Hockey Upsets #9 Yale

By Christian Hummel | Wednesday, January 21, 1998

On paper it must have looked like a mismatch, the nationally ranked Bulldogs of Yale facing the Dartmouth Indians, perennial residents of the ECAC cellar. But instead of conceding a Yale victory, the men's ice hockey team exhibited Dartmouth's finest traditional virus 4-3.

The first period started out with both teams skating hard and firing off shots. Neither team scored with goalkeeper Jason Wong '00 saving eleven shots. The Bulldogs would score first about midway into the second period.

The third period would be the most dramatic. Goals by Charlie Retter '98 and Brian Fleming '98 would give the Indians a 2-1 lead early in the third. But being the number nine team in the nation means putting away opportunities and Yale converted on two power plays to take the lead 3-2. The Indians were clearly feeling the void left by center Ryan Chaytors '99, suspended for fighting in the Princeton game, and Matt Geidt '99 and David Whitworth '99, both slapped with suspension-inducing ten-minute penalties. Rather than quit and make the absence of their top players an excuse, however, the Indians stormed back, as Tom Ruzzo '98 put one by the number eight goalkeeper in the nation, Yale's Alex Westlund. The game was now tied with about five minutes left.

When Jeremiah Buckley '98 scored with eighty-nine seconds left, the crowd went wild. Wong made several great stops in the last moments to secure the win and when the clock finally ticked away, Dartmouth found itself with an amazing 4-3 win.

'I think the team showed a lot of character, especially in the third period when the momentum seemed to sway back and forth,' said Wong. 'The guys just refused to let down, and were obviously willing to do whatever it took to get the win.'

As a result of the win Dartmouth moved up in the ECAC standing to number eleven. The schedule does not get any easier for the Indians as they continue their conference campaign.

'Now we are focused on building on that win and making it the first of a string of victories,' said Buckley.

Wong summed it up best. 'It could have been easy for us to give in, especially coming off the loss to Princeton where we were just a few breaks away from winning. On Sunday, we made our own breaks.'

Football

While the University of Pennsylvania's football season has been rendered an asterisk for the record books due to the academic ineligibility of one of its players, all-Ivy defensive end Mitch Marrow the Dartmouth football has seen some of its members be the recipients of several post-season awards. Center Dominic Lanza '98 was named a GTE First Team Academic All-America. He was the only Ivy League player on the team.

Lanza, a government major with a 3.87 GPA, also received a $5,000 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. His prowess on the playing field was similarly rewarded as a selection on the I-AA All-America, third-team. Lanza hopes to continue his studies at Oxford University in England next year. The awards continued for Lloyd Lee '98. The senior, who played in the Blue-Gray Football Classic on Christmas Day, will also be featured in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii. Both are Lee has not ruled out the possibility of a NFL career and hopes to see where he stands in the upcoming NFL scouting combines.

Hockey Upsets #9 Yale

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