Dartmouth's women's hockey team stumbled during its two conference matchups this weekend, losing to St. Lawrence University on Friday night before tying Clarkson University on Saturday.
Facing off on Friday night, the No. 3 Big Green (5-1-1, 4-1-1 ECAC Hockey) fell 3-0 to No. 8 St. Lawrence (7-1-2, 4-0-0 ECAC Hockey) in Canton, N.Y. The loss, Dartmouth's first of the season, broke the team's five-game winning streak.
After a scoreless first period, St. Lawrence earned the first goal of the game just under seven minutes into the second stanza. Taking advantage of the power play, St. Lawrence's Alison Domenico redirected a pass from teammate Courtney Sawchuk to beat Dartmouth goaltender Carli Clemis '09.
The goal was the first Clemis has let in since the team's matchup against Princeton on October 31.
Dartmouth had two power plays in the opening minutes of the third period, but St. Lawrence senior Carson Duggan was able to put a shorthanded goal past Clemis to bring the score to 2-0.
Duggan got the puck in the final moments of the second Dartmouth power play and found herself up against Clemis, who stopped her shot. The rebound bounced into the air, however, and Duggan was able to slap it back into the goal for an unassisted score with just under eight minutes left in the period.
St. Lawrence tallied the final goal of the game soon after to set the score at 3-0. Despite controlling the puck for most of the last 10 minutes of the game, Dartmouth was unable to get anything past St. Lawrence goalie Brittony Charttier, who had 31 saves on the evening.
Clemis had 27 saves in net for Dartmouth. For the game, the Big Green outshot St. Lawrence 31-30 but could not convert any of its five power-play opportunities.
"We were outworked in some areas and because of that St. Lawrence had more scoring opportunities and second chances," Clemis said. "It made for an exciting game as a goaltender, but they're a good team and will take full advantage of any space they get. It ultimately made the difference in the game."
Playing at Clarkson (4-5-3, 2-1-1 ECAC Hockey) on Saturday, the Big Green fought back from a two-goal deficit to tie with the Golden Knights, 2-2. Sarah Parsons '10 and captain Shannon Bowman '09 each had a goal for the Big Green.
Clarkson got on the board first when sophomore Melissa Waldie got the puck past Clemis 13 minutes into the game. Clemis had turned away a wrap-around shot, but Clarkson managed to maintain possession and the puck found its way to Waldie who put home the goal.
Dartmouth fell behind 2-0 after another Clarkson score before the first intermission. Clarkson freshman Brittany Mulligan deflected a shot past Clemis just 90 seconds before the break. Waldie picked up an assist on the goal.
The Big Green began to fight back in the second period, however, when Parsons tallied the first goal for Dartmouth on a power play with 11:40 to play in the period. Captain Sarah Newnam '09 and Clemis tallied assists on the goal, with Clemis earning her first career assist.
Clarkson outshot the Big Green 27-8 in the first two periods of the game, with a 15-5 advantage in the second period alone. Despite being outshot, Parsons was able to score the only goal of the period.
Dartmouth outshot its opponents 11-5 in the final stanza, an effort that paid off in the last minute of the game.
Bowman tied it up at two goals a piece with just 55 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Bowman put the puck past Clarkson goalie Lauren Dahm after the Knights turned over the puck on an attempted clear. Jenna Cunningham '10 and Maggie Kennedy '09 tallied assists on the tying goal.
Dartmouth put on the afterburners in overtime, outshooting Clarkson 6-0 in an effort to squeeze out a comeback victory. But the Big Green could not find the back of the net, and the game finished in a 2-2 tie after five minutes of overtime.
Clemis recorded 30 stopped shots for Saturday's game.
"It was a good test for our team," Clemis said. "We've had pretty commanding leads in the past few games and we haven't faced a lot of adversity so far this season. To come from behind against Clarkson and tie it up showed a lot of heart."
Dartmouth hosts Cornell and Colgate University next weekend at Thompson Arena.
