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The Dartmouth
February 25, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Men’s hockey back in ranks after win over Cornell

After a narrow 3-2 loss to Colgate, the Big Green rallied with a resounding 6-1 victory over Cornell, building momentum for tough weekend matchups against Quinnipiac and Princeton.

DMIH at Cornell DR-003.heic

On Jan. 25, Dartmouth men’s ice hockey bounced back to defeat Cornell University 6-1 after a 3-2 loss to Colgate University the previous night. This season’s sweep of Cornell put the Big Green back in the ranks at No. 19, according to USA Hockey.

“We don’t think about those rankings that much,” co-captain Steven Townley ’25 said. “Obviously, it’s nice to be recognized for what we’re doing, but our real focus is just getting better day-to-day, so we’re in a good spot for the playoffs. That’s really what matters.”

The team entered the matchup against Colgate hoping to add to their three-game winning streak. Head coach Reid Cashman explained that, because ranked teams’ records are “so close, it’s so important to try to get points in every game.”

However, the Big Green fell short in a narrow 3-2 loss, a result that left the players and coaching staff reflecting on what went wrong. 

“I think we lacked a little bit of urgency,” Cashman said. “We didn’t play poorly, but we lacked the desperation and intensity needed to win.”

In the men’s team’s game against he Colgate, the Raiders took the first goal of the game, but Luke Haymes ’26 was able to tie it with less than 20 seconds left in the first period, taking the puck off of a rebound by CJ Foley ’27.

Only Colgate scored in the second period, but Foley tied the game at two to start the third. Both teams battled up until the end, but the Raiders got the last laugh, scoring at the 16:46 mark to win 3-2.

“They’re really good at transition hockey and at capitalizing on any mistakes we make,” Townley said. “Down the line, it would just be a real focus on protecting the puck, making sure we’re not putting ourselves in vulnerable positions for them to take advantage of.”

With the win, Colgate completed its season sweep of the Big Green, defeating them twice.

“We just didn’t play our full game against Colgate, both games,” co-captain Sean Chisholm ’25 said. “The games are close. We felt like it was a coin flip on who would win the game, and we can’t play like that.”

In the aftermath of the loss, focus shifted to the team’s next game against Cornell — the Big Red ended Dartmouth’s 2023-2024 season — the following night. Cashman emphasized the need for heightened urgency and a sense of desperation. 

“We wanted to make sure that we didn’t have any regrets when we left that building,” Cashman said.

That mindset set the stage for a standout performance by the team. 

At the 5:53 mark, Haymes put the Big Green on the scoreboard for the second night in a row. Nikita Nikora ’27 found him right in front of Cornell’s goal, and Haymes was able to slide the puck in.

The rest of the first period remained quiet. It was not until the start of the second period that John Fusco ’25 made it 2-0 at the 2:23 mark.

After the Big Green won the faceoff, the puck found its way to Fusco, who slapped it off of a Cornell defenseman’s stick and into the goal.

Not even five minutes later, Haymes scored unassisted, slapping the puck through four different Big Red players, including the goalie. It was Haymes’s second two-goal game of the season.

Cornell scored its lone goal against the reigning ECAC Goalie of the Week Emmett Croteau ’28 during the second period. By the end of the game, the Big Green had outshot Cornell 30-17.

“When everyone gets rolling, it makes my job easier,” Croteau said. “[ECAC Goalie of the Week] is a reflection of that. But our team played well offensively [and] defensively and made my job easy. I got in a rhythm and made a couple of saves, and that was fun.”

Hank Cleaves ’28 then scored his fifth goal of the season to open up the third period and extend the Big Green’s lead to 4-1.

At the 14:47 mark, Cornell went on a power play and, out of sheer desperation, pulled its goalie for a six-on-four advantage. The strategy backfired when Foley intercepted the puck near Dartmouth’s goal and fired it into Cornell’s empty net, extending the lead to 5-1 with a shorthanded goal.

Twenty seconds later, Cooper Flinton ’26 scored on another empty netter.

The final score was 6-1, making the matchup the Big Green’s highest-scoring game of the season. The last time Dartmouth scored six or more goals at Cornell was in 1960 when the Big Green scored 12.

“We went in there, put our head down,” Croteau said. “Regardless of who you’re playing or where you are, a win is a win. It feels good.”

Cashman described the game as “the best game that we’ve played all year” and “probably the best game that we’ve played since I’ve been at Dartmouth in my four years.” 

He highlighted various players for their notable performance, especially team captain Chisholm.

“He’s been good all year, but he really, really, played well,” Cashman noted.

He also praised the Hames, Flinton and Nikora line, saying it was “the best game they’ve played all season” and calling them “a threat” whenever they were on the ice.The win secured the Big Green’s first sweep over Cornell in a decade, since the 2014-15 season. 

Once the whistles blew, Dartmouth players gathered to hug their goalie Croteau at the Dartmouth goalpost — celebrating their victory right in front of Cornell’s student section.

Cornell players were not pleased and swarmed to confront the Big Green.

Gloves were not thrown, but punches were — helmets flew off of players as they tackled each other. Referees had to break up the fights, and coaches from both sides stepped in at the end to separate the teams.

“We just stuck together, just made sure we took care of one another, tried to diffuse the situation as well as we could,” Croteau said. “At the end of the day, we just want to make sure no one gets hurt, we’re all safe, and we all get on the road in one piece.”

Townley did his part to ensure everyone was safe.

“I just want to make sure our guys are protected, but obviously, we want everyone to be playing in every game, so we’re trying not to put ourselves in any vulnerable positions,” Townley said.

In total, 108 penalty minutes were doled out, and Dartmouth’s Hayden Stavroff ’28 and Jack Silverberg ’28 each received a one-game suspension. Cornell’s Kyle Penney, Jack O’Leary and Hoyt Stanley were also suspended for one game.

“Hockey is a very emotional game, and sometimes emotions get the best of us, and unfortunate things happen,” Chisholm said.

The Big Green will be back in Thompson Arena this Friday to face Quinnipiac University at 7 p.m.