The Public Enemy list in Thompson Arena has two new names at the top: Union goalkeeper Kris Mayotte and referee John Murphy.
Mayotte shut out Dartmouth in Hanover for the second straight year and Murphy called 10 penalties against the Big Green. Those penalties yielded five power-play goals, as the Dutchmen left Thompson Arena with a 7-0 win.
“We had to know that one of these games the bounces were going to go our way,” said Union head coach Nate Leaman. “The bounces did go our way tonight. We’re very fortunate.”
“They were better than we were,” Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet said. “They outplayed us, they deserved to win, and it was their game from the start. That’s the long and the short of it, and it’s my responsibility. I didn’t do a very good job of preparing our team tonight, and that’s my job.”
What had been an uneventful game through most of the first frame got very eventful in the second, as three straight penalties led to an extended five-on-three for the Dutchmen early in the middle frame.
Dartmouth started the second period down a man due to a roughing penalty on Mike Ouellette late in the first. Shortly thereafter, freshman defenseman Grant Lewis was handed a major penalty and a game misconduct for hitting from behind. Almost immediately after play resumed, Sean Offers took a minor for slashing, giving Union more than two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play, and bringing the Thompson Arena crowd to its feet in anger.
“I’ve got to be delicate,” said Gaudet, whose team was already playing without senior defenseman and team captain Brian Van Abel, “but I can’t be dishonest. Do I disagree with it? Yes, I disagree with it, but the referee sees it that way, and that’s the way it is. It’s more the frustration of a bunch of things. I mean, a 5-on-3 in a game of hockey is pretty big, but a five-minute major, and to lose a really good young player when we’re undermanned is tough.
“But he calls it the way he sees it, and I’ve got to believe that. I don’t think that it was done maliciously, but I don’t think that the hit was done maliciously.”
It didn’t take long for the Dutchmen to make good on their 5-on-3, as Olivier Bouchard beat Dartmouth netminder Dan Yacey from point-blank range to put Union on the board. Twenty seconds later, Matt Vagvolgyi made it 2-0, but with Dan Shribman still in the box serving Lewis’ major, the power play continued.
Likewise, the floodgates remained open, until Jason Visser made it 3-0 when he tipped in a shot from Jason Ortonlano with six seconds to go on the major. Things didn’t get much better when the teams returned to even strength. Brian Kerr banged one home from just outside the crease to give the Dutchmen a 4-0 lead.
Finally, with five minutes left in the period, Jordan Webb ended Yacey’s night with a score from the right faceoff circle.
Rookie Sean Samuel replaced Yacey. Samuel appeared to fare better, but was beat on the power play himself when he failed to control a loose rebound. Scott Seney slipped the puck into the net for the 6-0 advantage.
Eventually, one more Dartmouth penalty yielded one more Union goal when Webb knocked in his second of the night with 6:27 to go. The constant blowing of the referee’s whistle drowned out a masterful performance by Mayotte, who stopped all 30 shots he faced. In two games against Dartmouth at Thompson Arena, the sophomore from Finleyville, Pa., has not allowed a single goal, making Union the only team to win regular season games at Dartmouth in each of the last two seasons.
Harvard and Vermont, the only other schools to beat Dartmouth at Thompson a year ago, have tied and lost in Hanover this year, respectively.
“Our team plays pretty well in this building,” said Mayotte. “I don’t know what it is about this place. We just get up to play here. We play our best game when we play here. I don’t see second shots, or a lot of times when there are second shots in the slot, my defense is there to tie up sticks and make my job a little bit easier. I should be able to stop the first shots.”
Each school will host a pair of conference games next Friday and Saturday. Dartmouth will welcome Cornell and Colgate to Thompson Arena, while Union will host Clarkson and St. Lawrence at Messa Rink.
