It set up to be a close game, but instead it was a trouncing at Thompson. <\/p>\n
Dartmouth received seven goals from six different players, including the game-winner from junior Chris Taliercio just 87 seconds into the game, in a convincing 7-0 spanking of visiting Harvard on Friday night before 3,227 spectators at Thompson Arena. <\/p>\n
Sophomore Nick Boucher returned to form for a stellar day in net against the typically formidable Crimson, stopping all 22 shots he faced. <\/p>\n
Harvard was never in the game, suffering its first shutout since last March. Dartmouth, in the meantime, snapped a nine-game winless streak against the Crimson, dating back to March 1, 1996. <\/p>\n
It was the first shutout for Boucher and the Big Green since a 2-0 blanking of Rensselaer on Jan. 7, 2000. <\/p>\n
Dartmouth’s last whitewash of Ivy rival Harvard came on Feb. 21, 1923. <\/p>\n
“I think I played in that game,” Big Green coach Bob Gaudet joked after the game. “That’s how I feel some nights.” <\/p>\n
More seriously, he said: “I’m not a big history guy. I have a lot of history with Harvard, going back as a player, as a coach at Brown and as a coach here at Dartmouth. They’re a very, very good hockey team. They’re an excellent program. <\/p>\n
“So is it good to win against Harvard? Yes, it is. We’d like to have a real strong rivalry with them.” <\/p>\n
Every player on the ice for Dartmouth (10-10-2, 7-6-2 ECAC) was at least plus-1, and three players had at least three points. <\/p>\n
Sophomore Trevor Byrne had three assists, Frank Nardella had a goal and three assists, and Taliercio had a team-leading two goals to go along with an assist. <\/p>\n
In total, the Big Green had a perfect night, taking a 2-0 lead after the first period and a 4-0 advantage after the second before polishing off its largest margin of victory since a 8-1 thrashing of Air Force in December 1998. <\/p>\n
Dartmouth finished the night 2-for-5 on the power play, and squashed each of Harvard’s four chances with the extra man. <\/p>\n
With all the things that went right, what pleased Gaudet the most? <\/p>\n
“I thought we played hard from start to finish,” he said. “I thought we had focus. That’s the important thing — to come out and play hard each and every shift. And I thought we did.” <\/p>\n
In the first period, Dartmouth played one of its best 20-minute stretches of the season. The Big Green outshot the Crimson (10-11-1, 9-6-1 ECAC), 15-10, while claiming a 2-0 lead. <\/p>\n
Just 87 seconds after the opening faceoff, Taliercio and Nardella gave Dartmouth a 1-0 advantage with a nice bang-bang play. Nardella, behind the net, slid the puck in front to Taliercio, who one-timed it over goaltender Oliver Jonas’ shoulder for his sixth goal of the season. <\/p>\n
Late in the period, after a couple of unsuccessful power plays for each team, the Big Green upped its lead to 2-0 when forward Michael Byrne took a feed from brother Trevor Byrne and converted his third of the year. <\/p>\n
The puck barely crossed the goal line — a Harvard player swiped it away, but not before the red lamp went on and the referee signaled a goal — but it was good for just the second Byrne-Byrne goal ever. <\/p>\n
The Big Green stayed on fire in the middle frame, outshooting the visitors, 13-7. <\/p>\n
Just 10 seconds in, junior Mike Maturo fired a pass to linemate Kent Gillings, who skated across the blue line and blasted a long slap shot into the back of the net. Gillings’ goal, his eighth of the year, increased Dartmouth’s lead to 3-0. <\/p>\n
Once again, the teams traded unsuccessful power plays before Dartmouth tallied again late in the period. This time, Chris Baldwin added his name to the score sheet, securing a rebound before slapping his eighth of the season past Jonas (24 saves). Taliercio and Nardella both earned their second points of the night on the goal. <\/p>\n
The third stanza was tame until the final minutes of regulation. <\/p>\n
With just over three minutes remaining, the Big Green scored two goals in a 19-second span, as Taliercio tallied his second of the night before Jamie Herrington skated in on a breakaway and dumped his fifth of the season between new goaltender Will Crothers’ legs. Taliercio’s goal came on the power play. <\/p>\n
Moments later, a fight broke out that resulted in six penalties (four for Harvard, two for Dartmouth), most notably a high-sticking minor and 10-minute misconduct for freshman Dave McCullough. <\/p>\n
The penalties gave a Dartmouth power play, which the home team quickly converted for its seventh and final goal of the night, as Nardella wristed one past Crothers (13 saves). <\/p>\n
For Harvard, it was the worst loss since a 11-3 drubbing at Cornell on Feb. 21, 1979. And for Dartmouth, it was a pretty emphatic way to earn revenge after dropping its first game against Harvard, 5-2, back on Nov. 11. <\/p>\n
“We got the pucks to bounce our way, we got some key goals, we had some great stops, and we had a power play in the second period where [Boucher] was immense, because they got some chances man-down,” Gaudet said. <\/p>\n
“The end result — those last few goals — it’s not that big a deal. I thought we worked hard. It gives us a split with Harvard, so I’m happy with the two points.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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