Dartmouth Knocks Off No. 3 New Hampshire, 4-2

Saturday, January 20

Hanover, N.H.

1:00 PM

Dartmouth College

New Hampshire

Clemis Earns USCHO Defensive Player of the Week

Dartmouth Knocks Off No. 3 New Hampshire, 4-2

1/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. – A 30-save afternoon by netminder Carli Clemis (Taber, Alta.) lifted the Big Green women's hockey team past the number three team in the nation, New Hampshire, 4-2, at Thompson Arena.

Dartmouth opened up the scoring just 46 seconds into the game when Katie Weatherston (Thunder Bay, Ont.) broke into the Wildcats zone, making a strong centering pass to a streaking Shannon Bowman (Leamington, Ont.). The sophomore one-timed the pass beating New Hampshire goalie Melissa Bourdon, and giving the Big Green the early lead.

At 7:16 of the first, Dartmouth knocked again, as Cherie Piper (Scarborough, Ont.) found Gillian Apps (Unionville, Ont.) who broke free of the Wildcats defense going one-on-one with Bourdon. Apps' finished off the play going five-hole on the UNH goalie, giving her her 21^st goal of the season, and increasing the lead to, 2-0.

The second period started out all too familiar for the Wildcats, as Weatherston stripped the puck from a UNH defender giving her a breakaway with Bourdon. After faking right, Weatherston moved the puck to her backhand and roofed a shot over a sprawled out Bourdon for the goal.

Just five minutes later, freshman Jenna Cunningham (Medicine Hat, Alta.) blasted a shot on net from the top of the left circle, but was denied by Bourdon. Her rebound, however, shot back out to Cunningham who proceeded to hammer away at the puck as the Wildcats defense raced to the goal. After Weatherston's rebound chance was turned aside, Cunningham slung a shot on net, this time beating Bourdon, giving the Big Green commanding, 4-0, lead.

With one period remaining, the Wildcats jumpstarted a comeback. At 6:35, Leah Craig picked up a loose puck in front of the Dartmouth cage, beating Clemis low to the right side.

With a possible momentum shift about to occur, the Wildcats began to rifle shots toward Clemis from all angles. Clemis made 18 of her 30 saves in the third period.

At 14:36 of the final period, Kelly Paton brought her squad within two, as she netted here eight goal of the season, bringing the score to, 4-2.

But the fore-checking pressure of the Big Green kept the puck in the Wildcat zone late in the period, preventing UNH from pulling their goalie, and sealing the, 4-2, win.

With the victory, Dartmouth moves to 15-4-2 on the season, while the Wildcats drop to 17-3-2.

The Big Green will take to the ice again next weekend as they battle Clarkson and St. Lawrence in Thompson Arena for a league game weekend.