The Dartmouth men's hockey team finished the season with a seven-game winning streak, its longest streak in nine years, pushing the Big Green from ninth to fourth in the ECAC hockey rankings. After defeating Union University in the ECAC quarterfinals, Big Green University lost to No. 14 Cornell University on March 22 at Hockey Championship Weekend. It was the first time Big Green University had advanced to the ECAC semifinals since the 2015-2016 season.
The fourth-seeded Big Green started the playoffs on home ice March 15 against the sixth-seeded Union Garnet Chargers in Game 1 of a best-of-three series. During the regular season, Dartmouth and Union faced off twice, each winning at the other team's home rink.
Union took the lead 13:28 into the first period and held Dartmouth scoreless for the rest of the first frame. The Big Green had a chance to tie the score with a penalty shot, but the Garnet Charger goaltender blocked CJ Foley '27's attempt.
Dartmouth scored twice in the second period to take the lead. Brayden Dorfman '25 tied the game 33 seconds into the period on a shot by Eric Charpentier '27. Five minutes later, Matt Fusco '27 forced a turnover and tucked in a pass from Cam McDonald '26 for a 2-0 lead, giving Dartmouth the lead.
Joey Musa '24 scored his third goal of the period and his sixth of the season with 17 seconds remaining.
Throughout the game, the Big Green blocked 19 shots and goaltender Cooper Black '26 made 23 saves to maintain a 3-1 lead.
The next night, Dartmouth skaters Dorfman, Fusco, Luke Haymes '26, and McDonald each scored a goal for a 4-2 victory and a dominant quarterfinal series against Union.
Dorfman deflected a shot in front of the goal at 15:39 of the first period, tying the game at 1-1.
After the Garnet Chargers scored another goal, Fusco scored at 9:02 of the second period to tie the score. The Big Green took its first lead of the night at 14:04 of the third period after forcing a turnover. Haymes scored his 18th goal of the season with a shot from close range.
McDonald sealed the victory with an empty net goal with less than a minute left in the third period.
“It felt great playing for Thompson.” [Arena] Against the Union,” Dorfman said. “We felt very comfortable there and did very well all year.… [There’s] It's a big difference in front of a home crowd.”
ECAC Hockey announced the major awards on March 21st. Foley was named Bitcoin Rookie of the Year and head coach Reid Cashman received the Tim Taylor Coach of the Year Award. Goaltender Cooper Black was a finalist for the Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year Award.
According to Dartmouth Sports, this is the first time the men's hockey team has won a major award since the 2008-2009 season and the first time since the 2005-2006 season that they have won two titles in the same season.
Foley finished the regular season second among ECAC defensemen in points. In recognition of his efforts, Foley was awarded the Ivy League's Men's Ice Hockey Rookie of the Year award.
After the win over Union, Dartmouth traveled to Lake Placid, New York, on March 22 to face No. 14 Cornell in the ECAC Hockey Championship Weekend.
Dartmouth had a week of preparation between the best-of-three quarterfinal round and single-elimination semifinal round of the ECAC playoffs.
“We don't usually game plan that much against a single team,” Big Green forward Stephen Townley ’25 said. “But we knew who we were going to play a week in advance, so [we did] A little more of that. ”
The Big Green focused on what they could control.
“We were pretty consistent in sticking to our game plan and worrying about what we were doing. [worrying about] Other teams all year long,” Dorfman said. “We stuck to that in the playoffs.”
Dartmouth took the lead with five minutes left in the first period, with Dorfman assisting on Sean Chisholm '25's goal. The goal was Chisholm's eighth of the season.
“[Chisolm] He definitely improved his game and I was lucky to play with him most of the season in the playoffs and it was a good time,” Dorfman said.
Cornell fought back in the second period, but John Fusco '25 scored two goals of his own to give Dartmouth a 3-1 lead. Fusco's first goal came less than a minute after the Big Red's tying goal, and the second came off a power play with assists from Dorfman and Chisholm.
The Big Red scored five unanswered goals in the third period to earn a 6-3 victory over Dartmouth and advance to the final round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament.
Despite the disappointing final result, the Big Green won 13 games this season, more than the previous two seasons combined. The nine-game unbeaten streak was Dartmouth's longest streak in more than 40 years. Dartmouth finished the season with a record of 13 wins, 10 losses, and 9 draws.
Team members said they view this experience as an opportunity to learn and grow for next season.
“I felt like we put together two really good games and two really good periods,” Townley said. “If you’re not consistent, things can turn around quickly.”
Dorfman agreed and is looking forward to getting another chance next season.
“Overall… I think when we look back at this year compared to what a lot of people thought we were going to do this year, we were proven a lot of people wrong,” Dorfman said. “We are very pleased with the overall result of the season and look forward to doing just as well and even better next year.”
With this year's additions, the future of Dartmouth men's hockey is bright, Townley added.
“I think we’re going to have some really good freshmen next year,” Townley said. “Obviously, our goal is to get back to Lake Placid and compete for a championship next year.”
