coming out of the first intermission, both teams fired up shots in
the second, but only Dartmouth came away with a score. Just over 12
minutes into the period, junior Jessica Gagner (London, Ontario)
took a shot from the top of near circle. The puck was deflected in
front of the net, but Foley grabbed the puck in mid air, placed it
on the ice and knocked in her seventh goal of the season. It marked
the first career assist for Gagner.
The Big Green took the 2-1 lead into the third, and stretched the
lead to 3-1, 1:02 into the period on Komarek's first goal of the
evening. Freshman Morgan Illikainen (Grand Rapids, Minn.) took a
shot from center ice that was deflected by senior Jenna Hobeika
(Alpine N.J.). The puck popped into the air and then Komarek
connected with it before it hit the ice to knock it into the back
of the net.
Northeastern started its comeback five minutes later on Kendall
Coyne's seventh goal of the season. Following a couple of up
passes, Coyne fired in a shot from the left side to cut the lead to
3-2. It appeared the Big Green would escape with the victory in
regulation, but Coyne added another goal by coming from the left
side of the net and skating the length of the crease before
slipping the puck past Milligan on the right side to tie the game
and force overtime.
Each team was called for two penalties. Dartmouth killed both
penalties and went 1-for-2 on the power play. The Big Green took 29
shots in the game, while the Huskies had 32.
It marked the second straight win over a ranked opponent for the
Big Green after winning at ninth-ranked Harvard on Wednesday, 3-2.
Dartmouth is 3-1 on the season against ranked teams with its other
win at second-ranked Cornell Nov. 11. The victory was also the
first home win for the Big Green. They entered the contest with an
0-3-0 record at Thompson this season.
Dartmouth hosts Harvard on Wednesday at 7 p.m.












