 "Photo: Brendan Rimetz/The Quad News")
Dartmouth got on the board early against Quinnipiac and never looked back after scoring the first four goals of the game in route to a 6-3 victory Saturday night at the TD Bank Sports Center. Junior forward Matt Reber recorded two goals for the Big Green and added three assists. Junior center Scott Fleming assisted on four goals and added a goal of his own.
With the win Dartmouth improves to 10-18-3 overall, while the Bobcats drop to 18-16-2. The Big Green victory also evened out the opening round playoff series at one game apiece and forced a decisive game three.
Even with the loss, Quinnipiac Head Coach Rand Pecknold still said he felt confident in his team and believes they have a lot of potential to show in game three.
“I think it’s a great group of guys, we have a lot of character in the room,” Pecknold said. “We have struggled this year, we’ve had some unbelievable highs and some lows, and ultimately I really expected them to rebound and play hard.”
Dartmouth got the scoring started off early in the contest with a goal from sophomore winger Paul Lee at the 2:50 mark in the first period. Lee was able to put in a rebound in front of the goal that got past sophomore goalie Dan Clarke’s glove side. It would be the first of four straight goals for the Big Green.
The Bobcats were able to keep the score 1-0 through the first frame with good defense and solid play from Clarke, who made eight saves in the period. They were unable to find the same success against the Big Green offense in the second period, however, as sophomore center Doug Jones scored first for Dartmouth with a power play goal at the 2:11 mark. He was assisted by Fleming and Reber.
The Big Green scored again three and a half minutes later on another power play goal. This time it was junior forward Adam Estoclet, who was able to put a shot past Clarke. Fleming and Reber again assisted on the goal.
Dartmouth would strike again later in the period on a goal from Reber with less than four minutes to play. He was able to put in a rebound from a Fleming shot that managed to get by Clarke’s glove. Esctoclet also picked up an assist on the goal along with Fleming as Dartmouth took a commanding 4-0 lead.
Quinnipiac would ruin the shutout before the end of the period, however, as freshman defenseman Bobby Tyson was able to net his first career goal with less than two minutes to play in the second. Tyson received a pass \out near the right faceoff circle,and rifled a slap shot past Dartmouth goalie James Mello’s stick hand for the goal. Fellow freshman Ben Arnt and D’Arcy Oakes picked up the assists.
The Bobcats kept the offense going heading into the third and quickly made it a two-goal game just 4:23 in. Oakes notched his fifth goal of the season after he was able to put in the rebound off a shot from sophomore Ben Ketchum. Mello blocked Ketchum’s shot, but was out of position as the puck bounced right to Oakes.
Dartmouth would respond with two goals of their own midway through the third frame to put the game away. The first was a power play goal from Fleming at the 10:02 mark, as the Big Green had a 5-on-3 advantage with two Bobcats in the penalty box. Fleming was assisted by Reber and junior defenseman Evan Stephens on the goal. It was Fleming’s team-leading 22nd goal of the season. The Big Green had great success on the power play all night, going a perfect 3-for-3 on the opportunities with the man advantage.
Less than two minutes later Reber got his second goal of the contest as he was able to put in a rebound that Clarke was unable to gather in front of the net. The goal would cap off the Big Green’s scoring for the night and bring the score to 6-2.
Clarke would finish the game with 29 saves, but he allowed all six goals. Mello, meanwhile, finished with 28 saves.
Quinnipiac tallied one more goal before the game was through, as senior forward Jean-Marc Beaudoin scored on a power play with less than two minutes remaining. He was assisted by senior defenseman Greg Holt and freshman defender Zach Davies on the goal.
With the series tied at one game apiece, the Bobcats have no choice but to look forward and perpare for the rubber match tomorrow evening.
“Our backs are against the line now and we’ll respond well,” Pecknold said. “But ultimately my five seniors need to get the team going.”
Quinnipiac faces off against Dartmouth in game three today at the TD Bank Sports Center. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m.
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