Losses don't come much more heartbreaking than the one fate dealt out to the Big Green men's hockey team on Saturday night against Clarkson University.
Maybe fate - or maybe it was referees Jim Cerbo and Tom DiFueco.
With less than four minutes to go, the duo gave out a pair of penalties to Trevor Dodman '95 for elbowing and to captain Mike Loga '94 just 31 seconds later for cross-checking.
The penalties came as the team was doing an admirable job of
pressing for a tying goal, peppering the Clarkson net with bids.
Clarkson had scored twice in the first period but were barely holding off the Big Green's relentless assault on goalie Jason Currie.
You don't get much closer than Dion Del Monte's '95 shot at 15:49 of the third period, which Clarkson goalie Jason Currie somehow managed to deflect over the crossbar.
Then there was Matt Collins '94, who tried to tuck the puck in the bottom corner after skating around the back of the net.
In fact, until the referees blew the whistle on the Big Green, the stone wall Currie had erected in front of the Clarkson net was all that kept the opposition in the game.
"We had our back to the wall, and I thought our kids came out and gave a tremendous effort," Coach Roger Demment said. "It was tremendous to see that [effort] was coming from all 20 players."
"To have the game taken out of your hands by the ref like that, it just shouldn't happen," he said.
Loga said he felt he got the call simply because when he and the Harvard player collided, he stayed on his feet.
"I think one of the reasons I got the call was because I was bigger than the other guy," Loga said.
But Loga said he didn't think the refs could be blamed for the game. Instead, the game just acted as a window into the Big Green's season in miniature. That is, a lesson in disappointment.
"We try and we've been pressing hard but we just haven't been getting the breaks, which we got last season," Loga said.
On Friday, the Big Green had done their job by defeating St. Lawrence University 5-2 in an open-and-shut game.
On that night, the team did what they had to do in their attempt to put together a four-game winning streak to make the playoffs.
Dion Del Monte '95and Scott Fraser '94 accounted for every goal scored by the Big Green, who allowed St. Lawrence one goal before seizing the game by the throat.
By the end of the first period, Fraser had scored twice and Del Monte once, giving Dartmouth a 3-1 lead.
Fraser added another goal at 17:27 of the third period to complete the hat trick.
But in the wake of Saturday's loss, Friday's win seems to have amounted to nought.
As Princeton University and St. Lawrence are both more than four points ahead of Dartmouth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, the team now finds itself mathematically eliminated from their bid for the last playoff spot.
The Big Green face Yale University this coming Friday and Princeton on the following day in games they will play mainly for honor.
"I think in the last two games we will play a lot for the pride. It's better to end the season on a high note, especially for the players coming back next season," Loga said.
