Neiley's Four-Point Night Helps Dartmouth to 5-2 Win at Cornell

Saturday, January 24

Ithaca, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Cornell

Neiley's Four-Point Night Helps Dartmouth to 5-2 Win at Cornell

1/24/2015 9:25:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior Eric Neiley scored Dartmouth's first penalty shot goal in nearly 12 years and finished the night with four points on two goals and two assists as the Big Green defeated Cornell, 5-2, at Lynah Rink.

The win helped the Green pick up another two ECAC Hockey points on the weekend and improve their league record to 4-6-2 and 7-8-4 overall. The Big Red dropped to 6-6-0 in ECAC contests and 8-9-2 overall.

“This was a well-played game for us right off the opening draw,” head coach Bob Gaudet '81 said afterward. “It's great to come out and get a win over a very good team like Cornell. This is a tough place to play and that's a very good defensive team, so I couldn't be more pleased with tonight's result.”

It took Neiley just 1:19 into the game before getting on the scoresheet, netting the first Dartmouth penalty shot goal since Mike Murray did so against Harvard on March 21, 2003, snapping a stretch of 384 games without one. After getting hauled down on a breakaway by Holden Anderson, Neiley slipped the penalty-shot bid under the pads of starter Hayden Stewart for the first goal of the night.

The senior and alternate captain would factor in on the other first-period goal, firing a centering feed from the halfboards to Grant Opperman waiting alone at the top of the paint for his third of the season and the two-goal advanatge.

In the second period, Neiley kept his offensive surge going with his eighth of the season and second of the night. However, it took a video replay 39 seconds after the shot for it to be revealed to the capacity crowd of 4,267 that the first attempt on net in a scrum had crossed the goal line at the 5:07 mark with the visitors on the power play.

A Brandon McNally breakaway goal at 10:12 came as the result of a beautiful pass from Neiley in his own zone. McNally looked off the defensemen behind him and the goalie in front of him to slide his third of the season between the skates of a bewildered Stewart, giving Dartmouth the 4-0 advantage midway through the contest.

The McNally marker ended Stewart's night as Mitch Gillam — brother of former Dartmouth player Josh Gillam — came into the game in relief.

Cornell finally got on the board with a power-play marker 4:08 into the third from the stick of Cole Bardreau. The goal was the first at home for the Big Red since Nov. 12, 2012, snapping a span of 119:27 of gameplay without being able to solve Dartmouth's goaltending.

Matt Buckles found the back of the net with a screened shot and Gillam pulled for the extra skater and just 1:01 left on the clock to make it a two-goal game and give the old building some life.

That excitement from the crowd who remained was short-lived as Eric Robinson netted his second of the weekend with an empty netter in the final seconds to seal the win and push Dartmouth's unbeaten streak at Lynah Rink to three (2-0-1) over the last three seasons.

Once again, Charles Grant proved to be a solid choice to start for the visitors in Lynah. Grant became the first Dartmouth netminder to post a shutout at Cornell's rink in 54 years last season and was outstanding again on Saturday, turning aside 22 to pick up his second win of the season.

The five-goal outburst was the first for Dartmouth at Cornell since a first-round playoff game on March 8, 2008.

The Big Green are back home next weekend, playing host to Renssleaer and the defending national champions from Union on Friday and Saturday evenings. Both games are set to begin at 7:05 p.m.