Big Green Progress Report: Boston College

This has been quite the unexpected year for Dartmouth hockey so far. The Big Green is currently ranked 11^th in the country by USCHO and has had one of the best starts in College Hockey.  Last weekend saw a highly anticipated match up against the defending national champion Boston College Eagles away at Conte Forum.  Dartmouth lost the game 6-3, but the score line did not tell the tale of the game.

Throughout the game the Big Green skated with Boston College. The Eagles are arguably the best team in country so far this season. Sophomore forward Johnny Gaudreau seems to be a lock for the Hobey Baker and proved to the difference against the Big Green with five points.  The Eagles top line is a class above the rest in NCAA Hockey and they look destined to repeat as national champions.

Big Green head coach Bob Gaudet shared the same sentiment about Gaidreau in his post-game comments,

“Gaudreau is just a phenomenal player,” stated Gaudet. “he reminds you of Paul Kariya a little bit when he was in college. He is a difference maker there is no question about it.”

Dartmouth showed how good they really were despite the score of the game. Going into the third period the Big Green had the game tied at 3-3, courtesy of late period goals from Brandon McNally and Tyler Sikura.

Boston College forward Pat Mullane scored just 18 seconds into the third period and the Big Green could never recover,

“Obviously the goal in the first shirt of the third period really hurt us,” said Gaudet.” It was a great play. They are an outstanding team and they are number one for a reason. It was disappointing to start the period that way because we had really good momentum going in.”

Steven Whitney added a goal and the Big Green went down 5-3 with a good amount of time left to play. Dartmouth stepped up offensive pressure late in the third, but could not find an answer for Boston College goaltender Parker Milner. The Eagles added an empty net goal to bring the final up to 6-3 and earn the victory.

What Stood Out:

Offense is definitely the strong point of this team this year. Comparing this year’s offensive numbers to last year’s is a world apart. Tyler Sikura and Eric Robinson are on pace to match their output from last year by the midpoint of the season.

Matt Lindblad was great with the puck on his stick against Boston College and his distribution will continue to lead to many scoring chances.

Dustin Walsh is getting there. He is returning from injury and his form is getting better. On ice against Boston College he looked confident and sure to make his presence known in the game.

The Big Green has a real chance of making the national tournament this season. Boston College had no easy time dispatching the Big Green. The top two forward lines are on par with the rest of the country and showed some real fight while getting the team back even two separate times during the game.

Next Up:

Bentley of Atlantic Hockey will be traveling to Hanover this Saturday for a non-conference tilt against the Big Green.

The Falcons are one of the top teams in Atlantic Hockey and bring a very formidable power play spearheaded by junior Brett Gensler. The forward is currently leading the nation in scoring with 21 points.

The game will pit two of the best special team units in the nation of against each other. Bentley’s aforementioned power play ranks first in the nation while Dartmouth penalty kill ranks second in the nation.

Notes:

Eric Neiley was out at left wing in the game against Boston College. Gaudet explained in the postgame press conference that he shouldn’t be out long, but due to the nature of school rules he could not tell us what the injury was.

Next week’s game against UVM will be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network at 7pm on Wednesday.

If you are planning on going to the home games against Bentley and Vermont why not bring a toy to donate for the annual CHaD Toy Drive. As an added bonus for Big Green fans former Dartmouth NHL’ers  Nick Johnson , Ben Lovejoy, Tanner Glass , Lee Stempniak, and David Jones will all be in attendance at the UVM game ( Thanks Lockout). They will all be signing autographs following the game.