Katie Weatherston tallied her fourth hat trick of the season and Cherie Piper recorded her 100th career point as No. 2 Dartmouth completed a season sweep of in-state rival New Hampshire with a 3-1 victory at UNH’s Whittemore Center.
The Wildcats (13-4-2) struck first at 2:25 on a Leah Craig power play goal, but Dartmouth (13-1) tied it up on a shorthanded 2-on-1 goal by Weatherston at 8:36 of the first frame. Cheryl Muranko set up the goal by stealing the puck and rushing up-ice along the right dasher. She faked a shot from the right circle, which drew the defender, and made a centering pass to Weatherston, who swept the puck into the open net from the low slot.
UNH had an opportunity to regain the lead early in the second period when Dartmouth was whistled for a major penalty, but the Wildcats recorded just one shot on goal during that five minute stretch.
The Big Green took a 2-1 lead when Weatherston scored at 9:52. The initial shot by Cherie Piper was stopped by UNH goaltender Melissa Bourdon, but Weatherston was standing at the left doorstep and knocked the rebound over Bourdon inside the right post.
Dartmouth extended the lead to 3-1 with 1:33 remaining in the second period when Weatherston, standing in front of the net, tipped Piper’s shot from the high slot and jammed the rebound across the goal line.
With the Wildcats skating shorthanded early in the third period, Craig led a 3-on-1 breakaway on the right wing and her shot from the circle deflected off Dartmouth goalie Christine Capuano and sailed high of the crossbar.
Bourdon, who recorded 17 of her 30 saves in the second period, denied Krista Dornfried and Caroline Ethier when they broke free in front of the net in the waning minutes to keep the Wildcats’ deficit at two. Capuano recorded 21 saves and improved her record to 6-0.
New Hampshire continues its eight-game homestand Jan. 8 vs. Boston College. Game time at the Whittemore Center is 2 p.m. Dartmouth will be back in action this weekend in a two-game set against Union in an ECACHL tilt.
