Komarek's Game-Winner Gives Dartmouth a 4-3 Overtime Win

Saturday, November 26

Hanover, N.H.

4:00 PM

Dartmouth College

NORTHEASTERN

Komarek's Game-Winner Gives Dartmouth a 4-3 Overtime Win

11/26/2011 7:21:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

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.