Dutchmen shut down by Big Green

Dartmouth senior Mark Gallant capitalized on a turnover in Union’s defensive zone, goalie Cooper Black stopped all 25 shots and the Big Green defeated the Dutchmen 1-0 Saturday on Senior Night in Hanover, N.H.

Less than two minutes into the second period, Union freshman defenseman Cal Mell attempted to clear the puck along the boards in the Dutchmen’s zone. Teammate John Prokop collected it and attempted another pass past the left faceoff circle, only for the puck to get deflected right into the waiting stick of Gallant, who sent home the winner at the 1:57 mark of the period.

Gallant rifled his left-handed shot into the upper right corner over the shoulder of Union goalie Connor Murphy. It was only the second goal of the season for the forward from Concord, Mass.

Meanwhile, the Dutchmen’s offense was unable to solve Black, a 6-foot-8 freshman from Alpina, Mich., who earned his fifth victory of the year for Dartmouth (5-21-1). Black has started all but one game for Dartmouth this season, sporting a .903 save percentage in 26 appearances.

Union’s Murphy, a senior from Hudson Falls, was nearly as effective for the Dutchmen, stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced.

The Dutchmen (13-17-2) return home next week for the final weekend of the regular season. Union was tied with RPI in eighth place before the Engineers’ game against Harvard was finished Saturday night.

Union will need to pick up points against first-place Quinnipiac (Friday) or seventh-place Princeton (Saturday) in order to be in a position to host a game when the ECAC playoffs begin the weekend of March 3. Only teams seeded fifth through eighth host a playoff game in the first round, with teams seeded nine through 12 on the road for the one-and-done format this year.