Dartmouth Back on the Road for ECAC Hockey Pair at Brown & Yale

Game 22 // RV Dartmouth (9-8-4, 6-6-2) vs. Brown (4-16-1, 1-12-1)				Game 23 // RV Dartmouth (9-8-4, 6-6-2) vs. No. 15 Yale (12-6-3, 7-5-2)

Date: Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 // Time: 7:00 PM Location: Providence, R.I. // Arena: Meehan Auditorium All-Time Series: 78-65-8 // Streak: 2-0-0 Last Meeting: Nov. 15, 2014 // W, 6-0 (Hanover)				Date: Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 // Time: 7:00 PM Location: New Haven, N.H. // Arena: Ingalls Rink All-Time Series: 89-108-15 // Streak: 0-1-0 Last Meeting: Nov. 14, 2014 // L, 4-1 (Hanover)
Brown Media				Yale Media
TV: None // Radio: WFRD 99.3 FM (99Rock) PBP: Chris Garrett Online: Ivy League Digital Network Live Stats: DartmouthSports.com Twitter: @Dartmouth_MIH Digital Press Box Dartmouth Notes // Brown Preview Ticket Information				TV: None // Radio: WFRD 99.3 FM (99Rock) PBP: Chris Garrett Online: Ivy League Digitial Network Live Stats: DartmouthSports.com Twitter: @Dartmouth_MIH Digital Press Box Dartmouth Notes // Yale Preview Ticket Information

THIS WEEKEND
The Dartmouth men's hockey team heads out on the road for a pair of ECAC Hockey games this weekend at Brown and Yale. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday evenings.

LAST TIME OUT
The Big Green are coming off a 2-0-0 weekend at home with a 3-1 win against RPI on Friday night and a 3-2 come-from-behind victory the following evening against the defending national champion from Union.

Highlights vs. RPI (W, 3-1) // Jan. 30	Highlights vs. Union (W, 3-2) // Jan. 31

HOW SWEEP IT IS
The consecutive wins against the Engineers and Dutchmen last weekend marked the second time in 2014-15 that Dartmouth managed to sweep a home weekend, also accomplishing the feat against AIC (3-2) and No. 1 BU (2-0) back in November. However, it was the first time sweeping a home weekend from ECAC Hockey opponents since Nov. 9-10, 2012 when the Green also did so against RPI (4-0) and Union (3-2).

SCOUTING BROWN
Brown snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-2 tie at home against Princeton last weekend, but remain in the midst of a six-game winless stretch (0-5-1). The Bears scored two goals just 42 seconds apart in the second period to take the lead only to see the Tigers tie it up less than six minutes later. It's been a trying season for Brown, who has just two wins since the start of December and is 4-16-1 overall and 1-12-1 in conference play. Matt Lorito (7-6-13) and Mark Naclerio (6-7-13) lead the team in scoring with 13 points apiece. Tyler Steel (4.24 GAA, .889%, 2-10-0) has played the majority of time in goal this season, but fellow sophomore Tim Ernst (3.38, .896%, 2-5-1) has produced slightly better numbers.

SCOUTING YALE
Despite the seventh-best scoring output in ECAC Hockey this season (2.43), Yale is 12-6-3 overall and ranked 15th in both national polls this week. That is largely based on the stellar play of the team as a whole on defense, ranking first in the nation at just 1.52 goals allowed per game. Mike Doherty leads the team in goals (8), while sharing the scoring lead with 13 points alongside fellow sophomore John Hayden. Classmate Alex Lyon has been tremendous between the pipes this season with a 1.59 goals against average, the second-best figure in the nation, while his .941 save percentage ranks third in Division I.

AGAINST THESE TEAMS THIS YEAR
These two teams came to Hanover in mid-November with Yale picking up a 4-1 win on Friday, Nov. 14 and Dartmouth blanking Brown, 6-0, the following night. Charlie Mosey scored the lone Big Green goal of the first contest, while Eric Neiley (0-4-4) and Grant Opperman (2-2-4) each had four-point efforts in the shutout of the Bears.

A FIRST FOR NICKERSON
Playing in his 31st career game, sophomore Kyle Nickerson finally broke through with his first collegiate goal Friday against Rensselaer. Playing on the penalty kill and with the draw in the offensive end, Nickerson slid in his first career marker at the 1:08 mark of the third period after corralling a rebound from a Josh Hartley point shot.

A FIRST FOR HESLER
Freshman Carl Hesler didn't have to wait as long as Nickerson, scoring his first career goal the following night in his 22nd career outing. Hesler slipped his shot between the arm and torso of Union's Colin Stevens with just 1:27 left in regulation to give Dartmouth the 3-2 come-from-behind victory.

A 'FIRST' FOR CREMA
After battling back from injuries that sidelined him for more than 12 calendar months, sophomore Troy Crema put his name on the scoresheet in the goal-scorers' column against RPI. Crema tipped a Geoff Ferguson point shot over the blocker of netminder Jason Kasdorf for the second Big Green goal of the game and the eventual game-winner. Crema's last goal came at Yale on Dec. 8, 2013 as part of a 4-1 win in which he netted two tallies.

A FIRST SINCE 1999-2000
Following Dartmouth's second comeback victory against Union this season, the Big Green earned their first regular-season sweep (2-0-0) of the Dutchmen since the 1999-2000 season.

BIRTHDAY BOY
Eric Neiley has been rolling lately with seven points in the last three games. That stretch also included a goal and an assist Friday against RPI on his 23rd birthday. In the last three outings — all wins — Neiley has three goals and four assists, moving him into the lead among Dartmouth players in goals (9), assists (11) and points (20).

TWO BETWEEN THE PIPES
For the second straight weekend, head coach Bob Gaudet went with two goalies in consecutive games. James Kruger got the nod against the Engineers, picking up the win and stopping 30 shots in the process. Fellow junior Charles Grant was given the start against Union the next day, picking up his third win of the year, while allowing two goals and making 20 saves. Grant's save on Roman Ammirato alone in the slot with 13 minutes left in the third was a turning point that allowed for Corey Kalk's game-tying goal soon thereafter.

MORE THAN TWO IS GOOD, RIGHT?
Dartmouth went the first seven games of January without scoring more than two goals and was rewarded with an 0-4-3 record in those contests. The last three games have seen the Green score at least three goals in each, all wins. When scoring three or more goals this season, Dartmouth is 8-0-1 with the lone non-three-goal win coming against No. 1 Boston University (2-0).

KILLER KALK
Freshman Corey Kalk notched his third goal of the season and his first since the Sacred Heart game on Dec. 14 at the 7:46 mark of the third period to tie the game with Union at 2-2. He then assisted on Hesler's winner at 18:33, springing his linemate with a pass up the boards and through the neutral zone.

FRESHMEN POINTS
With Hesler and Kalk scoring and assisting on the other's goal, it marked the first time this season that two freshmen recorded multiple points in the same game.

BULLOCK KEEPS DISHIN'
After picking up an assist in each game against Colgate and Cornell, junior Ryan Bullock continued his strong play with a pair of helpers against RPI. Bullock set up both Neiley and Crema's first-period goals at the expense of the Engineers.

WIN/UNBEATEN STREAK
It may not seem like a lot, but Dartmouth's three-game win streak is the most this season. The last time the Big Green managed to string together three straight 'W's' was last February at St. Lawrence (3-1) and Clarkson (6-1) and home against Brown (2-1/OT). That unbeaten streak stretched to five games (4-0-1) with a 3-3 tie against Yale and a 1-0 win at Cornell.

THE LEGION OF BOOM
Facing a team with a strong defense is nothing new to Dartmouth in recent weeks. The Big Green took on Cornell when the Big Red were second in the nation in team defense, allowing just 1.63 goals per game. Dartmouth would score five times in that game, winning 5-2 and pushing its unbeaten stretch at Lynah Rink to three games.

YAWN… ANOTHER PLAY OF THE WEEK
Hesler's game-winning goal earned the No. 4 spot on the NCAA's Plays of the Week video announced Tuesday. It was the fourth time this season that Dartmouth made the top-5 countdown, but the first time a Big Green player was not at No. 1 after Brad Schierhorn, Tyler Sikura and Jack Barre all secured top billing this season.

WAIT… WE PLAY AT BROWN, TOO?
After Brown played an exhibition and a regular-season game in Thompson against Dartmouth, the Bears also played Boston College and Denver in the same rink as part of this year's Ledyard Classic, giving the Bears four games in Hanover this year. Dartmouth will finally make its first and only visit of the season to Meehan Auditorium on Friday.

ANOTHER PENALTY SHOT? REALLY?
Following a gap of 96 games between penalty shots, Dartmouth had one in consecutive games between the last two weekends. Eric Neiley scored on his opportunity at Cornell, while Jack Barre was pulled down on a breakaway in the third period of the RPI game, a chance he missed.

WHERE WE STAND… NOW!
Dartmouth is tied with Rensselaer for eighth place in ECAC Hockey's most current standings as each has 14 points. That figure is misleading as those 14 points are just two back of fourth-place Yale and Clarkson, four back of third-place Harvard and just three ahead of 10th-place Union. Teams between third and 11th are separated by just seven points with eight league games remaining.

SEMIFINALIST!
Eric Robinson was named a semifinalist for the 63rd Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the top American-born men's college hockey player at a New England-based institution. Twenty players from 14 programs throughout Hockey East (12), ECAC Hockey (6) and Atlantic Hockey (2) were announced as the award's semifinalists on Wednesday afternoon.

SECOND-BEST HOCKEY TOWN IN AMERICA!
For what it's worth: SmartAsset.com named Hanover the second-best hockey town in the nation in a study released Tuesday morning. Only Grand Forks, North Dakota, was ahead of Hanover when taking in several factors used in determining the final standings. Take a look at the complete listings HERE.

FOLLOW ALONG
Both games this weekend will be carried live on the Ivy League Digital Network, while Chris Garrett's radio call for each contest can be heard on 99Rock WFRD (99.3 FM). DartmouthSports.com also will live stats available. Fans looking for in-game information and updates are encouraged follow the team's official Twitter account: @Dartmouth_MIH.

WHAT'S AHEAD?
The Big Green are back home next weekend to play Cornell and Colgate. The weekend will also mark the program's Final Four Celebration to honor those individuals from the 1948, 1949, 1979 and 1980 teams that reached the final games of the NCAA seasons.

Game 24 vs. Cornell // Feb. 13	Game 25 vs. Colgate // Feb. 14

GAME NOTES:

Schedules