Hanover
Bob Gaudet had seen enough of his Dartmouth College men’s hockey team’s performance midway through Saturday’s game with visiting Union to know it bore little resemblance to the reputation on which his program has been built. So he called time out and lit into his troops.
Down six goals at the time, the Big Green eventually succumbed by a 8-3 final score, skating off the ice draped in disappointment. That the blowout came one night after a gritty, grind-it-out victory over Rensselaer served only to highlight the hosts’ futility against the conference-leading Dutchmen.
Spencer Foo had three goals and an assist for No. 6 Union, which improved to 20-8-2 overall and 13-4-1 in conference play. Dartmouth dropped to 9-13-3 and 6-10-2.
“It was just one of those nights where everything seemed to go against us,” said Gaudet, whose team lost to the Dutchmen for the fourth consecutive time. “They’re lethal, and we just didn’t have it.
“Foo’s as good a player as I’ve seen in this league a quite a while. He has a kind of flair and he’s skilled and tough and disciplined.”
The loss leaves Dartmouth 10th in the 12-team ECAC. The conference’s fifth through eighth finishers host the ninth- through 12th-place teams during the postseason tournament’s opening round. There are four regular-season games left for each school, and the Big Green visits Brown and Yale before hosting St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
Union opened the scoring during the fourth minute after a neutral-zone mixup in which longtime and respected linesman Glen Cooke inadvertantly blocked Dartmouth’s Will Graber, allowing an unimpeded rush on goaltender Devin Buffalo and the result was a Cole Maier unassisted goal. The Big Green was still steaming about the gaffe fewer than two minutes later when the Dutchmen’s Ryan Walker struck for a 2-0 lead.
“It’s a tough play, and you wish there was a rule where they could blow the whistle when (a referee) gets in the way,” said Dartmouth captain Carl Hesler, who played his second consecutive game after missing the previous five because of injury. “You hate to see that happen, but it does.”
The visitors’ lead swelled to 3-0 by the end of the first period and to 6-0 midway through the second stanza, when Gaudet called time out. His facial expression and the effort that went into his vocal delivery left no doubt as to his state of mind.
“The last time we played that team, in their own building, we were arguably the better team and we just didn’t (score),” said Gaudet, whose team lost, 4-1, at Union in January. “Tonight we weren’t. That’s not acceptable, so the message was we have to play the game the right way and stay together and let’s find a way.
“They beat us in every phase of the game and we’re going to make it a learning experience for us. That’s what it has to be.”
Dartmouth’s Cam Strong cut his team’s deficit to 6-1 not long after Gaudet’s speech, and the Big Green’s Troy Crema scored twice during the final eight minutes. Buffalo allowed five goals and made 19 saves. His replacement, Adrian Clark, surrendered three tallies and stopped 12 shots. Union scored on 4 of 5 power-play chances while Dartmouth was 0-for-3.
“I felt like we played a very, very strong game last night and we wanted to try and build off that,” said Gaudet, whose squad lost its final three regular-season games last season.
“But the consistency hasn’t been there. It’s eluded us, but this is the time of the year you have to find it, because if you do that in the playoffs, they’ll be over quickly.”
Said Hesler: “We had a good playoff run last year after finishing seventh, and I think if we push hard these last couple of games, we can get home ice (in the first round). So that’s a lot of incentive.”
Notes: Gaudet said he expects defenseman Connor Yau to return next weekend. The sophomore missed the RPI and Union games because of an injury. … Graber had two assists. … Union is 9-3 this season against teams with a color featured in their nickname. … Dartmouth trails the teams’ series, 26-27-7. … The Big Green is 7-0 this season when Crema is on the ice for more even-strength goals than even-strength goals against. He was a plus-1 Saturday. … A Philadelphia Flyers scout attended the game, sitting beneath the press box and jotting notes throughout the contest. … Attendance was announced at 2,472.