Late Comeback Bid Falls Short Against St. Lawrence for Big Green

Friday, January 16

Hanover, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

ST. LAWRENCE

Late Comeback Bid Falls Short Against St. Lawrence for Big Green

1/16/2015 9:54:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth men's hockey team hit five posts, including two in the final minute as a frenzied comeback bid fell just short Friday night against ECAC Hockey rival St. Lawrence, 3-2.

Senior Brandon McNally scored his second of the year at the 18:31 mark of the third period with the Big Green's (6-7-3, 3-5-1 ECAC) goalie pulled seeking the two goals needed to tie the game.

However, a third post of the night by senior Eric Robinson and a missed chance at the side of the net by junior Brad Schierhorn saw the home team's last-minute chances fall by the wayside as the Saints (10-10-2, 6-4-0 ECAC) picked up the road victory.

“I thought we played really hard. Crossbar, post, another post. I didn't think they (SLU) had many answers for us in the third period and they're a skilled hockey team,” head coach Bob Gaudet said. “I thought our kids played well enough to win that game. But we have to be better.

“The second half of the second period I thought we were outstanding and in the third period the battle level was as high as I've seen it, but it wasn't enough,” Gaudet added. “We had enough looks and good plays. I think we will score five goals playing the same way another night.”

St. Lawrence jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to a shorthanded first-period goal by Gunnar Hughes and two long-range shots from Brian Ward and Alex Dahl in the middle frame.

That's when Dartmouth senior Eric Neiley began to chip away at the deficit, netting his team-leading sixth of the season with a gritty goal at the top of the paint at 16:25 of the second.

McNally's marker came through a screen with the Big Green playing with the extra skater, sparking the home team and its crowd into a frenzy. However, the final minute saw the near misses, posts and a puck off the side of the net sink the comeback effort.

Assisting on Neiley's goal in the second, McNally finished the night with two points.

Making his second start of the season in the Dartmouth net, junior Charles Grant stopped 19 shots in the loss. At the other end of the ice, Saints freshman Kyle Hayton turned aside 36 in the game, including 16 in the final period to keep the Green at bay.

The two teams combined to go 0-for-11 on the power play with the home team unable to convert on its six chances.

The Big Green face Clarkson Saturday at 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena in the second ECAC Hockey contest of the weekend. The Golden Knights dropped a 6-3 game Friday night at No. 4 Harvard.