Dartmouth Posts Two Wins Over Yale and Brown

Big Green Post a 7-4 Victory Against Yale

Friday nights game against Yale was a story of total offensive domination for the Big Green.

The 7-4 result was Dartmouth's first win in 11 contests against the Bulldogs.

Head coach Bob Gaudett spoke with TGL following Friday's game and was very pleased with the flow of the game provided by his team,

“ It was an entertaining game,” exclaimed Gaudet. “it was an up and down battle. I thought we played very well.”

Goaltender Charles Grant earned his second start of the season. It may not have been the best performance, but his 35 saves were enough to get the second win of the season for the freshman despite letting in a tough early goal,

“ He deserved the chance from the whitewash of last game,” said Gaudet. “ those pucks sometimes go in. I thought he made some good saves to bounce back from it.”

Matt Lindblad, Eric Robinson, and Tyler Sikura all had two goals each. Sophomore Brendan McNally also added a goal.

Lindblad excelled on the ice both offensively and defensively. It seemed that the forward was consistently creating chances. This must be a good sign for the junior out of Winnetka IL, as he struggled with injuries towards the end of last season.

The game also featured the return of Dustin Walsh to the Dartmouth lineup. The senior forward missed all but eight games last season after having a fantastic start,

“We didn't want to over do it with him,” Gaudet said of Walsh. “ basically just game conditioning. We wanted to kind of put him in, get him on the power play, and get him some shifts. I thought he looked really good, so that is very promising for us.”

Walsh saw some limited ice time on Friday due to the nature of his recovery. His presence on the ice was felt, as he constantly was creating chances in the Yale end,

“ It felt pretty good,” Walsh stated. “ kind of started off in a limited role to ease me into it a little bit.”

Yale and Dartmouth tied just one weekend before in the Ivy Shootout. On Friday night the team struggled to find any defensive form. Head coach Keith Allain left goaltender Nick Maricic in for the whole game despite allowing seven goals,

“I thought that our guys fought really hard right up till the end,” said Allain. “but your not going to win many hockey game if you give up seven goals.”

The entire game seemed to be a show from the top forward line of Lindblad, Sikura, and Eric Neiley. For the time being this line will see significant time going forward.

Sikura's shorthanded goal in the second period stood out to be one of the top plays of the night,

“ It was a big point in the game. Yale never lets in off the gas pedal,” said Sikura. “ I knew we had to score. I was originally going to give it to Lindblad, but the defense kind of backed off of me and I saw an opening.”

Finally beating Yale is a weight lifted off of the shoulders of many Big Green players,

“ I have only been here for one year, but you get that feeling every time you are up on Yale,” said Sikura. “ we struggled a little bit in the third period, but we were able to pull it out. It feels awesome.”

Dartmouth Battles to a 2-1 Victory over Brown

The Big Green was met with a tougher match up against Brown on Saturday night.

Fighting back from an early first period shorthanded goal courtesy of Bears forward Massimo Lamacchia, Dartmouth found the back of the net twice to earn a 2-1 victory.

Despite constant pressure, the Big Green could not find an answer for Brown goaltender Marco DeFilippo till the end of the second period.

Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet went into the game knowing it would be a tough physical test for his team against a very defensive team,

“I thought that they came out with a lot of energy,” stated Gaudet. “ it was a way different game. They are a very good team defensively. Brendan (Whittet) has done a nice job and its a well coached team.”

Forward Eric Neiley had a beautiful shot from the point that slipped past DeFilippo. It was the Sophomore’s first goal of the season and a catalyst for the third period of play.

The game winning goal was sparked by some solid play from Eric Robinson, as the forward stole a puck on his own blue line to earn a two on one with fellow forward Brandon McNally. Robinson slotted home a cross-ice pass for the game winning goal,

“ We just kept battling. That is a really good team and they work really hard,” said Robinson. “ we struggled a little bit early on. It just showed how we worked really hard throughout the game and stuck with it.”

Cab Morris earned the start in goal a night after freshman Charles Grant looked a little shaky between the pipes. Brown did not have a huge offensive outburst, but they did test Morris on a few occasions. It seems the for now the junior goaltender has the number one spot on the team,

“ Cab Morris played great tonight and made key saves at key times,” said Gaudet. “ I like the depth of our team. We have a few good players that our out of the lineup right now and the guys are finding a way.”

The victory makes the Big Green one of two teams that remain undefeated in division one. The other team happens to be fellow ECAC school Cornell.

The Big Green will be at home this weekend against RPI and Union. Gaudet feels that both teams are solid and is glad his team has home ice this weekend,

“RPI is a really good team and we got them first. 18 full scholarships and you can expect a good team,” stated Gaudet. “ Union is obviously a Frozen Four player from last year. Two really good teams and I am glad we are home to start. We had a really good home weekend to start the ECAC season and I appreciate the crowd support.”

Union dominated league play last season on its way to a Frozen Four appearance. The Dutchman will be without a top defensemen in Mat Bodie, as he suffered an injury over the weekend.

Robinson understands the test his team will face, but is assured that the preparation for the game will be no different,

“They are obviously a good team,” said Robinson. “ they had a great year last year, but we aren't going to change anything this week. We are preparing the same way we did this week and the same as we did last week.”