HANOVER — One could be near the top of the ECAC Hockey standings, the other could be near the bottom, and it sometimes seems not to matter at all: The Dartmouth College men’s hockey team seems to handle the challenge of Cornell well more often than not.
The Big Green struck for two early-period goals, killed off five power plays and rode the 39-save goaltending of Adrian Clark to a 2-1 upset of the No. 2 Big Red at Thompson Arena on Saturday night. The Big Green (4-3-1 overall, 4-2-1 league) ended Cornell’s season-opening 10-game winning streak in the process..
Dartmouth entered the night with a 9-8-3 record against Cornell (10-1-0, 7-1-0) in regular-season games this decade. The Big Green put itself in position to hit double digits with its play over the first two periods of the game.
Jeff Losurdo got Dartmouth started by scoring on the team’s first shot of the game at 2:20 of the opening stanza. With Cornell’s Noah Bauld sitting out a tripping minor called just 19 seconds into the contest, Losurdo drove a shot past Big Red netminder Matthew Galajda for the 1-0 lead.
Cornell leveled in the waning seconds of the first stanza. Morgan Barron provided the marker past Dartmouth goalie Adrian Clark for a 1-1 tie at the first intermission.
The Big Green regained the lead just 45 seconds into the second period. Matt Baker potted passes from Cam Strong and Brendan Demler, and Clark posted 11 saves in the stanza to keep Dartmouth’s 2-1 lead intact into the break.
Clark made it count with his play in goal, making 21 saves in the third stanza alone. Cornell owned a 40-17 advantage in shots on goal on the night.
Dartmouth takes on a pair of nonleague foes this week, hosting Bentley on Thursday night and traveling to Northeastern on Saturday afternoon.
EVANSTON, Ill. — The Huskies (7-1) used their size to overwhelm the Big Green (3-3) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern dominated Dartmouth from the opening tap, owning a 20-7 lead after one quarter and a 43-14 cushion at the half. The Huskies hit 55.9% from the floor and held the visitors to just 26.4% shooting.
Playing near her home of Elmwood Park, Ill., Annie McKenna paced Dartmouth with 12 points, hitting four of her five 3-point attempts. Asha Taylor and Kealy Brown followed with seven points each.
Dartmouth returns home, looking to break a three-game losing streak when Maine visits on Tuesday at noon.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Bulldogs (7-6-0, 4-4-0) surrendered the game’s first goal before netting the rest to dump the Big Green (3-7-2, 1-4-2) at Ingalls Rink.
Gabby Billing gave Dartmouth a 1-0 lead with just four seconds left in the opening period, finishing passes from Catherine Trevors and CC Bowlby. Yale didn’t tie the game until the final two minutes of the middle stanza, but two goals in the last 6½ minutes of regulation ultimately decided the game in the home team’s favor.
Hannah Humphreys had 24 saves for Dartmouth. The Big Green closes the calendar with a home game against Franklin Pierce on Friday.
MERIDEN — Delaney Williams delivered a two-goal afternoon as the Wildcats (1-0-0) opened their season with a win at Akerstrom Arena.
Audrey Donohue, Ashley Penney, Mo McBride and Kate French provided the other Kimball Union tallies. Kyra Russman set up pair of KUA goal, with French, Abby Flanagan, Lucie Turcotte and Gretchen Dann also earning assists. Shannon Moran earned the shutout with 17 saves.
KUA hosts Northfield Mount Hermon on Wednesday.
EXETER, N.H. — The Wildcats ripped 83 shots at the Vermont Academy cage and cruised to a victory at the Phillips Exeter Invitational.
Seniors Paul Dore and Zach Whitehead both had hat trick for KUA, with Dore adding two assists and Whitehead getting one. Sophomore Jaiden Moriello also had a three-goal, one-assist afternoon in the rout. Adam Fantilli, Bryce Bollman, Nic Bernardo, Luca Fantilli, Sullivan Mack and Bobby May also had goals, and Zak Brice posted a 17-save shutout.
KUA (3-1-0) plays Kent on the final day of the tournament on Sunday.
Scores that missed Saturday’s paper due to deadline. Find updates online at www.vnews.com.
CONCORD — The Wildcats (1-0) kicked off the campaign with a narrow road win.
Sophomore Hailey Malozzi made her Kimball Union debut a solid one, scoring 25 points to lead the visitors. Senior Maddy Haynes had nine points and junior Jenna Santos contributed eight.
HOPKINTON, N.H. — The Tigers dropped their NHIAA Division III season opener. Their next date is at Mascoma on Tuesday night.