TROY, N.Y. – Junior Kevan Kilistoff scored the game-winning goal with 50 seconds left in overtime to lift the Dartmouth College men’s hockey team to a 6-5 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), on Saturday night at Thompson Arena. With the win, the Big Green improve to 5-9-2 overall (3-5-1 ECAC Hockey), while the Engineers drop to 3-15-3 (2-7-1 ECAC Hockey).
Kilistoff (Langley, BC/Langley Rivermen) broke a 5-5 tie at 4:10 of the extra session, when he redirected a point shot by freshman Brendan Less (Kinnelon, NJ/New Jersey Hitmen) past RPI junior netminder Chase Perry (Andover, MN/Wenatchee Wild) for his fourth goal of the season.
Dartmouth opened the scoring at 16:43 of the first period on a back door one-timer from freshman Matt Baker (Barrie, ON/Wenatchee Wild). Junior Alex Jasiek (St. Louis, MO/Austin Bears) sent a pass across the low slot for Baker, who buried his fifth of the year.
Senior Corey Kalk (Maple, ON/North York Rangers) made it 2-0 with a power play tally at 17:54, firing from the middle of the slot. His third goal of the campaign drew helpers from freshman Collin Rutherford (Tanawanda, NY/Des Moines Buccaneers) and junior Connor Yau (Algonquin, IL/Youngstown Phantoms).
The Big Green took a 3-0 lead just 28 seconds into the second period, thanks to sophomore Will Graber’s (Broomfield, CO/Fargo Force) third tally of the season. Sophomore Shane Sellar (Carlisle, PA/Jonesville Jets) picked up the lone assist.
RPI got on the board at 2:12 of the stanza, when senior Viktor Liljegren (Stockholm, Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs) snapped home a shot from the left circle, finishing off a 3-on-1 rush. Sophomore Patrick Polino (Buffalo, NY/Lincoln Stars) delivered the final pass after carrying the puck up the right wing.
???????Sellar answered at 5:52 to make it 4-1 Dartmouth, with assists going to Freshman Quin Foreman (Needham, MA/West Kelowna Warriors) and senior Tim Shoup (Upper St. Clair, PA/Indiana Ice).
The Engineers then scored three goals in a span of 2:27, beginning with sophomore Will Reilly (Toronto, ON/Nanaimo Clippers) burying a wrap-around at 12:24.
Just 29 seconds later, junior Brady Wiffen (St. Mary’s, ON/Trenton Golden Hawks) lifted a shot over Dartmouth senior goaltender Devin Buffalo (Wetaskiwin, AB/Drumheller Dragons) for fourth goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
Freshman Emil Ohrvall (Halmstad, Sweden/Waterloo Black Hawks) then netted his first collegiate goal at 14:50, trying the game at 4-4. Classmate Billy Jerry (River Falls, WI/Madison Capitals) earned the lone assist.
Rensselaer took a 5-4 lead at 17:11 of the third period, after sophomore Jacob Hayhurst (Missassauga, ON/Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) hit the post from between the circles, classmate Max Reisinger (Walding, Austria/Minot Minotaurs) stuck home the rebound for his second goal of the season.
Foreman equalized for the hosts, just 1:26 later, tipping home a tight-angle shot from Sellar in the left corner to knot the score at 5-5. The Extra attacker goal also drew an assist from Yau, sending the game to overtime.
Dartmouth outshot the Engineers 3-1 in OT and 32-24 overall. The Big Green were also 1 for 4 on the power play, while RPI finished 0 for 2.
Buffalo (5-5-1) made 19 saves, while Perry (1-7-2) had 18 over the final 38:18 of the game. Freshman Linden Marshall (Victoria, BC/Trail Smoke Eaters) had eight stops on 12 shots in the first 25:52.
Rensselaer is back on the ice on Tuesday, when it hosts Harvard at the Houston Field House (7pm). The Big Green host Quinnipiac and Princeton next Friday (7pm) and Saturday (7pm), respectively.
