Do you believe in miracles? Well maybe it isn't quite a miracle, especially for those who have watched Dartmouth men's hockey progress throughout the season, but either way, the Big Green is headed to Lake Placid for the first time since 1980.
Yes folks, 1980. The year Mike Eruzione and an assortment of no-name collegiate players felled the mighty Soviets in what was deemed "The Miracle on Ice."
By virtue of their 5-1 drubbing of Rensselaer on Saturday night, the Big Green swept the Engineers and travel to Lake Placid and the ECAC Championships on Thursday looking to pull off a few miracles of their own.
The last time a Dartmouth team reached this point, there was a young man named Bob Gaudet '81 standing between the pipes for the Big Green. For those of you unfamiliar with Dartmouth hockey, that would be the same Bob Gaudet currently standing behind the bench at the helm.
"It's a reflection on our guys not gonna be denied," Gaudet said of the win after the game. "It's been a long time coming."
It certainly has been a long time coming, but now things have come full circle.
Playing in front of an energized Thompson crowd, a visibly charged Dartmouth squad took control of the game and never even thought about giving it back to the visitors from Troy, N.Y.
The Big Green offense unloaded on a helpless Nathan Marsters, tallying 56 shots before the final buzzer sounded. Chris Baldwin '02, the hero of the weekend for the Big Green, tallied a goal and an assist to add to his two goals the previous night.
"I'm not gonna complain," an elated Baldwin said following the game. "Sometimes the puck just goes in."
Combine the offensive barrage the Big Green unleashed at the Engineers with 18 shots allowed on Nick Boucher '03 and the outcome is pretty clear.
"We gave up only 18 shots," Dan Casella '02 said. "There's no way Boucher is gonna let up that many."
A night after making 38 stops to stone the Engineers, Boucher barely missed a shutout, losing the bid on a fluky goal by Conrad Barnes at 12:49 of the third.
Right off the bat it was clear this would be the Big Green's night. From the opening face-off Dartmouth had an extra jump in their step and a sense of confidence that there would be no need for a third game. Their fate would be sealed on Saturday.
"There was an air about them," Gaudet said. "They were businesslikeThere was just a sense they were gonna get this done tonight."
Baldwin drew first blood at 5:02 of the first, scoring on a rebound off a Mike Turner '04 shot. Dory Tisdale '01 was credited with the other assist.
Despite outshooting the Engineers 16-6 in the period, Baldwin's goal was all the Big Green could muster.
In the second stanza, Dartmouth made good on its promising start and potted three goals to pull away from RPI.
The first came with RPI defenseman Jim Vickers in the sin bin for tripping Jamie Herrington '02 on an odd-man rush. With the second power play unit on the ice, Chris Taliercio '02 connected on a shot from the right face-off circle for the game-winning goal at 6:54. Baldwin and Herrington assisted on the goal.
At 14:36 of the period, Mike Maturo '02 did what he does best, scoring a goal to increase the Dartmouth lead to 3-0. Maturo scored on Mike Murray's rebound following a Dartmouth rush. The third linemate, Kent Gillings '03, also assisted on the tally.
In order to prove that they can score in any situation, the Big Green went for the trifecta with 25 seconds remaining in the period, when Casella put a blistering shot past Marsters on the penalty kill. Peter Mahler '01 got a helper on Casella's goal.
Entering the third period, it was clear the Engineers were struggling. As often happens when a team is on its last legs, the RPI players increased the physical play and chippy play.
The Engineers ability to muck it up cost the Big Green, as Dartmouth lost one of its key players with about nine minutes to go in the game.
Following an crushing hit against the endboards, Herrington crumpled on the ice and was helped off the ice with the assistance of two teammates. There is no word as to his condition, and if he will be available to play on Thursday.
Despite this big downer, the Big Green still had a job to finish.
Boucher's bid for a shutout was spoiled at 12:49 when Barnes' shot from the point took a fortuitous bounce and went five-hole.
Unwilling to allow the Engineers even a sliver of hope, Jason Costa '04 put the final nail in the coffin with the fifth and final goal for the Big Green at the 15: 55. Costa took a pass from Frank Nardella '02 on the backhand and lifted it past Marsters.
The win improves Dartmouth's record to 15-12-4, 10-8-4 ECAC, while RPI ends its season at 17-15-2, 11-9-2 ECAC.
Dartmouth will play on Thursday in the preliminary game against either Cornell or Vermont, depending on whether the Catamounts can knock off top-seeded Clarkson in the third and deciding game tonight. The winner of the preliminary game will then take on the No. 1 seed in the semifinals on Friday.
Limited tickets for Lake Placid will be available for students and season ticket holders on Monday at 10 a.m., while the remaining tickets will be released to the public Tuesday.
