Two-Goal Third Period Lifts Men’s Hockey over Twin-State Rival Vermont

Saturday, January 6

Hanover, N.H.

6:00 PM

Dartmouth College

4-4-6

Vermont

9-8-1

Vermont

Dartmouth

Photo by: Nick Romei

Two-Goal Third Period Lifts Men’s Hockey over Twin-State Rival Vermont

1/6/2024 9:25:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

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Ian Pierce scored twice for the Big Green

By: Nick Romei

HANOVER, N.H. – With the game tied at 2-2 going into the third period, the Dartmouth men's hockey team found the back of the net twice in the final 20 minutes to claim a 4-3 victory over twin-state rival Vermont in front of a sellout crowd at Thompson Arena on Saturday evening.

Dartmouth improves to 4-4-6 with the win while Vermont drops to 9-8-1.

"We're hard to beat and we are continuing to get better," said Reid Cashman, the Koenig Family Head Coach of Dartmouth Men's Hockey. Speaking about tonight's sellout crowd, Cashman said, "There's a reason there's a home-ice advantage. When Thompson is full, it's as good as any place in the country. It was an awesome atmosphere with a long-time rival."

The Big Green took their third lead of the night at the 6:10 mark of the third period. Matt Fusco went coast-to-coast, skating his way through the Catamount defense and ripped a shot towards goal. The shot was saved by Gabe Carriere, but the rebound fell in front of the goal. Alex Krause was in the right position after crashing the goal and was able to get his stuck on the puck to send it into the net to give Dartmouth the lead once again with his first goal of the season.

"It was a team effort, we're a six-man unit," said Krause. "I just ended up being the benefactor of a great six-man unit."

The lead was extended minutes later when Ian Pierce scored on the power play, his second goal of the night. Pierce's shot from the point looked to have been saved, but the puck found its way past Carriere, over the line and into the goal to push the Big Green lead to two.

Vermont cut the Dartmouth lead down to one with just under five minutes remaining, but that's as close as they got as the Big Green defense kept them out of the goal for the rest of the contest. Blocked shots was the story of the final few minutes and throughout the game as Dartmouth finished with 23 blocked shots.

The two teams traded blows during the first two periods, as Dartmouth would take the lead and Vermont almost immediately responded.

Sean Chisholm scored his second goal of the season six minutes into the game to put the Big Green ahead early. Vermont scored the equalizer less than a minute later when Jens Richards lit the lamp.

The game remained tied until nearly eight minutes into the second period when Pierce scored his first of the night, also his first goal of the season, to put Dartmouth back in front. Isak Walther tied it up once again just two and a half minutes later.

Speaking about scoring his first two goals of the season, Pierce said, "I just had to stick to the plan, be consistent, and do the same things over and over again."

Cooper Black made 25 saves between the pipes for the Big Green, earning his fourth win of the year.

Dartmouth returns to ECAC Hockey play next weekend on the road at Yale and Brown. The Big Green play the Bulldogs on Friday evening before a matchup with the Bears on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be available to stream nationally on ESPN+ and internationally on Stretch Internet.