By Josh Weinreb
Hanover
Strong had finished off a rebound to give the Big Green the go-ahead goal against 11th-ranked Michigan in Dartmouth’s season opener Saturday night at Thompson Arena. It was called off after several anxious moments as officials determined that Wolverines goaltender Jack LaFontaine had been interfered with on the play.
No matter, not for Big Green’s young, inexperienced roster. While the lengthy look by the video crew drained the energy out of the 3,645 in attendance, the Big Green got hungrier. Senior Troy Crema scored with 49 seconds remaining to give Dartmouth the 3-2 victory, re-electrifying the crowd.
“Corey Kalk made a good play up the wall,” Crema said. “The goalie had our number all game. … I saw from the corner of my eye a little sliver on the far side. I just let it go. It had eyes.
“I knew I was going far side,” he added. “I practice that shot a lot, all summer. Sure enough, luckily, it went in.”
It was Dartmouth’s first win against Michigan since Jan. 2, 1971, a 6-5 decision in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines fall to 3-3-1 overall after dropping a 3-0 decision at Vermont on Friday.
Saturday was Michigan’s first appearance at Thompson in program history.
Big Green junior goaltender Devin Buffalo made 22 saves in his first home start. The Wetaskiwin, Alberta, native made his first career start last season against the Wolverines, posting a 1-1 tie on Nov. 28.
“Actually, this weekend I was watching some of the game from last year,” Buffalo said with a smile. “I think we had a sour taste in our mouth from that game.”
Dartmouth got second-period goals from Kevin Neiley and Strong, powered by a physical forecheck that kept Michigan pinned in its own zone for most of the game. The Big Green finished with a 35-24 advantage in shots on goal.
The win impressed veteran Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet, whose team features 17 underclassmen on its 27-man roster this season.
“Playing against Michigan, I have a lot of respect for their program,” Gaudet said. “They’re the winningest program in the history of college hockey. … It was a fun game, a great crowd. I thought our guys played with a lot of energy against a team that’s very good. They’re a storied program.
“We just got some plays and some big saves,” he added. “It’s one game for us. Now we have to think about the Big Red (Cornell, Dartmouth’s next opponent at home on Friday).”
Michigan opened the scoring late in the first period, a tip-in by Adam Winborg on the power play. Wolverines captain Alex Kile tied the game 2-2 in the third.
LaFontaine made 32 saves in the loss.
“We’re trying to learn how to play well,” said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. “We have to learn how to play for 60 minutes.”
For the Big Green, Saturday’s win was only one of 29 games this season. But for a team that has regularly started seasons slow and finished strong, last year reaching in the ECAC semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y., the victory represented, to Dartmouth’s young roster, something of a change in the right direction.
“It’s massive (for us),” Crema said. “Historically, our team has gotten off to slow starts. To have a huge win like this puts our team at a whole new level. We’re going to build off of it.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.