Three times No. 6 men’s hockey came from behind on Friday night.
Each time No. 17 Dartmouth scored, the Red had an answer.
That was until 3:24 remaining in the game, when Dartmouth scored a fourth goal that would prove to be insurmountable for Cornell. Down 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, the Red ultimately fell 4-3 in Hanover, New Hampshire, suffering its first loss of the season.
Senior forward Kyle Penney scored twice, and the Red fired 31 shots on goal, but that wouldn’t be enough in Friday’s loss. The result sent Cornell back in the Pairwise ratings, from fifth to eighth. After out-of-town results, Dartmouth rocketed up to the top spot in Pairwise and remains the only unbeaten team in college hockey.
The teams both scored twice in the third period in consecutive fashion, capping off what had been a penalty-ridden game. The Red also failed to convert on nine minutes of power play time, including a scoreless result on a five-minute major.
Out of the gate, Dartmouth emerged as the better team. Looking to avenge its 6-3 loss to the Red in the ECAC Tournament semifinal last season, the Big Green forced senior goaltender Ian Shane to make some sharp saves in the opening minutes. Shane kept things close early on when he stopped Dartmouth’s Joshua Schenck on a breakaway three minutes in.
As the period neared the halfway point, things began to tilt in favor of the Red. One of its best chances came off the stick of sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna, who was promptly robbed by the glove of Dartmouth goaltender Roan Clarke.
Clarke, like Shane, kept the game close. Dartmouth’s defenders struggled to make clean clears out of its defensive zone, allowing Cornell to hold onto the puck for extended shifts. Clarke made a notable cross-crease glove save on junior forward Sean Donaldson, who played well on and off the puck in the first period.
Cornell, despite having some offensive zone time in the opening moments of the second, ended up on its heels when sophomore forward Ryan Walsh was nabbed for interference, allowing the Big Green a power play just after its momentum-gaining kill.
Sean Chisholm, the Dartmouth skater riding a three-game goal streak, was ultimately the difference on the Big Green man advantage. A rebound off of Shane found Chisholm’s stick, and the forward made no mistakes roofing the puck over Shane, sending Thompson Arena in a fit of cheers as Cornell went down in the score, 1-0.
Cornell got an opportunity to even the score when Penney was tripped up at the 16:01 mark, sending the Red back to the power play. It generated no shortage of chances, but Clarke made a few show-stopping saves to preserve his team’s lead.
Cornell’s luck on the power play has been anything but positive –– the snakebitten Red have gotten closer and closer to converting on the man-advantage, but strong goaltending and unfortunate bounces have been the difference.
The penalty-ridden game only continued as the game’s halfway mark was hit. Castagna was sent off for cross-checking, sending the Big Green’s scorching hot power play back to it.
It wouldn’t be the Dartmouth man advantage that cashed in, however. A remarkable individual effort by Penney on the forecheck forced a Dartmouth turnover behind its own red line, allowing Penney a clear path to the net, where he beat Clarke and buried it.
Penney’s goal marks the first shorthanded goal for the Red this season.
Within 27 seconds, though, Dartmouth had the lead once again.
Hayden Stavroff –– a freshman that had scored in each of his first three career games –– found the back of the net in his fourth. The goal counted as the second power play goal for the Big Green on Friday in as many attempts, improving Dartmouth to a 50 percent clip on the man advantage to start its season.
Playing desperate once again, the Red received a prime chance with 4:08 remaining in the second. Stavroff collided with Shane outside his net, ending up as a five-minute major.
The elongated penalty came and went between the end of the second and start of the third, delivering yet another disappointing performance with the extra skater.
Before Cornell could dwell on the disappointment of the wasted advantage, Penney fired a shot to beat Clarke moments after the penalty expired, evening up the game at two goals apiece. The goal marked Penney’s first multi-goal game of his career and came and promptly squashed any Dartmouth momentum from the killed major penalty.
Both teams traded blows down the stretch, looking to take a late lead.
And just like it had twice before, Dartmouth took the lead.
John Fusco fired a slapshot from the point that Shane got a piece of, but the puck slowly just eked by him to put the Big Green up 3-2 with just under nine minutes left.
But instead of deflating the Red, the goal lit a fire in Cornell as it pressed for a third tying goal on the night. It would get just that when sophomore forward Tyler Catalano cleaned up a rebound around the net. Dartmouth challenged the goal for goaltender interference, but the score stood.
The third period wouldn’t relent then, though. As time kept ticking, Cornell played frantically, perhaps searching for overtime. Its defensive mistakes –– which persisted all night –– ultimately cost the Red the game as two consecutive giveaways ultimately found the stick of Steven Townley, who beat Shane’s blocker side. The goal won the game as Cornell failed to convert on the extra attacker.
The Red will look to lick its wounds and rebound for another tough test Saturday night against No. 20 Harvard at Bright-Landry Hockey Center. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.