With just one month left until the first round of the ECAC Championship, this match marked the second time that Dartmouth played the Crimson. Harvard faced off against the Big Green (11-8-4, 7-6-3 ECAC) on Jan. 12, but the Crimson fell victim to a goal from forward Jesse Beamish '15 that put Dartmouth ahead with a 3-2 victory. The Crimson entered yesterday's game riding an eight-game losing streak.
With the close standings in the ECAC, every game is a challenge, coach Dave Peters said.
"It really was a hard-earned tie on the road and the guys battled really hard," he said. "In this league, where seven or eight teams are separated by just a few points, every game is a dogfight and we go into every game expecting it to be tight."
Dartmouth played the Crimson on Sunday instead of Saturday as originally scheduled, due to inclement weather. The 1-1 outcome marks an increase in momentum from the past weekend's match on Feb. 2 against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which the Big Green lost 3-0.
At 9:53 in the first period, Andy Simpson '15 scored his second goal of the season with assists from Eric Robinson '14 and Brad Schierhorn '15, giving the Big Green an early advantage. Harvard responded during a power play in the second period at 13:03 with a point from senior forward Marshall Everson, on assists by senior Alex Fallstrom and senior Colin Blackwell.
"Harvard doesn't really match up against us because we have really skilled players and our goal- tending skills are great," forward Matt Lindblad '14 said. "We had momentum the entire game, but because of calls by the referees, Harvard was able to score on us with a lucky shot, which happens."
Big Green goalie Cab Morris '14 delivered a solid performance in net, turning away 20 of Harvard's 21 shots, while Raphael Girard of the Crimson ended the night with 26 saves.
"We came out fired up to start the game and that's where our first goal came from," defenseman Rick Pinkston '15 said. "Throughout, it was a pressure-filled game."
In the third period, neither team could put up a strong enough performance offensively, with Dartmouth just narrowly outshooting the Crimson by one for a total of seven shots on goal. The fourth period showed the potential for a tiebreaker for the Big Green with just over three minutes left in the match. However, the goal was disallowed after a referee ruled that Keenan was in the crease.
"It was definitely a tough game, and there were flashes and moments where it looked like we had the chance to score again, so the call on the last goal was really very disappointing," Sikura said.
Overtime was similar to the third period with neither team mounting much of an offensive attack, as Girard stopped the only three shots on net during the final five minutes.
"We generated a lot of chances, went to the net really hard, and had a really strong performance by the defense," Peters said. "Hopefully, we can get a good week of practice in and build on it for the weekend."
Yesterday's tie will not seriously affect the Big Green's place in the rankings.
"We're still in a good position in terms of rankings, but every game means a lot," said forward Tyler Sikura '15.
Dartmouth will host Cornell University (8-13-2, 4-10-2 ECAC) on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. and Colgate University on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.
"Cornell is a team with a great history behind them and we're really looking forward to playing with them," Sikura said. "The fact of the matter is, any team can beat each other in this league."
