In the span of 24 hours at its own Ledyard National Bank Classic, Dartmouth hockey went from NoDak to no dice.
No. 9 Boston University, buoyed by killing off a five-minute penalty, scored three times in the final 10:30 to pull away from the 20th-ranked Big Green yesterday, 3-0, in the Ledyard consolation game.
Junior Karson Gillespie, the seldom-used backup to BU goalie John [nl]Curry, recorded his second win over Dartmouth at Thompson in 12 months, making 21 saves for the shutout. Gillespie backstopped BU to a 5-1 win over the Big Green in Hanover last year, making 40 saves in that victory.
Luke Popko broke a scoreless tie at 9:26 of the third period, punching a Matt Gilroy feed in the low slot past Dartmouth goalie Mike Devine (22 saves). Gilroy and Kevin Schaeffer put the victory away with late scores.
“The referees woke us up, because we were sound asleep,” Boston University coach Jack Parker said. “We were sleepwalking through the whole game. … Then our guys really jacked it up during the penalty. It wasn’t just killing the penalty; the fact that they didn’t score and how hard we played was great.”
Both teams’ alarm was a five-minute elbowing major to BU’s Bryan Ewing at 3:56 of the third period. Ewing caught Dartmouth freshman Joe Gaudet with hard elbow to the head at center ice, leaving Gaudet with a bloody nose and the Big Green (5-6-2) with a golden opportunity.
Instead, BU penalty killers limited Dartmouth to one shot on goal while blocking several other attempts. The Terriers (7-4-5) pounced once the penalty was done, with Gilroy feeding a wide-open Popko in the low slot on a counterattack.
“I was pleased with the way we played, how hard we played,” Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet said. “I thought we battled, but obviously the puck’s not going in for us.”
Gilroy solved Devine on a two-on-one from the left dot at 16:22. Schaeffer, in his first game back from injuries sustained in an alleged assault in suburban Boston four weeks ago, hit the empty net from 150 feet out at 17:57 for BU’s final goal.
BU returns to Hockey East play at Providence on Friday. Dartmouth — which dropped its Ledyard opener to North Dakota on Friday, 4-1, and is now on a five-game winless streak — visits Union and Rensselaer in ECAC Hockey League action next weekend.
Greg Fennell covers Dartmouth College hockey for the Valley News of West Lebanon, N.H.
