Ivy League men’s hockey continues to build a formidable reputation, amassing victories both inside and outside the ECAC.
Unranked Dartmouth (6-4-0, 4-2-0) made headlines with an upset of No. 1 Boston College (9-2-1). Cornell (8-1-0, 5-1-0) came out on top in a clash of Northeast hockey powerhouses, and Harvard (7-3-0, 7-2-0) continued to roll, taking the ECAC lead.
Dartmouth 5, Boston College 4 (OT)
The Big Green posted its second huge upset in 10 days, shocking Boston College 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 26 at Thompson Arena in Hanover, N.H.
Dartmouth’s third line and the combination of freshmen wingers Mike Ouellette and Max Guimond led the Big Green, who came from two goals behind to win. Boston College even outshot Dartmouth 40-16, but still lost.
Ouellette ripped a one-timer from winger Hugh Jessiman past Eagle goalie Matti Kaltiainen at 2:39 of overtime to complete the unexpected comeback.
The Big Green, who defeated then No. 9 Cornell on Nov. 16, fell behind early after Eagle defenseman Andrew Alberts and winger Ryan Shannon both scored.
Guimond put Dartmouth on the board with a goal in the second period, but BC’s Ned Havern reestablished a two goal lead with a blast that went off the crossbar and into the net.
But that lead did not last long; Dartmouth captain Trevor Byrne scored his fourth goal of the season and 1:14 later, winger Lee Stempniak, the ECAC’s ninth leading scorer, tied the game with his team leading 10th goal in just nine games.
The Eagles jumped ahead 19 seconds into third period on freshman winger Patrick Eaves’ ninth goal of the season, but Guimond tied the game on his second goal of the night at 13:02 of the third on a shot that deflected off a BC defenseman, sending the game to overtime.
Dartmouth goalie Nick Boucher made 36 saves; his counterpart, Matti Kaltiainen stopped only 11 of the 16 shots he saw.
Cornell beats Boston University Twice
After being upset by the Big Green on Nov. 16, nationally ranked No. 7 Cornell responded with four straight victories, including two wins over nationally ranked No. 11 Boston University (7-5-2) Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y.
On Saturday, Big Red winger Sam Paolini paved the way for the 4-1 victory with a goal and two assists; goalie Dave LeNeveu, named ECAC goaltender of the week on Nov. 26, made 24 saves.
Despite being outshot 9-4 in the first period, Cornell led 3-0 at the first break. Freshman winger Matt Moulson scored the game winner at 16:07 on a pass from Paolini.
Winger Brian McConnell scored the Terriers’ only goal at 12:48 of the third on a power play, ending LeNeveu’s shutout bid.
The two teams played to nearly the same result yesterday: Cornell posted a 5-1 victory.
Harvard Sweeps 4 Point Weekend
Cornell has the highest national ranking in the ECAC, but Harvard, which had a four point weekend, leads the conference with 14 points.
After a hard fought 7-4 victory against Union (6-5-3, 3-2-1) on Nov. 29, which included a combined 106 penalty minutes, the Crimson notched their second victory of the weekend against RPI (6-8-1, 1-4-1), 3-1 at the Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge, Mass.
Cantab forward Tyler Kolarik, who is tied for the team lead in points with 13, started the scoring with his sixth goal of the season, redirecting defenseman Noah Welch’s hard pass from the point into the net at 9:12 of the first period.
Crimson winger Rob Flynn scored the game winner at 18:00 in the first, picking up a loose puck in front of the net and putting it home.
The Engineers got within one on a second period goal by defenseman Danny Eberly, who beat Harvard goalie Dov Grumet-Morris on a shot from the point on a two-man advantage.
Rensselaer goalie Nathan Masters kept the game close, finishing with 38 saves, but Cantab center Brett Nowak iced the game late in the third stanza with a shot that beat Masters through the five-hole.
Grumet-Morris made 20 saves and helped give Harvard the ECAC lead, two points ahead of Yale’s 12 total points.