Big Green's Late-Game Rally Falls Short at Quinnipiac, 2-1

Saturday, February 4

Hamden, Conn.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Quinnipiac

Big Green's Late-Game Rally Falls Short at Quinnipiac, 2-1

2/4/2012 10:20:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

HAMDEN, Conn. - Sophomore Eric Robinson's (Foxboro, Mass.) team-leading 10th goal of the season came at 13:42 of the third period to cut into the Quinnipiac lead, 2-1, but that would be the only offensive bright spot for the Dartmouth men's hockey team Saturday night at the TD Bank Sports Center.

The Bobcats held on by that score to take two ECAC Hockey points in a battle of teams battling for positioning in the league's standings.

Freshman Jesse Beamish (Mississauga, Ontario) picked up a helper on the play as his shot from the point was redirected in front by Robinson through Quinnipiac netminder Dan Clarke and into the back of the goal.

Two tallies in the first 7:09 of the game helped the Bobcats (14-9-5, 6-6-4 ECAC Hockey) jump the Big Green (9-10-4, 6-7-3 ECAC Hockey) in the league standings with 16 points. Dartmouth sits tied with Yale for seventh place with 15 after a Friday night 3-3 draw with Princeton.

Senior goaltender Jody O'Neill (Nepean, Ontario) made 38 stops on the night after 36 against the Tigers in his previous outing 24 hours before.

Despite scoring both it goals in the first, Quinnipiac's offense came on in the second and third periods, but O'Neill was up to the task, stopping all 30 shots he faced in the final 40 minutes, including 17 in the middle frame.

Connor Jones and Ben Arnt were the two Bobcats to find the back of the net with shots that beat O'Neill.

At the other end of the ice, Clarke turned aside 32 Dartmouth shots in the game. The Big Green offense, which appeared to be in cruise control for the better part of the first 50 minutes of action turned it on in the final 10 to make a game of it.

"We battled hard against a very good team tonight," head coach Bob Gaudet said. "We've played a lot of hockey this week, but you have to forget about that and just move on to play each game as it comes."

"I think there were a few plays in the first period we would like to have back, but at the same time I thought we played very well in the second and third to get back into it," Gaudet added.

In that onslaught late in the third, Robinson's deflection found space between the arm and torso of the Bobcats' senior goaltender to make it a one-goal game with 6:18 to play.

Sophomore defender Taylor Boldt (Niwot, Colo.) picked up his fourth assist of the year on the play, making the pass to Beamish at the point for the one-time shot.

Much like first meeting between these two teams in early November, the last few minutes of the game provided the most action. However, unlike that first contest, which Dartmouth won 5-4, the Big Green were unable to find the equalizer as Quinnipiac staved off the late-game push by the visitors for the win.

The Big Green were just 0-for-2 with the power play on this night, while the Bobcats capitalized on one of its four opportunities with the man-advantage.

Dartmouth will now enjoy some rest after wrapping up an eight-day stretch that saw the team play five games (1-2-2). The Big Green will host Union Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena before hosting RPI Saturday night.