Dartmouth Men's Hockey Unable to Hold Onto Lead, Falls to Clarkson

Friday, November 20

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

CLARKSON

Dartmouth Men's Hockey Unable to Hold Onto Lead, Falls to Clarkson

11/20/2009 9:15:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. - Despite scoring the first goal of the game and then taking a lead in the second, the Dartmouth men's hockey team was unable to hold on, falling to Clarkson, 3-2 on Friday in ECAC Hockey action. The Big Green's top line of freshman Dustin Walsh (Shannonville, Ont.), sophomore Doug Jones (Marietta, Ga.) and senior Joe Gaudet (Etna, N.H.) accounted for all the scoring.

The win improves the Knights to 4-8 overall, 1-4 in the league while Dartmouth falls to 0-6 both overall and in the ECAC.

Walsh broke through first with a power play goal 25 seconds into a Clarkson power play. The rookie notched his third of the season on a shot from just outside the crease. Gaudet and Jones picked up the assists.

Unfortunately the Knights got the goal back just seconds later when Louke Oakley snuck one past netminder James Mello (Rehoboth, Mass.) for the tie.

Despite pressure and one more power play chance by the Big Green late in the period the two teams skated into the break still tied at 1-1.

Scott Fleming (Plainfield, Ont.) had a great chance to put the home team ahead midway through the second. With Dartmouth having a 4-on-3 chance, Fleming took a shot from the right side of the cage but Knights goalie Paul Karpowich made a kick save on his back to knock the puck out of the air and prevent the go-ahead goal.

But the Big Green did break the tie when rookie Mike Keenan (Weymouth, Mass.) got the puck in his own end passing long to Walsh on the left side boards. Walsh quickly got the puck off his stick to Jones who saw Gaudet camped to the left of the goal. Gaudet blasted the puck glove side on Karpowich for the go-ahead at 7:09.

The Golden Knights had a great chance to tie things up again late in the period with three great chances; ringing one off the post, Mello saving one along with a defensive save on another. Dartmouth held off the hard charging visitors to carry a 2-1 lead into the locker room.

Clarkson tied things up at 15:43 of the second when action in front of the net had Mello and several Dartmouth players down on the ice doing everything they could from allowing the puck to cross the line but the Knights were able to keep punching it in, slipping the puck in for the tying strike.

The Golden Knights took its first lead of the game at 12:45 when Matt Beca took a shot that was saved up by Mello with Mark Borowiecki for the rebound.

With less than 10:00 to play the Big Green had two sitting in the box when Clarkson started to pressure Mello, but the sophomore netminder in his first career start was cool under pressure, making several great saves.

In the waning minutes of the period Dartmouth continued to hammer away at Karpowich, hoping to tie the game up. The Big Green pulled Mello with 1:16 left and then the Knights got a penalty but despite the extra skaters Dartmouth is unable to get the tying goal.

The Big Green continues at home tomorrow night with a 7:00 pm tilt against St. Lawrence.