Friday’s game between Dartmouth and Union had just about everything — players slipping, strange goals, a diving penalty on the Dutchmen’s Jeff Hutchins and a 13-minute delay late in overtime when the Big Green’s Trevor Byrne broke a pane of Plexiglas after missing a check.
What it didn’t have was a winner. But it was a record-setting game for the Dutchmen.
Pete Summerfelt scored on a 35-foot slapshot from the right wing early in the third period, helping the Big Green to a 3-3 tie with the Dutchmen at Achilles Rink.
“It was a funny game,” Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet said. “We played well early, and they took it to us for a bit. We played hard in the third period.”
The tie was the fifth of the season for Union, and fourth at home. Union’s previous record for ties in a season was four, which was done six times. The old mark of three home ties was set in 1993-94 and equaled the following season.
“Tonight was a decent tie,” Union coach Kevin Sneddon said. “I don’t like to tie because I don’t like to give away a point in our building. But I thought we played hard. There’s a difference between tying a game and not playing well, and tying a game and playing well. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win.”
The game’s first goal, a power-play tally by Dartmouth’s Mike Maturo at 4:52 of the first period, was a sign that this was going to be a strange game. Summerfelt’s slapshot from the blue line missed the net. However, it hit the backboards and came right out to Maturo, who put it past goalie Brandon Snee.
Hutchins tied it at 11:54 when his soft wrist shot found an opening between goalie Darren Gastrock’s pads. The game’s only pretty goal was scored by Maturo 1:16 later when he redirected a Chris Baldwin pass as he skated to the net.
Charles Simard was trying to find Max Seel coming down the slot at 13:48 of the second period. But his pass hit Summerfelt’s skate and trickled into the net.
“As I got to the blue line, I looked at my shoulder and saw him coming, so I wasn’t skating to give him time to come,” Simard said. “I waited, and I tried to feed it to him, but it went off the skate.”
Joel Beal gave Union the lead with a power-play goal at 17:26 of the second. His redirection of a Randy Dagenais shot slowly bounced past Gastrock.
But Summerfelt’s shot beat Snee, who wasn’t screened, helping Dartmouth (5-4-3, 8-8-3) tie the score.
“That wasn’t a typical goal that Brandon would let in,” Gaudet said.
Ken Schott covers college hockey for The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, N.Y.
